Trans pupil guidance for schools to be part of statutory safeguarding guidance

New guidance will form part of Keeping Children Safe in Education from September 2026.

The draft Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance, which is currently open for consultation, is proposed to include new policies that schools and academy trusts will be required to follow in relation to pupils who are questioning their gender.

Once the guidance is finalised and implemented in September 2026, it will become statutory, meaning schools and academy trusts must have regard to it when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

By placing this guidance within a safeguarding framework, the Government is seeking to put the guidance on a statutory footing, to clarify the responsibilities of schools, and to focus on their duties to safeguard children and to act in the best interests of all children when supporting children questioning their gender.

What does the draft guidance set out?

The guidance recognises that, in recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of children who are questioning their gender.

The guidance states that schools should not initiate steps in relation to social transitioning, and should only take reactive action to requests raised by a child or their parent. Primary schools should exercise particular caution and the guidance suggests that full social transition while at primary school should happen rarely.

Parental involvement

If a child asks for support around their gender, schools are encouraged to bring parents and carers into the conversation as early as possible. The draft guidance states that parents play a leading role in a child’s life, and this should not be an exception.

The Cass Review highlighted that gender-questioning children generally do better when they have a strong, supportive relationship with their families. The guidance states that, in most cases, schools, parents, and carers should be working together in the best interests of the child when considering a request to support social transition.

The guidance addresses how schools might deal with conversations with parents about their gender-questioning child, suggesting that schools can help by offering to have a staff member sit in on a conversation between the parents and child, or talk to parents on the child’s behalf if that is appropriate. If there is any reason to think involving parents might put the child at risk, the guidance states that schools must speak with the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) first before making contact or taking any action.

The guidance predominantly applies when a child is asking for changes at school as part of a social transition. It is clear that in circumstances where a child simply confides in a member of staff about how they are feeling, but doesn’t ask for anything to change, then that conversation should stay confidential, unless there is a safeguarding issue.

Consideration of a child’s best interests

The guidance highlights that schools have a statutory responsibility to safeguard all children and to promote their welfare. This includes children who are questioning their gender, as well as other pupils.

This means the first step is to assess what is genuinely in the best interests of the child while taking into account the interests of other pupils. The outcome of that assessment may not always align fully with the child’s expressed wishes, particularly in decisions involving social transition.

The guidance states that, in most cases, schools are expected to work collaboratively with parents to reach a decision that supports the child’s overall welfare. They should also take into account any available clinical evidence or guidance, and seek further professional input where appropriate, for example, from the SENCO or the DSL. Schools should conside r any wider factors influencing the child, such as underlying health needs or neurodiversity, and approach decision‑making cautiously and thoughtfully.

Statutory and regulatory compliance

The guidance refers to the relevant legal duties acting on schools and academy trusts. Schools and colleges must comply with their duties under the Equality Act 2010 and Human Rights Act 1998. They also have a duty to maintain the highest safeguarding standards for all children and young people in their care.

The School Premises (England) Regulations 2012 and the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 set out requirements on schools and academy trusts in relation to the use of toilets, changing rooms and showers and these are summarised in the draft guidance. The draft guidance states that schools must not allow children into toilets designated for the opposite biological sex, including in cases of children who are socially transitioning.

The draft guidance also makes clear that to comply with safeguarding duties, schools and academy trusts must not allow a child to share overnight accommodation with a child of the opposite sex. Where a child does not wish to share accommodation with a child of the same biological sex, alternative arrangements should be made where possible, such as providing a separate room for the child.

Where a school has determined that certain sports should be separated by sex for safety reasons, pupils must not take part in sports designated for the opposite sex.

Next steps for schools and academy trusts

This is an area where schools and trusts can often find themselves in the middle of very strongly-held views on different sides. Some school leaders have welcomed the greater clarity provided by the draft guidance. However, commentators on different sides of the debate have expressed concern: on the one hand that the guidance continues to allow for schools to support a pupil to transition, on the other that the blanket rule against trans pupils using facilities for the opposite biological sex will create discrimination and privacy risks.  

Schools and academy trusts should review the draft guidance, along with other proposed updates to Keeping Children Safe in Education, and consider responding to the consultation to raise any concerns and views in line with their context and experience.

Schools and trusts should review their own relevant policies and be prepared to update these in line with the final version of the guidance, which we would expect to be published before the start of the next academic year. Wrigleys’ education team would be happy to assist schools and trusts with this review.

The consultation and draft guidance are available here: Keeping children safe in education: proposed revisions 2026 - GOV.UK

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The information in this article is necessarily of a general nature. The law stated is correct at the date (stated above) this article was first posted to our website.

Specific advice should be sought for specific situations. If you have any queries or need any legal advice, please feel free to contact Wrigleys Solicitors.