Reverse damaging changes to the Keeping Children Safe In Education Statutory Guidance

Dear Bridget Phillipson

The Family Planning Association is very concerned about changes to the 2024 Keeping Children Safe In Education (KCSIE) statutory guidance which schools must follow from 1 September.

On 24 May, the day before parliament was dissolved for the election, the previous government released the 2024 draft guidance.

Our concerns

We are concerned about changes that have been made to sections 205 to 209 on page 55.

In the 2023 guidance, the equivalent sections are 203 to 205 on page 51 – see below for details.

There are some changes to this section on LGBT children and young people that we would argue go beyond what can be considered technical. They are referred to in Annex F as substantive changes.

• The changes remove all reference to trans children and transphobic bullying.

• All children and young people deserve equality, dignity and respect. These changes do not support trans children or give teachers the guidance they need to keep children safe.

• The changes imply that trans children and any child questioning their gender are always a safeguarding risk.

• Teachers are asked to follow non-statutory, possibly discriminatory draft guidance.

• The guidance states that changes have been made to “comply with gender questioning children guidance terminology” and that “Schools should refer to our Guidance for Schools and Colleges in relation to Gender Questioning Children”. It also repeats wording included in the Gender Questioning guidance.

• Yet the Gender Questioning guidance is non-statutory, has not yet been finalised, and the results of a consultation on it have not yet been published.

We urge you to reverse the changes to Sections 205 to 209 before 1 September to help ensure that the guidance remains inclusive and supportive of trans children.

Yours sincerely

Adam Jepsen
Chief Health and Sex Education Officer
Family Planning Association

The changes in full

2023 guidance

Children who are lesbian, gay, bi, or trans (LGBT)

203. The fact that a child or a young person may be LGBT is not in itself an inherent risk factor for harm. However, children who are LGBT can be targeted by other children. In some cases, a child who is perceived by other children to be LGBT (whether they are or not) can be just as vulnerable as children who identify as LGBT.

204. Risks can be compounded where children who are LGBT lack a trusted adult with whom they can be open. It is therefore vital that staff endeavour to reduce the additional barriers faced and provide a safe space for them to speak out or share their concerns with members of staff.

205. LGBT inclusion is part of the statutory Relationships Education and Relationship and Sex Education and Health Education curriculum and there is a range of support available to help schools counter homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic bullying and Abuse.

Proposed 2024 update

Children who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or gender questioning

N.B. This section remains under review, pending the outcome of the gender questioning children guidance consultation, and final gender questioning guidance documents being published.

205. A child or young person being lesbian, gay, or bisexual is not in itself an inherent risk factor for harm, however, they can sometimes be targeted by other children. In some cases, a child who is perceived by other children to be lesbian, gay, or bisexual (whether they are or not) can be just as vulnerable as children who are.

206. However, the Cass review identified that caution is necessary for children questioning their gender as there remain many unknowns about the impact of social transition and children may well have wider vulnerabilities, including having complex mental health and psychosocial needs, and in some cases additional diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

207. It recommended that when families/carers are making decisions about support for gender questioning children, they should be encouraged to seek clinical help and advice. When parents are supporting pre-pubertal children, clinical services should ensure that they can be seen as early as possible by a clinical professional with relevant experience.

208. As such, when supporting a gender questioning child, schools should take a cautious approach and consider the broad range of their individual needs, in partnership with the child’s parents (other than in the exceptionally rare circumstances where involving parents would constitute a significant risk of harm to the child), including any clinical advice that is available and how to address wider vulnerabilities such as the risk of bullying. Schools should refer to our Guidance for Schools and Colleges in relation to Gender Questioning Children, when deciding how to proceed.

209. Risks can be compounded where children lack trusted adults with whom they can be open. It is therefore vital that staff endeavour to reduce the additional barriers faced and create a culture where they can speak out or share their concerns with members of staff.