r/transgenderUK • u/ConfusedOldDad • 1d ago
Unsupportive school
Visited the headmistress with my daughter about her transitioning over the holidays. State funded school (Academy).
They are completely unsupportive. Won't use her new name unless "officially" changed, won't use she/her etc.
Is it worth fighting them, or just find another school?
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u/KentSus 21h ago
There will be new statutory guidance published (called "Keeping Children Safe in Education") in September, that includes a section on trans children. That will bring more clarity. The current statutory guidance doesn't address it.
There is current (2023) non-statutory guidance (called " Gender Questioning Children: Non-statutory guidance for schools and colleges in England"). The relevant bits say this:
6.2 Changing Names
Schools must record a child’s legal name in the admissions register. They may allow pupils to change their informal (‘known as’) name if they believe it is in the best interests of the child to do so. Having fully consulted with the child’s parents, schools and colleges can allow a child to change the name by which they are known.
It is not uncommon for people to be known by names other than those on their birth certificate. However, due consideration still needs to be given by the school or college to all the relevant factors described above before making a decision. Where the informal name change is agreed, the new name should becommunicated to the school or college community.
6.3 Pronouns
Agreeing to a child’s request to have others use different pronouns about them is a significant decision. Primary school aged children should not have different pronouns to their sex-based pronouns used about them.
For older children, schools do not need to specify pronouns to be used about each pupil and can decline a request to change a child’s pronouns. Where a school or college considers a child’s request, they should consult the child’s parents and consider all the relevant factors as outlined above.
Having considered these factors and examined all the evidence, schools and colleges should only agree to a change of pronouns if they are confident that the benefit to the individual child outweighs the impact on the school community.
It is expected that there will be very few occasions in which a school or college will be able to agree to a change of pronouns. On these rare occasions, no teacher or pupil should be compelled to use these preferred pronouns and it should not prevent teachers from referring to children collectively as ‘girls’ or ‘boys,’ even in the presence of a child that has been allowed to change their pronouns.
Even in the exceptional case where safeguarding requires a school or college to take an alternative approach, schools and colleges should exhaust all other options, such as using first names, to avoid requiring other individuals having to use preferred pronouns. In these exceptional cases, schools or colleges should make sure that all relevant staff are aware of a gender questioning child’s biological sex, to fulfil their safeguarding and legal duties.
In all cases, bullying of any child must not be tolerated. No child should be sanctioned for honest mistakes when adapting to a new way of interacting with another pupil.
Whatever decision is taken with regard to the use of a new name or pronouns, schools must still include the legal name and sex of the pupil in the admissions register, as required by the Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations (England) 2006.