Teachers don’t have to address pupils in chosen pronouns under government’s new schools transgender guidance

Published

2 years ago

December 19, 2023

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Teachers in England have been told they do not have to address pupils in their chosen pronouns under new government guidance on how best to support transgender students.

The draft document, released by the Department of Education, was meant to be published before the summer holidays, but was delayed to ensure it met the “high expectations” of teachers and parents.

It states that children, teachers or staff at a school should “not be required to adopt the use of preferred pronouns”.

In the absence of preferred pronouns, the child’s preferred name should be used, with schools having a duty to ensure bullying is never tolerated.

The guidance also states that schools and colleges do not have to, and should not, accept all requests for social transition.

Social transitioning relates to a pupil requesting to change pronouns, names and uniform.

“Proper use of this guidance means social transition, in practice, should be extremely rare when the appropriate safeguards are put in place and the child’s best interest taken into account,” the draft states.

Where a school considers a request, the draft states a “cautious approach” should be taken, including ensuring parents are fully consulted before any decision is taken.

Other main points from the draft guidance include:
• Schools should make sure competitive sport is fair for all students, which will almost always mean separate sports for boys and girls;
• Schools must provide sex-separated toilets for students aged eight and over and suitable changing accommodation and showers for pupils aged 11 and over;
• Single-sex schools can refuse to admit pupils of the opposite biological sex, regardless of whether they are questioning their gender;
• A gender questioning child should wear the same uniform standard as other children of their sex;
• Sleeping arrangements like dormitories, tents and shared rooms should be sex separated.

The draft is non-statutory, with parents and teachers now urged to have their say in a 12-week consultation.

New guidance could leave educators with more questions than they have answers

By Mollie Malone, news correspondent

The language on gender identity in schools is fairly tough, but it doesn’t massively change the status quo.

Much of the draft guidance issued by government, for schools and colleges in England, will still be down to the interpretation of individual teachers.

At the crux of this is how children who are questioning or wanting to change their gender, or express themselves differently by using different pronouns, uniforms, or appearances – known as socially transitioning – are supported and treated at school.

The advice to schools is that there is “no general duty” to allow them to permit social transitioning, that schools can “decline” an older child’s request to use a different pronoun.

“Schools and colleges should only agree to a change of pronouns… if they are confident that the benefit to the individual child outweighs the impact on the school community.”

Again – the decision is down to the discretion of the individual teacher.

Can, not should. No ‘general’ duty.

The guidance places heavy emphasis on parental involvement in any decision.

“Parents should not be excluded,” it says. This was to be expected. But the line between when and where a parent should be consulted is a slightly blurred one.

“Where a child requests action from a school or college in relation to any degree of social transition, schools and colleges should engage parents as a matter of priority… other than in the exceptionally rare circumstances where involving parents would constitute a significant risk of harm to the child.”

Who decides the ‘degree’ and harm? Many of these circumstances are ‘rare’ anyway. The transgender pupil population, while definitively unknown, is small.

For many schools and colleges, this will be welcome guiding principles which they’ve waited a long time for.

For politicians, among them former prime minister Liz Truss, who wants social transitioning in schools to be banned altogether – this won’t be anywhere as near as stringent as they think it should be.

Either way – this guidance, which is only guidance and not statutory – could end up leaving educators with more questions than they have answers.

On Tuesday, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said the draft puts the “best interests of all children first, removing any confusion about the protections that must be in place for biological sex and single-sex spaces”.

She said it makes clear that safety and safeguarding for all children must always be schools’ primary concern.

Speaking to reporters, Kemi Badenoch, minister for women and equalities, added: “This is comprehensive guidance. It can’t be the case that teachers have a lot of leeway, and we’re also forcing them to tell parents.

“What we are doing is making sure that for those schools who are very confused about what to do, and are getting very bad advice from organisations like Stonewall among others, understand what the government believes should be done.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT said on initial look, the draft proposals “leave a lot of questions unanswered”, leaving school leaders in “incredibly difficult” positions.

He said the union will be reviewing the draft proposals and will submit a response to the government’s consultation on behalf of members.

Confederation of School Trusts chief executive Leora Cruddas, concerned at the timing of the release of the document, said: “This will make it very challenging to respond to any concerns felt by pupils, parents and staff until schools return in the new year.”

A spokesperson for Mermaids, a transgender youth support charity, said the guidance was “unworkable, out of touch and absurd”.

The spokesperson said: “Rather than listening to trans young people and reflecting best practice of inclusive educators across the UK, the Government has created more confusion for schools and is putting young people at risk.”

What do teachers think?

Teacher Tapp, a daily survey app, asked more than 7,000 teachers their view of the guidance before it was officially published.

The results were split into primary school and secondary school responses:

• 41% of secondary school teachers were concerned guidance could be more divisive than helpful;

• 10% said they would prefer to rely on their own current policy;

• 34% of secondary school teachers said they would appreciate the clarification it could bring;

• 15% were open to whatever is recommended.

Teachers were then asked to what extent the political conversation affected their work.

• 62% of secondary teachers and 76% of primary teachers said it has had no effect.

Teachers were allowed to answer more than one option in the first poll.

‘Does not go far enough’

But in an early indication of potential unease about the measures on the right of the Conservative party, former prime minister Liz Truss said the guidance “does not go far enough”.

She called for a change in the law rather than non-statutory guidance.

Ms Truss said: “I fear that activists and others will be able to exploit loopholes in the guidance and the existing legal framework to pursue their agenda, leaving children at risk of making irreversible changes and with single-sex spaces not sufficiently protected.”

The former prime minister called on government to back her Health and Equality Acts (Amendment) Bill, which she first put to parliament on 6 December.

Under the proposed bill, social transitioning would not be recognised by schools or the state in children, and puberty blockers and hormone treatment for gender dysphoria would be banned for under-18s.

Speaking ahead of the publication of the draft, the prime minister’s spokesperson said it was a “complex area” and it was right to “take the time to get this right”.

UK

Post Office scandal: Daughter has had ‘panic attacks’ since mum was accused of stealing

Published

3 hours ago

July 8, 2025

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Post Office scandal: Daughter has had 'panic attacks' since mum was accused of stealing

The daughter of a Post Office victim has told Sky News she suffered “dark thoughts of suicide” in the years after her mother was accused of stealing.

Kate Burrows was 14 years old when her mother, Elaine Hood, was prosecuted and subsequently convicted in 2003.

The first public inquiry report on the Post Office – examining redress and the “human impact” of the scandal – is due to be published today.

“I’ve suffered with panic attacks from about 14, 15 years old, and I still have them to this day,” Kate said.

“I’ve been in and out of therapy for what feels like most of my adult life and it absolutely categorically goes back to [what happened].”

Kate, along with others, helped set up the charity Lost Chances, supporting the children of Post Office victims. She hopes the inquiry will recognise their suffering.

“It’s important that our voices are heard,” she said. “Not only within the report, but in law actually.

“And then maybe that would be a deterrent for any future cover-ups, that it’s not just the one person it’s the whole family [affected].”

Her sister, Rebecca Richards, who was 18 when their mother was accused, described how an eating disorder “escalated” after what happened.

“When my mum was going through everything, my only control of that situation was what food I put in my body,” she said.

She also said that seeing her mother at court when she was convicted, would “stay with me forever”.

“The two investigators were sat in front of my dad and I, sniggering and saying ‘we’ve got this one’.

“To watch my mum in the docks handcuffed to a guard… not knowing if she was going to be coming home… that is the most standout memory for me.”

The sisters are hoping the inquiry findings will push Fujitsu into fulfilling a promise they made nearly a year ago – to try and help the children of victims.

Last summer, Kate met with the European boss of the company, Paul Patterson, who said he would look at ways they could support Lost Chances.

Despite appearing at the inquiry in November last year and saying he would not “stay silent” on the issue, Kate said there has been little movement in terms of support.

“It’s very much a line of ‘we’re going to wait until the end of the inquiry report to decide’,” she said.

“But Mr Patterson met us in person, looked us in the eye, and we shared the most deeply personal stories and he said we will do something… they need to make a difference.”

Fujitsu, who developed the faulty Horizon software, has said it is in discussions with the government regarding a contribution to compensation.

The inquiry will delve in detail into redress schemes, of which four exist, three controlled by the government and one by the Post Office.

Victims of the scandal say they are hoping Sir Wyn Williams, chair of the inquiry, will recommend that the government and the Post Office are removed from the redress schemes as thousands still wait for full and fair redress.

A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said they were “grateful” for the inquiry’s work, describing “the immeasurable suffering” victims endured and saying the government has “quadrupled the total amount paid to affected postmasters”, with more than £1bn having now been paid to thousands of claimants.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK

UK

Drones are sending ‘overwhelming amounts’ of drugs into prisons – and could help inmates escape, report warns

Published

10 hours ago

July 7, 2025

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Drones are sending 'overwhelming amounts' of drugs into prisons - and could help inmates escape, report warns

Sophisticated drones sending “overwhelming amounts” of drugs and weapons into prisons represent a threat to national security, according to an annual inspection report by the prisons watchdog.

HMP chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor has warned criminal gangs are targeting jails and making huge profits selling contraband to a “vulnerable and bored” prison population.

The watchdog boss reiterated his concerns about drones making regular deliveries to two Category A jails, HMP Long Lartin and HMP Manchester, which hold “the most dangerous men in the country”, including terrorists.

Mr Taylor said “the police and prison service have in effect ceded the airspace” above these two high-security prisons, which he said was compromising the “safety of staff, prisoners, and ultimately that of the public”.

“The possibility now whereby we’re seeing packages of up to 10kg brought in by serious organised crime means that in some prisons there is now a menu of drugs available,” he said. “Anything from steroids to cannabis, to things like spice and cocaine.”

“Drone technology is moving fast… there is a level of risk that’s posed by drones that I think is different from what we’ve seen in the past,” warned the chief inspector – who also said there’s a “theoretical risk” that a prisoner could escape by being carried out of a jail by a drone.

He urged the prison service to “get a grip” of the issue, stating: “We’d like to see the government, security services, coming together, using technology, using intelligence, so that this risk doesn’t materialise.”

The report makes clear that physical security – such as netting, windows and CCTV – is “inadequate” in some jails, including Manchester, with “inexperienced staff” being “manipulated”.

Mr Taylor said there are “basic” measures which could help prevent the use of drones, such as mowing the lawn, “so we don’t get packages disguised as things like astro turf”.

Responding to the report, the Prison Advice and Care Trust (PACT) said: “The ready access to drugs is deeply worrying and is undermining efforts to create places of rehabilitation.”

Mr Taylor’s report found that overcrowding continues to be what he described as a “major issue”, with increasing levels of violence against staff and between prisoners, combined with a lack of purposeful activity.

Some 20% of adult men responding to prisoner surveys said they felt unsafe at the time of the inspection, increasing to 30% in the high security estate.

Andrea Coomber, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “This report is a checklist for all the reasons the government must prioritise reducing prison numbers, urgently.

“Sentencing reform is essential, and sensible steps to reduce the prison population would save lives.”

The report comes after the government pledged to accept most of the recommendations proposed in the independent review of sentencing policy, with the aim of freeing up around 9,500 spaces.

Those measures won’t come into effect until spring 2026.

Prisons Minister Lord Timpson said Mr Taylor’s findings show “the scale of the crisis” the government “inherited”, with “prisons dangerously full, rife with drugs and violence”.

He said: “After just 500 prison places added in 14 years, we’re building 14,000 extra – with 2,400 already delivered – and reforming sentencing to ensure we never run out of space again.

“We’re also investing £40m to bolster security, alongside stepping up cooperation with police to combat drones and stop the contraband which fuels violence behind bars.”