Commenting on the government’s draft non-statutory guidance for schools and colleges, Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“This is typical of Government to put out important guidance in the last week of term, a very busy period for schools.
‘We need to remember that what is under discussion is a piece of non-statutory guidance, which is still in draft and out for consultation for 12 weeks. It is also important to underline that schools do not need to change their current policies at this stage. The NEU will consider the document fully and take part in the consultation in January, after looking at the detail of what the government has proposed.
‘Schools work hard to be sensitive, practical, and responsive to the well-being of students who are non-binary or questioning their gender identity. But there’s also a much wider picture beyond this guidance from which the Government is hiding– teachers need time for training on relevant parts of the curriculum, schools can’t fund much needed pastoral support posts, and where LGBT+ students face mental health issues they experience very long CAMHS waiting lists”.