Black Country councils move to clarify policies on accommodating trans children
Schools across the Black Country are responsible for how they treat children who identify as transgender, councils have said.
It comes after attorney general, Suella Braverman, said schools do not have to accommodate children who want to change gender under current legislation.
Essentially, under current legislation, schools can legally refuse to use trans children’s preferred pronouns, according to the attorney general.
The Government is drawing up formal guidance for schools on gender dysphoria and children who identify as transgender, which local councils are waiting for.
When asked how they would like to see children's gender preferences handled in schools, Wolverhampton, Walsall and Sandwell Council said schools should refer to Government guidance.
Councillor Simon Hackett, Sandwell’s cabinet member for children and education, said: "Essentially, schools will manage this as part of the curriculum and work sensitively on an individual basis.
"Issues of identity and association are more widely discussed across schools and society enabling an open dialogue between students, their parents/carers and schools."
Wolverhampton council moved to re-establish its support and stand by the LGBT+ community.
A spokesperson for the council said: "We will always encourage our schools to follow Government guidance, however, as a council, we proudly support and stand by our LGBT+ community.
"Equality, diversity and inclusion are ideals that run through our DNA and we will provide help and support to our schools so that they can ensure that all pupils are respected equally.
"We have not yet received the updated guidance from the Department for Education but will share it with schools as soon as we are able to do so."
Walsall Council added: "All schools must have a written policy in place for the relationships education and sex education curriculum. This is the responsibility of each individual school.
"Policies are typically approved by the governing body, or the appropriate body if that is not the governing body (for example, the trust board) and it is they that decide the outline of their curriculum and consult with parents and carers on the policy before finalising and implementing it.
"We recommend all schools in Walsall follow DfE guidance in respect of their curriculum and delivery."
The current DfE guidance can be found at gov.uk/guidance/plan-your-relationships-sex-and-health-curriculum#creating-a-policy-for-the-new-curriculum.
