Parents should be told if their child wants to change their gender pronouns at school, new NHS guidance states.
The advice for teachers states that pupils socially transitioning without the knowledge of parents or guardians can create “complex difficulties within families” and is to be avoided.
The guidance adds, “Secrets between parents or carers and their children are problematic and are likely to create further issues in the future.”
It added that when parents discover that changes have been made without their involvement, “this can increase risks and alienate parents and carers from their children”.
The NHS intervention comes after repeated delays in the government’s promise to publish long-awaited trans guidance for schools over legal concerns.
Last month, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan stressed that the overdue guidance to help teachers of children questioning their gender will only be “non-statutory,” rather than enshrined in law.
Safety Concerns
The NHS gender guidance notes there has been “a rise in young people asking to make a social transition at school or college without the knowledge or involvement of their parents or carers.”Teachers with “significant concerns” about negative responses from parents should seek “safeguarding oversight.”
Staff are advised, “Make referrals to additional support agencies if levels of conflict within the family seem high, cannot be resolved with your input, and are potentially harmful.”
The training module is the first guidance of its kind for educational settings in England where children are questioning their gender identity.
Earlier this month, a new report into the legal minefield facing schools over gender identity says allowing schoolboys into girls’ toilets and changing rooms could break the law.
The “Keeping Children Safe as Boys and Girls in Education” report, also warned that thousands of schools and colleges in England risk breaching legal requirements regarding their duty of care to children.
Earlier this year, a report by Policy Exchange found that schools were routinely allowing children to change their gender pronouns without parental consent.
Freedom of Information requests to more than 300 state secondary schools in England found that 40 percent are allowing children to self-declare their gender.
Puberty Blockers
The NHS module also refers to a review carried out by paediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass last year who found that allowing children to socially transition was “not a neutral act.”It also noted that “professional and research evidence varies and it is acknowledged to be a complex decision and should be considered an ‘active intervention’.”
It advises schools that “there has been recognition that there are high rates of young people who experience gender-related distress who are also autistic (neurodiverse), some studies suggest 30 per cent”.
If autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are considered, it advises education workers to “explore with the young person and parents or carers if there are any unmet needs requiring additional support or intervention,” and to “seek to understand the young person’s relationships with peers and adults and the nature and safety of the young person’s online life and relationships.”
Schools are advised that “the needs of young people who are gender questioning are varied, and there are lots of different pathways and future outcomes”.
Topics are suggested for possible “supportive” discussions between teachers and children and their families to explore the pros and cons of social transition, encouraging staff to ask if there are “broader wellbeing concerns that seem to be driving the request.”
The online training says the resources “present a shared understanding across the NHS and have been through an extensive peer review process.”
The module for school staff was launched alongside separate courses for healthcare professionals, including one that spells out the NHS’s position on prescribing puberty-suppressing treatment or masculinising or feminising hormones to young people who are considering transition.
“Young people seeking hormone interventions must weigh up a complex set of possible benefits and risks. The research on long-term physical and mental health outcomes of medical intervention is limited,” it states.
Complex
Reacting to the NHS guidance, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told the Guardian: “It’s helpful that the NHS is providing guidance as this is obviously a source of information in which educators can have a high degree of confidence in navigating this complex and sensitive territory.“The frustration is that there continues to be a vacuum in terms of the official guidance that is supposed to be coming from the Department for Education.
“This is such a highly-charged subject that schools and colleges are likely to find themselves under fire whatever decision they make and they really do need to be able to point to the fact that they are following official guidance.”
A government spokesman said it was “taking the time” to make sure guidance is “as clear as possible” over the complex and sensitive issue.
They added: “We’ve been repeatedly clear about the importance of biological sex and we advise that schools and colleges proceed with caution—prioritising the safeguarding and wellbeing of all children and involving parents in decisions relating to their child.”
It followed reports that the attorney-general warned Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that plans to ban schoolchildren from socially transitioning without parental consent, would be unlawful.
In March, Mr. Sunak pledged that guidance for schools on transgender issues would be published “for the summer term.”
He has said it is “important” to take the time to get the guidance on transgender pupils right as it is a “complex and sensitive issue.”
