Schools should not allow gender-questioning children to “socially transition” without their parents’ involvement, according to NHS training and guidance on how staff should respond to pupils exploring their gender identity.
The new online module published by NHS England represents the first national guidance on how to support children with gender-related questions or distress in education settings.
School leaders described the NHS guidance as helpful in contrast to the “vacuum” left by the government’s failure to publish its long-overdue guidance, which Rishi Sunak had promised would be ready earlier this year.
NHS England said the training resources were developed independently of the Department for Education (DfE) and were not intended to influence policy. The material was put together because a need had been identified for additional guidance, a spokesperson said.
The course states: “Recently, 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.”
It defines social transition as allowing a child to adopt a new gender and might involve a school agreeing to refer to the child using a different name and pronoun, or authorising the use of different toilets and facilities.
The training module advises: “Supporting a social transition without the involvement of parents or carers can create complex difficulties within families and is not recommended.
“Secrets between parents or carers and their children are problematic and are likely to create further issues in the future.” It adds that “the priorities of parents and carers should be held as central, so that decision-making is collaborative”.
