Pupils in England should be taught what the law is on biological sex and gender reassignment, but schools must be “careful not to endorse any particular view or teach it as fact”, according to new government guidance.
The updated relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) guidance, published on Tuesday, says schools “should not teach as fact that all people have a gender identity” and must avoid any suggestion that social transitioning offers a “simple solution” to feelings of distress or discomfort.
It also says schools should avoid using cartoons or diagrams that “oversimplify”, that could be interpreted as being aimed at younger children, or that perpetuate stereotypes or encourage pupils to question their gender.
The long-awaited guidance abandons many of the changes proposed by the last government, including a ban on teaching the concept of gender identity and strict age limits, which would have prevented under-nines from receiving sex education.
The Labour government said instead that schools should develop the RSHE curriculum to be “relevant, age and stage appropriate and accessible to pupils in their area”. While it recommended that primary schools teach sex education in years 5 and 6, in line with what pupils learn about conception and birth, it is not compulsory.
“Primary schools should consult parents about the content of anything that will be taught within sex education,” the guidance says. “This process should include offering parents support in talking to their children about sex education and how to link this with what is being taught in school as well as advice about parents’ right to request withdrawal from sex education.”
The guidance allows primary school teachers to discuss the sharing of naked images or online sexual content if it is something that is affecting their pupils, and they can discuss online sexual content where they know that children have seen pornography.
The 47-page document also addresses online gambling, strangulation and suffocation, sextortion, deepfakes and suicide prevention, as well as “incel” culture and the links between pornography and misogyny.
It has been broadly welcomed by school leaders, but some campaigners have expressed concerns about “watering down” earlier proposals on gender.
Helen Joyce, director of advocacy at Sex Matters, said: “It’s a big shame that the Department for Education has watered down sections of the draft guidance it inherited from the previous government which sought to counter the trans activist positions adopted by many schools over the past decade.”
Bayswater, a support group for “parents of trans-identified adolescents and young people”, said: “The new RSHE guidance fails to address the serious safeguarding issues around teaching gender identity to children.
“As well as significantly weakening the clarity offered by the earlier draft guidance, this version introduces topics which are likely to be harmful to vulnerable children. For example, direct teaching about suicide may actually undermine suicide prevention strategies.”
Margaret Mulholland, a special needs and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), welcomed “the clarity over biological sex and gender reassignment” in the guidance.
“There are strongly held and sometimes polarised views over these issues and it is important to have a clear set of national guidelines to follow.”
The government is expected to publish separate guidance for schools and colleges on gender-questioning pupils shortly.
Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, welcomed the fact that age limits have been dropped.
“Schools already work hard to ensure that teaching is age-appropriate and this approach gives them the vital flexibility to respond to their own community and the needs of pupils in their schools,” he said.
“However, the new guidance asks schools to teach more content with only the same amount of time available. Government cannot continue to impose additions to the curriculum without proposing how the additional teaching time needed is to be found.”
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
