Under the new guidance released by the UK Department of Education, teachers in the country have been told they do not have to address students by their chosen pronouns. The draft document states that children, teachers or staff at a school should “not be required to adopt the use of preferred pronouns”.
The draft adds that 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.
Commenting on the decision, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said teachers or pupils should not be pressured into using different pronouns.
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The draft takes a ‘parents first’ approach under which they should be informed at the earliest if their ward demands to have a different gender at school than the one assigned at birth.
“Parents’ views must also be at the heart of all decisions made about their children,” added Keegan.
Despite the plethora of changes, former prime minister Liz Truss said the guidance provided “insufficient protection and clarity”. Notably, Truss previously presented a private member’s bill that called for social transitioning to not be recognised by schools for under-18s.
Other key points
The new guidance takes a cautious approach to the issue. It states that teachers do not have a “general duty” to allow pupils to socially transition and are urged to use caution, including “watchful waiting periods, and ensuring parents are fully consulted before any decision is taken”.
“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 adds.
Sleeping arrangements like dormitories, tents and shared rooms should be sex separated. A children who is questioning their gender should wear te same uniform standard as other children of their sex.
The new Gender Questioning Guidance, promised since 2018, was supposed to be released before the summer holidays but was delayed to ensure it met the “high expectations” of teachers and parents.
(With inputs from agencies)
