Government will not be hurried on school guidance after gender ruling – minister

The Government has said it will not be hurried into publishing guidance for schools on how to support children who are questioning their gender, after the Supreme Court ruled on the legal definition of a woman.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said it was important the right information was provided to schools, as she accused shadow education secretary Laura Trott of “shameless opportunism” in asking why ministers had not published it.

Draft guidance for schools and colleges on how best to support pupils has been on hold since Labour entered Government. It was published by the Conservative government in December 2023, with a consultation ending in March last year.

Ms Phillipson said guidance would be issued later this year.

Speaking at education questions in the House of Commons on Monday, Conservative shadow minister Ms Trott said: “Despite the Education Secretary’s best attempts to rewrite history, on this side of the House we didn’t need a court to tell us biological sex was real.

“The Education Secretary has got the draft guidance for schools on gender questioning on her desk. The final Cass report was a year ago. If she is serious about protecting women and girls, why hasn’t she already published the guidance?”

The draft guidance from 2023 said parents “should not be excluded” from decisions taken by a school or college relating to requests for a child to “socially transition”, such as wishes to change names, pronouns and clothing.

The draft guidance said schools and colleges should make parents aware if their child requests a change – except in the “very rare situation” where parental involvement may raise a “significant risk of harm” to the child.

It added that schools “must always protect single-sex spaces” with regard to toilets, showers and changing rooms.

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling, teaching unions said they were “concerned” about the implications for their pupils. One union, the NASUWT, passed an emergency motion at its conference days after the judgment to warn against introducing “knee-jerk policy changes”.

Ms Phillipson said she was serious about protecting the rights of women and girls, and pointed to her work running a women’s refuge to help people “fleeing some of the most unimaginable abuse that anyone could ever see”.

She added: “This is a sensitive area. We are talking about children’s well-being, often very vulnerable children experiencing distress. Whilst I recognise the important need to provide clarity for school leaders, and the guidance that they do need, we have to get this right.

“I would just to say to her, that it was only a matter of months before the general election that the party opposite published draft guidance for consultation.

“It is right that we take stock following the full and final review from Dr Cass, which we accept and should be the basis of how we take things forward.”

Ms Trott asked if Ms Phillipson would apologise to women with “gender-critical” views. She said: “She’s more concerned about listening to student union activists than women. Will the Education Secretary now apologise to these gender-critical women who were forced to spend eye-watering sums on legal fees, fighting for their rights, due to her actions?”

Ms Phillipson said: “From that question, I don’t think you would really know who was in government for the last 14 years. They had ample opportunity to clarify the position, and actually the ruling of the Supreme Court was that Labour’s 2010 Equality Act was the basis for the judgment that confirmed that biological sex should be before the provision of single-sex services.”

She added: “They were also clear that everyone within our country deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, and that trans people continue to receive protection within the law.

“The party opposite published guidance a matter of months before the general election in draft form, it is right that we take this issue seriously, that we get it right. We don’t need this shameless opportunism, this is children’s well-being.”