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5. Responding to Requests and Engaging Parents
Children questioning their gender may make different requests. Schools and colleges
should not proactively initiate action towards a child’s social transition. Action should only
be considered after it has been explicitly requested by the child, and the steps set out
below have been followed, including engaging with parents. There could be instances
where children disclose first to their teachers that they may be questioning their gender. If
there is no change being requested, teachers can listen respectfully about a child’s
feelings without automatically alerting parents, but, for safeguarding reasons, cannot
promise confidentiality.If a school or college wishes to accommodate degrees of social
transition, they are advised to do the following:
• Allow for watchful waiting: Wait for a period of time before considering a
request, to ensure it is a sustained and properly thought through decision. This
period of ‘watchful waiting’ may help to ensure unnecessary action is not
undertaken.
• Make parents aware: If a child requests a change, schools and colleges should
make parents aware of the situation and can point them to support outside the
school environment (for example, pastoral or medical support) if they request more
information. The only exception to this is the very rare situation where informing
parents might raise a significant risk of harm to the child.
If, after a period of watchful waiting, the child would still like their request to be
granted, schools and colleges, involving their designated safeguarding lead, are
advised to take into account the following points:
o The school or college’s safeguarding obligations: Legal duties will differ
depending on the request. These are outlined in the guidance below.
Where the guidance advises that schools or colleges should adopt a certain
approach, or are able to set clear rules in a particular area, this should
apply in the overwhelming majority of cases and be the starting point for
decision making. However, in some areas, the school or college must be
prepared to depart from the expected approach or from those rules in the
exceptional case where it is necessary to do so to safeguard and promote
the welfare of a child. In doing so, they should note that safeguarding
requires an individual to consider what is in the best interests of the child,
which may not be the same as the child’s wishes. The guidance states
where schools or colleges do not need to consider an exception.
o The view of parents: It is important that the views of the child’s parents
should carry great weight and be properly considered. We would expect
parental consent to be required in the vast majority of cases.
o The age of the child: Age is a factor whenever making a decision of this
nature. Requests from younger children in primary schools should be
treated with greater caution. They are more vulnerable as they are less able