New government guidance tells British schools there is “no general duty” to allow their gender-questioning pupils to ‘socially transition.’ But even before the long-awaited release of the guidance document, headteachers said they wouldn’t let it change their approach.
There is nothing in the document that can change the course of what reports have labelled these “activist schools,” since non-statutory guidance is not backed by the law.
The document, produced by the Department for Education alongside the government’s ‘Equality Hub,’ is supposed to provide schools with “clarity” and parents with “reassurance.” Yet, its wording is far from definitive. It says that when a child requests to ‘social transition’—explained in the guidance as “changing names, uniforms, or using different facilities to help a child appear more like the opposite sex”— schools “should make parents aware” (emphasis added), except in “the very rare situation where informing parents might raise a significant risk of harm to the child.” Also that “we would expect parental consent to be required” (emphasis added), but “in the vast majority of cases,” rather than on all occasions.
Former Prime Minister Liz Truss is leading a group of Tory MPs who believe the guidance “does not go far enough,” according to The Daily Telegraph. She said:
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. …
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.
A government source responded that “this guidance goes as far as we can within the confines of existing law.” This may be true, but it is the government’s fault that existing law is as confining as it is. Ministers had considered banning pupils from changing their gender identities in school altogether but decided they didn’t want to go through the hassle of changing the law to do so.
The Times suggests that many schools are likely to follow the guidance, despite it being non-statutory, since it will offer them some protection in their decision-making.
But Kevin Sexton, the executive head of a high school in Liverpool which has gender-neutral toilets and uniforms and where around 30 pupils who reportedly identify as transgender, non-binary, or ‘genderfluid,’ told Sky News in no uncertain terms: “I’m not going to change what has worked for our school for the last 10 years.”