Gender questioning children: draft schools and colleges guidance

In recent years, an increasing number of children have been questioning their gender and the Department for Education (DfE) has now published new guidance for teachers on how best to support these students in schools and colleges.

In England, children can’t obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate so their legal sex will always be the same as their biological sex. There is also no general duty that says schools and colleges must support a child to take steps that are part of ‘social transition’ – such as agreeing to change their name or pronouns.

The guidance is clear that schools and colleges have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children, which means that a cautious approach should be taken when responding to requests to social transition.

Schools and colleges should create an environment that is respectful of all beliefs. This means no one should be expected to use preferred pronouns and they should not be sanctioned for making honest mistakes. In all cases, bullying must not be tolerated.

While the guidance is there to help teachers, parents’ views should be at the centre of every decision schools make about their child.

This is draft guidance for consultation and the DfE would like to encourage schools, colleges, parents and the education sector to share their feedback. The consultation will run until 12 March 2024.

Key questions covered by the guidance:

• What does it mean for a child who asks to socially transition at school or college?
• What about single-sex spaces like toilets and changing rooms?
• How will this affect PE and sports?
• What if a school supports a child to change their name or pronoun?
• How will this affect school uniforms?