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How can you ensure young people can express their gender identity in school without experiencing discrimination or being made to feel uncomfortable? And how do these concerns intersect with legal and safeguarding requirements? Teacher Debbie Hayton explains all in this guide ➧
There are more children in our schools seeking support for difficulties in the development of their gender identity than ever before. In 2009-10, just 97 children were referred to the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), based at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, which is the only public service of its kind in Great Britain. Referrals have increased every year since, with the number for 2017-18 rising to 2,519, a 25 per cent increase compared with the previous year.
While the majority of these children are of secondary age, in 2017-18, 246 were of primary age and approximately 13 of Reception age.
The figures for 2018-19 are imminent, and are expected to rise again.
Clearly, this is something every school, and every teacher, needs to consider. These young people are becoming more visible, and more teachers are being – and will be – asked for support and information. Teachers need to be upskilled and all pupils need to be given the right information to properly understand and support their peers.
However, doing this is becoming increasingly difficult. Schools are responsible for keeping transgender children safe and providing an environment within which they can flourish alongside their classmates. Unfortunately, upholding this duty of care is made more difficult by a wider political debate over transgender rights, which has become even more toxic than Brexit.
In these debates, it is easy to overlook the human impact. But every data point refers to a real child: a young person struggling with the expectations that society places on them because of their sex. So how can we best support these young people?
While I have first-hand experience to draw from – I transitioned in 2012 after struggling with gender dysphoria since my childhood – many teachers and school leaders will be on unfamiliar ground when one of their pupils announces that they are transgender.
Even when people have some knowledge – perhaps through friends and family members who have transitioned – schools still need to know...