New government guidance on 'Gender separation in mixed schools'

[enoughisenough12]

(I think they mean sex but hey...)

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/719398/Gender-separation-guidance.pdf

Some useful clarification about the curriculum and single sex sport. I've only glanced at it but it looks constructive at first sight. I did notice para 13:
"It is permissible for toilet and boarding accommodation facilities to be separate as they are captured under existing statutory exceptions. Separate toilet and washing facilities must be provided for boys and girls aged 8 years and over pursuant to Regulation 4 of the School Premises (England) Regulations 2012, which falls within the exemption provided for in Schedule 22 of the Equality Act 2010...."

Doesn't seem to allow for any doubt.

No ambiguity there, and its written in plain English.

This is great, thank you for posting. Looking forward to reading through.

Well yay!

Good news. Good news indeed.

Thank you for posting. No wriggle room here, will be quoting this.

Very good news. Is this a sign of better things to come or simply a minor breakout of sanity that will be quashed as soon as certain folk get wind of it?

Thanks for posting this.

It's non statutory guidance (but note the MUST about single sex toilets). If schools ignore guidance they have to have a very good reason to do that with lots of evidence etc.

Hopefully this gives all those young people - girls AND boys - who were quietly mortified at having to share toilets and changing rooms, clear back up. Schools have really tried hard in recent decades to listen to children, to take account of their wishes, to be more democratic which is why it has been so regressive to see a few organisations going into schools and demanding changes that trample over children's rights to privacy etc.
Presumably schools that have introduced all gender neutral facilities are going to have to review and make changes so that they have single sex and gender neutral. Having said that, I don't believe that many teachers are so out of touch with the sensitivities of adolescents in these times of sexual harassment, eating disorders, anxiety, mental health problems let alone schools with children of different faiths etc that they've actually gone along mixed sex facilities big time.

What great news! Some sense at last.

Easy to print off and deliver to your child's school IF they are going down the gender neutral route.

Is this new guidance/legislation or is it just being clarified?

I take it this just covers England?

Legislation wise, none of this is new. But it is new guidance, presumably to counter some of the misinformation being fed to schools from certain quarters?

The guidance is really helpful as it gets schools to think about ensuring that, if they are targeting one sex for additional support, they are treating the other sex equally, albeit in a different way.

The sports section is usefull, as is the section on allowing sex segregation for some PSHE / sex education. It seems to me to be an outbreak of common sense.

It's new guidance, mostly setting out where schools have the option (but are not obliged) to provide differently for boys and girls. The toilets thing is different, schools are obliged to provide separate toilets by Regulations so that is not optional.

Just bumping this so that any sleepless educators / concerned parents spot it.

As has been pointed out - none of this is new - we've all been so gaslighted that some schools have introduced all gender neutral facilities that are evidently against the law. And it's taken this to point it out. And we're pathetically relieved.

Unbelievable.

I am looking forward to highlighting this with school, they gave me attitude to transgender trend, they are in the cult.

Thanks for clarifying Enough. I wonder which sensible person was behind this (welcome) publication?

Floorplan.
It appears as if the government, having naively handed over money and power to certain organisations (like most of us assuming this was about protecting a marginalised group) have now realised - to their horror - that these organisations have massively exceeded their brief and are promoting all sorts to schools and children - gender neutral toilets being just one part of it. The eroding safeguarding and promoting untested off label drugs to those below the age of consent they know is indefensible no matter how many different ways it is spun. And every time the public become aware of this, there is almost unanimous condemnation.
So they're caught in a bind - not wanting to face down powerful organisations they've promoted while knowing that children must be protected from harm. And with the inevitable lawsuits coming down the line, to be the government that has actively enabled all this must legally and morally be a concern.
It's a mess. Hopefully this is a first step in righting it in relation to children .

Is there any similar guidance for organisations such as Girl Guides? Thanks

So then surely all the schools that allow pupils to use the facilities that accord with their identity would be breaching this guidance? Or is there yet another way around it? None of the kids will have a GRC as they are all under 18. How can the schools possibly justify it?

I get the feeling that the document is intended to re-emphasise the frameworks for religious schools, some of which treat the sexes differently.

That it also bolsters the gender critical case is a bonus.

PeakPants
The guidance doesn't address this but establishing that sex segregated facilities must be provided is critical. It stops in their tracks those telling schools that all facilities must all be gender neutral.

Schools then have to manage the sensitive task of supporting transitioning children and use of facilities. If all schools have some gender neutral toilets / changing rooms alongside single sex and disabled then everyone should be happy. (Until you confront shrinking school budgets and overcrowding but that's a separate debate.) We're back to the 'proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim' so I presume a school will say that they provide some gender neutral toilets / changing rooms for transitioning children (who presumably are self identifying by definition) in order to maintain single sex facilities as required by the law. (warning, am not a lawyer so this is an assumption).

happydappy2
The guidance applies to schools. It might be possible to argue that what is legally required in schools ought to apply to other organisations where children are - certainly the safeguarding laws apply but that would be a stretch and I'm sure voluntary organisations will have all sorts of exemptions.
However, it is important that, despite what we've all been told by some organisations, since 2010 / 2012, providing single sex toilets / washing facilities in schools IS THE LAW. People can't go round telling schools that they know better and advising them to ignore the law.

Some useful background reading:

The regulations regarding school premises in England, which are clear that separate toilets are required for boys and girls over the age of 8

A legal analysis of the court case that caused this guidance to be issued

A variety of stories about Al Hijrah school (an Islamic faith secondary school in Birmingham) in the Birmingham Mail