Teachers have been told they need not accept all requests for social transition, but many have suggested the guidance does not go far enough
INDEPENDENT
Teachers will not be compelled to use pupils’ preferred pronouns or accept a child’s request to socially transition, the government’s long-awaited transgender guidance for schools has said.
The draft document, from the Department for Education, states that children, teachers or staff at schools in England should “not be required to adopt the use of preferred pronouns”.
But Rishi Sunak is facing a backlash from Tory right-wingers angry that it does not bring in a complete ban on social transitioning – the process when pupils change their names, pronouns and clothing.
Former Tory PM Liz Truss said it “doesn’t go far enough” and will let trans rights activists “exploit loopholes in the guidance … to pursue their agenda”.
A government source fired back at Ms Truss for “shameful political grandstanding” – arguing that Tory MPs undermining the guidance would leave schools at “mercy of activist groups like Stonewall”.
Former home secretary Suella Braverman also attacked the “serious weakness” in the guidance that “enables social transitioning to take place in schools”.
The right-winger also condemned the “disappointing” decision to allow pupils to use “preferred pronouns in some circumstances”. In a series of tweets on X, Ms Braverman said “much more needs to be done before we can be confident that children are protected”.
A leading campaign group welcomed the guidance and said though the guidance is imperfect, it represents a major step forward for schools and teachers.
The guidance says on the “rare occasions” where a school or college agrees to a change of pronouns, no teacher or pupil should be compelled to use them. It says teachers should still be able to refer to children collectively as “girls” or “boys”.
The advice also says that teachers should consider if a pupil’s request to socially transition has been “influenced by social media” or their “peers”.
Schools are under no obligation to provide gender-neutral facilities. The guidance says they should provide separate toilets for boys and girls aged eight and above – and changing rooms and showers for boys and girls who are aged 11 years or over at the start of the school year.
The guidance says all children should use the toilets, showers and changing facilities “designated for their biological sex unless it will cause distress for them to do so”.
Kemi Badenoch, the equalities minister, said the guidance would give teachers and school heads “greater confidence” when dealing with an issue “hijacked by activists misrepresenting the law”.
The cabinet minister added: “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.”
Schools are said to risk successful legal challenges if they follow parts of the guidance, according to advice from the government’s own lawyers, published by Schools Week. But it was still signed off by No 10, Ms Badenoch and education secretary Gillian Keegan.
The lawyers at the Department for Education (DfE) are said to have warned that there was a “high risk of successful legal challenge to position taken on pronouns”. They also advised “that operating a presumption against social transitioning would be unlawful”.
