A coalition unhappy with the proposed transgender guidance for schools has called for it to be withdrawn and for the Government to rethink its approach.
The group of organisations has published its own guide for people responding to the consultation, advising them to state that schools and colleges should only engage with parents of a gender-questioning child “with the explicit consent” of that young person.
Long-awaited draft guidance for schools and colleges on how best to support pupils questioning their gender was published by the Department for Education (DfE) in December.
It stated that “parents should not be excluded” from decisions taken by a school or college relating to requests for a child to “socially transition”, such as wishes to change names, pronouns and clothing.
It added that schools and colleges should make parents aware if their child requests a change – except in the “very rare situation” where parental involvement may raise a “significant risk of harm” to the child.
Consultation on the guidance runs until March 12.
The organisations Mermaids, LGBT Foundation, Stonewall, Gendered Intelligence and Trans Learning Partnership have now produced a guide advising people how to make clear their opposition to the proposals.
The coalition said the guide is aimed at helping individuals and organisations to respond effectively to the consultation of the draft guidance.
On the issue of pronouns, the guide advises respondents they can describe the negative impact of refusing to use someone’s pronouns and that they might state that “not using a trans pupil’s chosen pronouns (no matter their age) could be considered discrimination or harassment”.
