UK: Government Guidance For Trans Schools Promised By Christmas

The UK government’s trans guidelines for schools will reportedly be published before Christmas.

The draft guidance has been promised for a number of years, but has become intensely controversial in recent months, with a number of leaks suggesting it could result in dangerous policies such as banning trans, non-binary and gender non-affirming students to their parents, a blanket ban on social transition and allowing single-sex schools to refuse trans children.

On Tuesday (October 31), The Telegraph reported that Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said during a visit to an artificial intelligence consultancy in London: “We will get it out before Christmas. And then we have a long discussion, because I don’t want teachers to worry about it over Christmas as much as I worried about it most of the year.”

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If the draft guidance is given to schools before Christmas, it may not come into force until the spring as it will need to be consulted by the Government before it is finalised, ‘Talk Talk News’ reports.

Keegan, who has previously expressed his support for the trans pupils’ outing, added: “I know it’s been a long time coming, and I know everyone is really keen to get it.

“It is a very difficult area. It is difficult. It is a consultation, because we are sure there will be many opinions about this too.”

The government originally planned to release the draft guidance by the summer, but as with the ban on conversion therapy, the deadline came and went without the guidance becoming a reality.

The trans community, education unions and parents are expressly concerned about what the guidance could entail once it is published.

In an interview earlier this year, a teacher expressed deep concern about the possibility of having to inform students if they wear opposite-sex clothing or adopt a new name, especially if their parents are transphobic.

“There are so many vulnerable children in education who need so much support, so much help, and this is just not something that is honestly needed in the education system at all,” she said.

“As a teacher, my number one priority is to keep safe and I don’t really understand how this has anything to do with keeping students safe.

“It seems it only protects Tory interests,” the teacher added.

Another teacher, who works in London, said: “Teachers and schools do not have all the information about every child’s home environment, and instead of supporting a student to be themselves at school we could be putting them at risk. cause damage.

“It’s dangerous behavior. It doesn’t solve a problem, it creates a problem.”

Responding to the leaks in question, Julie McCulloch, policy director at the Association of School and College Leaders, said guidance for schools on trans students should be underpinned by “fairness, respect and safety” that treats trans students with “dignity”.

McCulloch added: “It is vital that full consultation takes place with school and college leaders and teachers prior to publication to ensure the guidance is deliverable.

“A compassionate and practical set of guidelines to help schools navigate this sensitive area, where every student is treated with dignity, is what is needed.”

Read related myGwork articles here:

Schools “Must Not Be Made To Out Trans Young People To Unsupportive Families”

School Gender Guidance: Parents Should Be In The Know - Minister Says

MPs Halt Attempt To Introduce Bill Banning School Promotion Of Gender Transition

Anti-Trans Tory MP Miriam Cates Doesn’t Want Kids To Change Gender At School