Trans and Non-binary Children
(Ochil and South Perthshire)
(SNP)
2. What guidance her Department plans to provide to schools on
supporting trans and non-binary children.
(Exeter) (Lab)
3. Whether it is her policy that schools should tell parents if
their children are trans or non-binary.
The Minister for Schools ()
Our schools, colleges and teachers are committed to helping all
pupils and students to thrive and achieve their potential in a
safe and respectful environment. Gender can be a complex and
sensitive matter for schools, which is why we are working with
the Minister for Women and Equalities, my right hon. Friend the
Member for Saffron Walden (), to develop guidance for
schools in relation to gender-questioning pupils. We will be
finalising the draft guidance shortly, and will hold a full
public consultation on it.
The hon. Member for Moray () appears to think that “drag
story time” in Elgin is one of the most pressing issues facing
the country today. What signal does the Minister think that sends
to vulnerable and bullied trans and other LGBT children?
We know that this is, as I said, a complex and sensitive matter.
Many schools already deal with issues relating to
gender-questioning children as well as the other issues to which
the hon. Gentleman referred, but some schools feel a need for
more support to enable them to help pupils and their parents and
deal with concerns that are raised, which is why we are producing
the draft guidance for schools. That guidance, which we will
publish soon, will be followed by a public consultation.
Mr Bradshaw
In April The Sunday Times reported that the Government intended
to instruct schools to tell parents if students were questioning
their gender identity. Given that a third of LGBT young people
would not feel confident about coming out to their parents, given
that a quarter of homeless young people are LGBT young people who
have been chucked out of their homes by their families, and given
the statement by the National Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Children that no one should ever disclose someone’s
gender identity or sexuality against their will, other than in
exceptional circumstances involving safeguarding, does the
Minister agree that to instruct schools to “out” pupils to their
families would be totally outrageous?
There is a difference between advice being given to a child by a
particular teacher and decisions about children in which parental
involvement is paramount, and it is crucial for schools to ensure
that parents are involved in such decisions. As I have said, we
will publish draft guidance shortly and there will be a full
public consultation on our proposed approach.
Mr Speaker
I call the Father of the House.
(Worthing West) (Con)
We need to trust parents, and we should tell children to trust
parents. We are right not to confuse sexual orientation with
gender confusion and other things. Schools really do need to say
to children and to parents, “You can trust us as a school to let
you know if your child is in distress.”
I agree with my hon. Friend. Parental involvement is important in
all these matters, and they are sensitive matters, but there is a
difference between what the right hon. Member for Exeter (Mr
Bradshaw) spoke about, where a child who is confused about their
sexual orientation or other personal problems has a confidential
discussion with teacher, and big decisions about gender
transitioning, for example, where parental involvement is
important. Any decision about such matters needs to be taken with
parental involvement.
(Penistone and Stocksbridge)
(Con)
Last year, a YouGov poll found that around 80% of schools now
have pupils who are trans identified, and Policy Exchange
recently reported that four in 10 schools are operating policies
of gender self-identification. Dr Hilary Cass has said that
social transition is “not a neutral act” but a psychological
intervention with unknown consequences for children’s welfare.
Does the Minister agree that the new guidance for schools must
make it clear that teachers are not qualified to make this
psychological intervention and that the only safe approach is to
protect children according to their biological sex?
As my hon. Friend will know, we are now producing guidance for
schools on this sensitive matter. Draft guidance will be
available shortly and we will consult on it. In order to provide
the clearest possible guidance, we intend to consider pieces of
work such as Dr Hilary Cass’s independent review of gender
identity services to children and young people, which is ongoing.
Dame (Wallasey) (Lab)
There is already very good guidance, written by the National
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and I hope
that the Minister will take account of that as he develops the
Government’s guidance. Does he agree that this situation has now
been highly politicised by particular people, to the detriment of
those children and teachers who are trying to do their best in
difficult circumstances? Will he explain why on earth it has
taken the Government this long to publish the guidance,
essentially leaving teachers without Government guidance in this
very contested area? When will he support the work that teachers
do?
In drafting the guidance, we have taken into account advice from
experts such as the NSPCC and Dr Hilary Cass, as I have just
mentioned to my hon. Friend the Member for Penistone and
Stocksbridge (), but we have to get this
guidance right. This is a sensitive matter. The drafting is
happening right now and the guidance will be published shortly in
draft. There will then be a full public consultation to ensure
that all views are taken into account.
(Southend West) (Con)
Recent research by Policy Exchange suggests that more than 60% of
schools do not reliably inform parents when their children
express a wish to change gender. Many parents are concerned about
schools keeping them in the dark about such important changes
concerning their children, so can the Minister please confirm
that parents must be kept informed of such an important change in
behaviour in their child?
As I have said, parental involvement is paramount in any
decisions about children, and it is important that schools work
to ensure that parents are consulted before any decisions are
made regarding a child socially transitioning. These are issues
that we are thinking about and discussing with experts as we
draft the guidance, which will be published shortly and will then
be available for public consultation.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
(Oxford East)
(Lab/Co-op)
Schools, parents and pupils who need guidance on these issues are
sick and tired of reading conflicting rumours about the
Government’s plans in the newspapers. Will the Minister confirm
that the reason for the delay is that the Minister for Women and
Equalities does not agree with the Education Secretary, who does
not agree with the Minister for Children, who does not agree with
the Prime Minister?
No, we are working closely with my right hon. Friend the Minister
for Women and Equalities. We are consulting experts on drafting
comprehensive guidance on a very sensitive matter, and we need to
get it right. Many schools are dealing with these issues very
successfully, day in and day out, but some schools want advice.
They want good-quality advice, and the guidance on that is being
drafted right now. It will be published shortly and made
available for public consultation.
We have had noises off and rumours about this in the newspapers
for over a year, and still no delivery. The sad truth is that
schools are being left in limbo by a Government who are, yet
again, focused on internal battles. Their LGBT action plan has
collapsed, they are at war on banning conversion therapy and they
are now squabbling over schools guidance too. Will the Minister
apologise to the LGBT+ people who have been failed by this
playground politics?
There is a range of views, as we have seen in the newspapers, but
the Government are united in our determination to have very
high-quality guidance for schools. This guidance has been drafted
and it is in a very good state. It is ready for publication, and
it will be published shortly. There will then be a full public
consultation to make sure that all the views expressed in the
newspapers, by the hon. Lady and by right hon. and hon. Members
on both sides of the House, can be taken into account as we
finalise this important guidance for schools.
