Schools will be encouraged to accommodate transgender pupils in “common sense” guidance that will risk opening up a cabinet split over access to changing rooms and lavatories.
Senior ministers are pushing for a compromise approach to defuse a “culture war” over gender identity, despite demands from some in government to hold a hard line on biological sex.
The Department for Education is to enlist the help of the Equality and Human Rights Commission and senior doctors to create an evidence-based guide that will allow head teachers to accommodate trans pupils without creating political flashpoints. Senior ministers are hoping to defuse a “culture war” over gender identity with “common sense” guidance.
The Times reports that providing gender-neutral lavatories alongside those for boys and girls or letting trans pupils use changing rooms before others are among options being looked at. It is also reported that schools are likely to be told to let trans children wear the uniform of their choice, but teachers will be advised to stick to single-sex sports. Kit Malthouse, the education secretary, is understood to favour a “common sense approach” and wants the guidance published earlier than the planned date of early next year. However, Suella Braverman, the home secretary, is among those pushing for a harder line.
Source: Ministers seek compromise on transgender advice for schools | News | The Times
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