School trans policies

Late last year, the Government published draft guidance to schools on how to approach the sensitive issue of gender. Thanks principally to the fine efforts of the equalities minister, Kemi Badenoch, it was a massive improvement on what came before. Schools were told that they did not need to accept all requests for a “social transition” – where, for example, a boy might be treated as a girl if they had expressed feelings of gender dysphoria – and that parents should be involved in decisions.

Unfortunately, it seems that some schools did not get the message. An analysis of more than 600 school equality and trans policies in Devon and Cornwall shows that up to three quarters are misrepresenting the laws protecting sex and gender. Some are even letting boys use girls’ lavatories and changing rooms. In some cases, these policies were published after the release of the new government guidance, while in others they will not be reviewed for several years.

As Hilary Cass stated in her report following the Tavistock scandal, social transition is not “a neutral act”. Changing a child’s name or pronouns, or allowing them to be treated as a member of the opposite sex, is an active intervention with potential consequences. This is therefore a safeguarding issue in which parents should obviously be involved.

For years, schools and other institutions have been subjected to an onslaught of propaganda from organisations such as Stonewall, which take an extreme position on transgender matters. It will take some time to remove this baleful legacy. But if schools continue to flout the Government guidance, further action may be required.