Draft guidance for schools on transgender children prompts fears

This is according to a 19-year-old transgender Carlisle resident who attended state school in Cumbria.

The draft guidance, which was published on December 19 by the Department for  Education, aims to tell schools how to support transgender, non-binary, and gender-fluid children.

The non-statutory guidance aims to provide information to teachers and school staff about how to approach a range of issues relating to transgender children in education, such as social transition, changing names and pronouns, access to single-sex spaces, and inclusion in sports and single-sex schools.

It will mean that children who seek social transition in school will have this information relayed to parents by default, and schools will not be advised to use the child’s preferred name or pronouns.

The government said this guidance was produced after working closely with the Equality Hub and takes a ‘parent first approach’.

In the lead-up to this guidance being published, numerous leaks suggested the government may compel teachers to forcibly out transgender children to their parents and ban social transition altogether.

The guidance is under consultation for 12 weeks, but LGBT and human rights groups have claimed that such guidance will come into play next year and have negative effects.

Commenting on the guidance, education secretary Gillian Keegan said: “This guidance puts the best interests of all children first, removing any confusion about the protections that must be in place for biological sex and single-sex spaces, and making clear that safety and safeguarding for all children must always be schools’ primary concern.

“Parents’ views must also be at the heart of all decisions made about their children, and nowhere is that more important than with decisions that can have significant effects on a child’s life for years to come.”

Minister for women and equalities, Kemi Badenoch, said: “This guidance is intended to give teachers and school leaders greater confidence when dealing with an issue that has been hijacked by activists misrepresenting the law. 

“It makes clear that schools do not have to accept a child’s request to socially transition, and that teachers or pupils should not be pressured into using different pronouns.

“We are also clear how vital it is that parents are informed and involved in the decisions that impact their children’s lives.”

For a breakdown on the full draft guidance, click here.

However, a Carlisle 19-year-old, who asked not to be named, said this guidance, if pushed through the way the leaks suggested, will end up harming children, cause a rise in homelessness, and spark an unmanageable mental health epidemic.

“On one hand, there are a lot of caring and supportive parents out there, but there are a lot of parents who are not," they said.

“The danger is that this will cause a lot of trans children to become homeless, relying on mental health systems even more so than before, and increasing mental health problems.

“We all know that not being accepted by family is a reason why a lot of LGBT people have mental health problems like depression and suicidal ideation, even suicide itself, this will enable these problems more.”

They said they were ‘forced out’ in school after beginning an unannounced social transition four years ago in Year 11.

“I cut my hair and hadn’t told anyone I was trans.

“I remember lots of kids calling me transgender-related slurs, and I did tell my teachers about it.

“They told me they would take the children who were doing it in for a word, and it just kept happening.

“I had so much going on at school and in my personal life that my parents decided to take me out of school in 2019.

“I was in for my final year of GCSEs and didn’t end up sitting them and I was unenrolled at school, so when Covid came around I didn’t have any GCSEs to my name,” they added.

“It wasn’t just my hair; I dressed male, and was constantly made fun of and called a ‘boy’, which, jokes on them, that’s the goal.

“(The school) didn’t say anything about telling my family, which was a very good thing because I wasn’t ready.

“My mum was aware I was going through that process, but it was on my terms whether or not I tell her.

“If they did, it would have made my mental health 10 times worse.

“Children have the right to come out on their own terms, and teachers should be aware of this.

"I do understand why parents want to know if their child is transitioning, but I want people to understand that not all parents are supporting.

"I know a lot of people who told their parents even without school, and they have been disowned and kicked out."

For many children, school can be a lifeline if they don’t feel safe at home, they said.

They continued: “I used to tell my teachers things I would never dream of telling my parents, because you feel as if you’re not going to be judged.

“I don’t think they understand that this is real life, trans people are some of the most vulnerable people in society, and the fact they feel that this is where they can go to win over some votes is disgusting."

Pam Eland, chair of Pride in North Cumbria, an LGBT youth charity in Carlisle, said the guidelines offer no help to children and will weaken their security in schools.

“It’s like we’re going backwards in time, they’re just trying to forget that the LGBT community exists, it’s really scary."

Commenting on the government’s draft guidance for schools and colleges, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “The NEU will consider the document fully and take part in the consultation in January, after looking at the detail of what the government has proposed.

“Schools work hard to be sensitive, practical, and responsive to the well-being of students who are non-binary or questioning their gender identity.

“But there’s also a much wider picture beyond this guidance from which the Government is hiding – teachers need time for training on relevant parts of the curriculum, schools can’t fund much-needed pastoral support posts, and where LGBT students face mental health issues, they experience very long CAMHS waiting lists.”

The Department for Education was approached for a comment.