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Schools will have to inform parents if students who want to change their gender start using a new name or wearing a different uniform under new government guidelines.
The Department for Education is in the process of drawing up guidance on how state and independent schools should approach safeguarding children with gender dysphoria.
The document, which is still being finalized, states that children who identify with a gender other than their biological sex will not be able to share changing rooms or showers with members of the opposite sex.
Children who are socially transitioning or in doubt about their gender should be provided with alternative facilities where appropriate, as is already the case in some schools for pupils with complex needs.
Biologically transitioned boys will not be allowed to join girls' teams in certain contact and competitive school sports and vice versa.
Social transition is the process by which children adopt the name, pronouns, and expression, as well as clothing and hairstyles, of their preferred gender identity that differs from their sex at birth.
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Under the new guidelines, schools are expected to tell parents if students want to change their gender, start using a different name or wear a different school uniform.
There is an exception where information may not be shared with parents and these are when the child is believed to be at risk at home.
Although children and adolescents in the UK can legally undergo some elements of medical transition, such as being prescribed blockers during puberty, they cannot undergo gender reassignment surgery, which can change their physical appearance and sexual characteristics until they are 18 years old.
The guidelines will apply to all state and independent schools in the country and aim to provide clarity on how schools should approach safeguarding children with gender issues. They will be published in draft at the end of May for discussion.
Great Britain
gender change