Government issues new draft gender guidance for schools

New government guidance advises schools to take a “very careful approach” toward children who request to transition to a different gender. The guidance, which is in draft and open to consultation, would keep single-sex spaces but allow pupils to adopt different pronouns as long as parents are informed.

The Government have issued the draft 2026 revisions to Keeping children safe in education, the statutory safeguarding framework that schools are expected to follow. The new revision contains guidance about gender for the first time since it was promised in 2018.

The guidance protects single-sex spaces within schools and advises that no child should feel unsafe through inappropriate mixed sex sport. It gives guidance that there should be no shared toilet spaces for children over eight, and that mixed sleeping arrangements should not be allowed on school trips. If a child requests to use a toilet of the opposite sex, alternative arrangements such as a gender-neutral facility must be provided where possible.

Schools should be careful not to initiate steps to social transitioning, such as changing names, pronouns and clothes, and parents should be involved in the “vast majority” of cases where a child questions their gender. The expectation is that social transitioning in primary schools should only happen “very rarely”.

The draft guidance also makes it clear that teachers should be aware of a child’s birth sex, in order to take appropriate action as needed, and this should be recorded in school records.

The guidance is supported by Dr Hillary Cass, whose review in 2024 highlighted issues with gender care and research. Dr Cass said: “The updated guidance is practical and reflects the recommendations of my review, giving schools much needed clarity on their legal duties so they can support children with confidence.”

She went on to tell the BBC, “What comes across quite strongly in the guidance is that proceeding with a social transition is going to be very much the exception, rather than the rule”.

“Too many times during my review I heard about schools having socially transitioned young people without involving parents, and parents were in possession of all sorts of knowledge about what's going on that the school just wouldn't know about,” she said.

Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said about the guidance, “we’re following the evidence, including Dr Hilary Cass’s expert review, to give teachers the clarity they need to ensure the safeguarding and wellbeing of gender questioning children and young people.  This is about pragmatic support for teachers, reassurance for parents, and above all, the safety and wellbeing of children and young people.”

Maya Forstater, CEO of Sex Matters, was critical about the idea of social transitioning within schools, saying, “They are being encouraged to think that children have a 'birth sex' as well as some other concept of sex. This has no basis in law or reality, and undermines safeguarding.”

The Government have opened the draft guidance to consultation until 22nd April, after which the final guidance will be published ready for schools to follow from September.