The law is clear for schools
Schools need to know, record and refer to every child’s sex to keep them safe.
Schools must be clear that boys are male and girls are female.
The law is clear
The terms “sex”, “woman” and “man” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex. (FWS v Scottish Ministers)
Schools are required by law to register each pupil’s sex and to pass this information to the child’s next school upon transfer.
All children deserve to learn in an environment that is calm, safe and supportive, where they are treated with dignity and safeguarded from danger. To do this schools need to:
- know what sex each child is
- have simple, clear rules and routines of behaviour designed to keep everyone safe
- use clear language about girls and boys to communicate rules and expectations.
This means that schools cannot:
- record a child as anything other than the sex that they are
- admit a child as if they were the opposite sex (for example, to a school for the opposite sex)
- misrepresent a child’s sex to others
- permit pupils to use opposite-sex toilets, showers or changing rooms
- enable pupils to participate in sports or other lessons provided for pupils of the opposite sex on the basis of “gender identity”
- promise children that they can grow up to be the opposite sex, or that their sex can be kept confidential.
Schools and education authorities must act now!
The Department for Education and the Welsh and Scottish Governments should provide simple, clear guidance to schools. The Department for Education in Northern Ireland has already done so.
Even without this guidance, schools have a duty of care to ensure the safety, wellbeing and development of students and colleagues. Maintaining a safe environment, safeguarding pupils and avoiding unlawful discrimination means they need to follow the law, and be clear about the two sexes.
What you can do
- Use our school check to check your child’s school policy and raise issues with the Head and Governors.
- Share our model policy with your child’s school or your local authority.
- Write to your elected representative and the Minister for Education calling for clear, simple sex-based guidance for schools, like the Department for Education in Northern Ireland’s.