Five years ago the UK government said it would issue guidance to schools in relation to transgender students.
The Department for Education has announced it will publish new guidance for English schools this term.
Teachers say it cannot come soon enough.
According to The BBC:
Finding a school willing to talk about its transgender policies is almost impossible.
BBC News contacted head teachers across England but almost all were too anxious to be interviewed on camera. They did not want to draw attention to their school – or pupils who identify as trans or non-binary.
In 2018, the government said it would work with the human-rights watchdog to publish “comprehensive guidance for schools on how to support trans pupils”. Without it, many schools are making their own decisions, such as whether to introduce gender-neutral toilets or changing rooms – and how they are used.
Some teachers told BBC News they worried whatever they did would “not only be criticised but publicly vilified” and, while schools needed clarity, it was a “no-win” situation.
Others said they might have to consult solicitors, amid fears of doing the “wrong thing”.
Head teacher Kevin Sexton told BBC News many schools wanted better guidance and advice to help make decisions “in the best interests of the child”.
His, Chesterfield High School, a mixed-sex comprehensive in Crosby, Merseyside, has developed its own approach.
The school has more than 1,200 pupils, 10-20 of whom identify as transgender, non-binary or gender fluid.
There are single-sex and gender-neutral toilets, with floor-to-ceiling lockable cubicles and a supervising member of staff. And private PE changing rooms, used by all the trans pupils, are available to all.
The school’s support for children questioning their gender identity had been developed over the past decade, Mr Sexton said.
“We’ve tried to create a school that’s tolerant and inclusive,” he said.
“We’ll work with individual children to actually think about what they want to use and access – and it becomes really manageable.”
Chesterfield High had never faced a challenge from parents – but other head teachers had.
Using the survey tool Teacher Tapp, BBC News asked almost 7,000 teachers in England a series of questions about their experience with transgender pupils.
About 8% of primary-school teachers said they taught trans or non-binary pupils, compared with 75% in secondary.
And just over half said they would not be very or at all confident about the next steps to take if a child wanted to change their name, use different pronouns or change their appearance, hairstyle or clothes – what is known as socially transitioning.
When and how schools should involve parents if a child wishes to identify as a gender different to their sex recorded at birth – and what to do if a parent disagrees – are among the most controversial matters the guidance is expected to address.
A report into gender-identity services in England says socially transitioning may have significant psychological effects – and better information is needed about its outcomes.
And last year, an NHS England consultation proposed socially transitioning should be considered in certain circumstances only, such as to alleviate or prevent “clinically significant distress”.
But about three-quarters of the teachers in the Teacher Tapp survey said their school would support a child who wished to socially transition.
And 39% of the secondary teachers who responded said they would support this, regardless of parental consent.
