Rishi Sunak on collision course with left-wingers over landmark trans guidance for schools – key details revealed
RISHI Sunak is on a collision course with carping left-wingers threatening to sink his landmark trans guidance for schools.
The long-awaited rules stressed that teachers should only let kids behave as the opposite gender in “extremely rare” cases in consultation with their parents.
Granting a child’s request to socially transition – changing their pronouns, name and uniform – must tick several boxes including ensuring they have not been peer pressured.
The impact on fellow pupils must also be considered, and primary school kids questioning their gender “should be treated with greater caution” because they are “more vulnerable”.
Any bid to wear the uniform of the opposite sex also draws the line at swimming costumes.
Ministers hailed the long-awaited trans guidance as a “sea change” approach that protects school staff navigating “an issue that has been hijacked by activists”.
But it was quickly savaged by a chorus of Labour MPs, union chiefs and campaigners.
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The controversial charity Stonewall declared the document “actively dangerous” that would have a “chilling effect” comparable with the historic ban on promoting homosexuality.
Branding it “legally unworkable”, a spokesman added: “If implemented it would inevitably lead to real harm being caused to trans children and young people across England.”
Labour MP Kate Osborne said the guidance was “cruel and unworkable” and suggested teachers should ignore it.
She said: “A refusal to respect children’s wishes or worse, to out them to parents risks causing real harm… I hope schools put their students’ needs ahead of this Government’s hate.”
National Education Union boss Daniel Kebede also said that schools “do not need to change their current policies at this stage” while a 12-week consultation happens.
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It directly contradicts Downing Street’s edict that heads should start obeying the guidance right away.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan insisted the guidance removes “any confusion about the protections that must be in place for biological sex and single-sex spaces”.
Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch added: “It makes clear that schools do not have to accept a child’s request to socially transition, and that teachers or pupils should not be pressured into using different pronouns.”
The Department for Education said “proper use of this guidance means social transition, in practice, should be extremely rare”.
If a child does transition there is no requirement for teachers or fellow pupils to use their new pronouns.
On uniform, the guidance says a child who is questioning their gender should generally “be held to the same uniform standards as other children of their sex”.
But on certain occasions “schools may agree changes or exceptions to the standard school uniform for most uniform items, but not for swimwear”.
Gender-questioning pupils should not compete in sport with the opposite sex where it “risks safety or fairness”.
Single-sex spaces like toilets and changing rooms based on biology must be offered by schools.
Ministers also faced anger from Tory MPs led by Liz Truss complaining the guidance “does not go far enough”.
The former PM 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.”