Worksop Guardian 19.12.2023
An increasing number of children are questioning their gender – a new and complex phenomenon that teachers scarcely had to deal with a matter of years ago.
That is why, as Parliament goes into recess for Christmas, we are publishing guidance for teachers on how best to support pupils questioning their gender in schools, with children’s safety and wellbeing at its heart. The guidance will make clear that parents must be involved in decisions affecting their children. It is wrong for significant decisions affecting a child’s future to be taken without parents being involved.
Single-sex spaces must be protected for the safeguarding of all children. Where safety is a consideration, such as sports, schools must have clear separation for boys and girls and competitive sport must be fair – biological sex is fundamentally important.
Schools and colleges do not have to, and should not, accept all requests for social transition. Schools should take a very cautious approach and always be mindful that doing what’s best for a child is not always the same as doing as they wish, and gender identity is a contested belief rather than a fact. Some requests will not be compliant with a school’s legal duties.
The guidance has been developed with the experts’ views in mind, which is that treating children as though they are of the opposite sex – known as social transition – is not a neutral act and has the potential to have significant psychological effects on a child. Given the lack of evidence on the long- term impact of social transition, schools should take a cautious approach.
This represents a sea change in approach to social transition and will help teachers make sure that they are acting in the best interest of children. Proper use of this guidance means we expect instances of social transition, in practice, to be extremely rare. Taking the difficult but necessary decisions to get this guidance right will protect children, support teachers and empower parents for the long term.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I would also like to thank my eldest son for designing my Christmas card this year!
One of the things I find most difficult as a Member of Parliament is the amount of time I spend away from my family, so my thoughts are with those who are unable to spend Christmas with theirs, especially those in our armed forces and emergency services who do so much to keep us safe.
Christmas is a time for peace and goodwill to all, and I hope you are all able to spend some qualify time with family members and those who are the most important to you
