Schools will be told to presume that a child cannot change gender and that social transitioning should be “extremely rare” in the Government’s first guidance for teachers on trans issues. Gender-critical campaigners have welcomed the guidance, saying that it “sets the global standard for uprooting trans ideology from schools”. However, others including Liz Truss said it does not go far enough because it is not legally binding and does not ban social transitioning completely. The Telegraph has more.
Under the new ‘parent first’ approach, head teachers must tell parents if their child wants to change gender.
Teachers and other pupils will be told they do not have to use the preferred pronouns of children, and staff will not face sanctions if they choose not to do so.
The guidance, set to be published on Tuesday, has been promised since 2018 but delayed amid a disagreement within the Government over how to respond to the rise in the number of children who say they are trans.
The Government will urge schools to take a cautious approach to children who want to transition socially – where they adopt the pronouns and dress of the opposite gender.
A Whitehall source said: “This Government firmly believes parents should be involved in decisions about their children and much more caution should be taken, so this guidance means there should effectively now be a presumption against social transitioning in schools.”
The source said the guidance would provide “much-needed certainty and protection to teachers and pupils so they will no longer feel forced to use different pronouns for gender-questioning children, and won’t face a sanction for not doing so”.
He added: “It is a complex and sensitive issue, but we’ve taken the time to strike the right balance.”
Schools will also be told they have no obligation to provide gender-neutral facilities, including lavatories, changing rooms and dormitories. Single-sex schools will be told that they do not need to accommodate transgender pupils.
A Government source said: “It’s a cautious approach. It’s supportive of no action or slow action.”
Gender-critical campaigners welcomed the guidance, saying that it “sets the global standard for uprooting trans ideology from schools”. However, some activists said it does not go far enough because it does not ban social transitioning completely.
It has been drawn up by Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, and Kemi Badenoch, the Equalities Minister. It will apply to all state and independent schools in England and is not legally binding.
The guidance adds that social transitioning should be “extremely rare”, and that schools “should not accept all requests for social transition”.
Liz Truss has criticised the guidance for not going further, however. She said:
Today’s guidance does not go far enough. During the many months we have been waiting for its publication, it has become increasingly clear that non-statutory guidance will provide insufficient protection and clarity, and that a change in the law of the land is required.
That is why I am asking the Government to back my Private Members’ Bill, which would change the law in this area to ensure children are fully protected.
I fear that activists and others will be able to exploit loopholes in the guidance and the existing legal framework to pursue their agenda, leaving children at risk of making irreversible changes and with single-sex spaces not sufficiently protected.
Christian Concern CEO Andrea Williams broadly welcomed the guidance as a “big step forward” and a “vindication” of those her organisation has been supporting in the battle against gender ideology, including Nigel and Sally Rowe whose success in being granted a judicial review last year led directly to the new guidance. But she agreed with Liz Truss that the Government “must go further” by giving the guidance the “force of statute”.
We believe that the Government has listened to many of the problems we have been raising through legal cases and with the department over the last 10 years. Had this guidance been followed, many more children would have been protected and several Christians we are supporting would not have lost their jobs. Today, they are vindicated.
Without the bravery of many Christians like Nigel and Sally Rowe, whose judicial review directly led to this guidance, we would still be seeing the ideology of groups like Mermaids run rampant in schools.
The recognition that schools do not need to accept a child’s transition and protections for freedom of speech and conscience are most welcome.
However, the Government must go further to equip schools to resist damaging social transitions and to protect free speech by giving this guidance the force of statute.
Joshua Sutcliffe lost his job for saying “well done girls” to a group in his classroom, one of whom identified as male whilst being biologically female.
We are pleased to see the guidance state that “it should not prevent teachers from referring to children collectively as ‘girls’ or ‘boys’, even in the presence of a child that has been allowed to change their pronouns”. Joshua Sutcliffe was banned from teaching by the Teaching Regulation Agency earlier this year in a decision made on behalf of the Secretary of State.
He needs to be fully reinstated and an apology needs to be made to him.
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