Supporting transgender pupils in schools - revised guidance: child rights and wellbeing impact assessment

Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment Template

1. Brief Summary

The revised Supporting Transgender Pupils In School guidance provides non-statutory guidance to independent, grant-aided and education authority schools on the provision of support to transgender pupils in order to secure their full learning potential. The update takes account of recent legal decisions. This is a decision of a strategic nature relating to the rights and wellbeing of children.

Start date of proposal’s development: 9 April 2025

Start date of CRWIA process: The CRWIA is an update to the previous CRWIA established in 2021. The work on the update to the CRWIA began in May 2025

2. With reference given to the requirements of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 which aspects of the proposal are relevant to/impact upon children’s rights?

The non-statutory guidance is for education authority, independent and grant-aided schools. The guidance is relevant to and will impact on children’s rights. Each article has been considered and it has been concluded that there is no impact in the majority of cases. However, there are a number of children’s rights which are impacted positively, as follows:

Article 1 - The guidance will apply to schools and therefore school age children and young people.

Article 2 – The guidance acknowledges and respects UNCRC rights without discrimination.

Article 3 - The guidance makes clear the requirement to seek and take account of children’s and young people’s views, to ensure children and young people are involved in decisions about them and to respect their confidentiality and privacy in relation to their information. Through these measures schools will be able to be assured that they act in the best interests of children and young people.

Article 5 – The guidance recognises parents’ and carers’ role in their child’s life in relation to decisions about a young person’s gender identity. It also provides advice to schools on how to support a young person to discuss this with their family if they have not. This recognises the very difficult circumstances that young people and families can face in relation to decisions about gender identity.

Article 8 – The Implementation Handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child^[1] confirms that gender identity is an aspect of identity. The guidance supports schools and school staff to ensure that a young person who has chosen to undertake gender reassignment whilst attending school will be supported to ensure a positive educational experience. The guidance provides a range of advice which will support schools to respond positively to meet transgender young people’s needs.

Article 12 – The guidance makes clear the requirement to seek and take account of children and young people’s views, to ensure all children and young people are involved in decisions about them and to respect their confidentiality and privacy in relation to their information. This is in line with education authorities duties to “have due regard, so far as is reasonably practicable, to the views (if there is a wish to express them) of the child or young person in decisions that significantly affect that child or young person, taking account of the child or young person’s age and maturity.”

Article 13 - This article enables children and young people to seek, receive and share information, as long as the information is not damaging to themselves or others. The guidance supports the provision of information to children and young people, by informing school staff about sources of advice and information that transgender young people may find useful.

Article 14 - This article may be relevant, as there may be circumstances where a young person’s wish to transition may be in conflict with their parents’ or carers’ beliefs. This does not arise as a direct result of the guidance, but is a matter which schools may become aware of in their support of the young person and their family.

Article 19 - The guidance is clear that schools and school staff should respond to all incidences of bullying, including prejudice-based bullying. The guidance also provides advice on ensuring the safety of all children and young people, including transgender young people. The guidance also comments on the specific matters which are related to the experiences of female pupils in schools as these are relevant to private spaces. The guidance makes clear that there should be specific consideration of these matters.

Article 28 - The guidance supports the delivery of this right through the provision of support for transgender young people in order to secure their rights to education. This is in line with the rights of all children and young people to education.

Article 29 - The guidance offers advice which supports schools and school staff to support transgender young people enabling them to have a positive educational experience. This is in line with education authorities responsibilities under the 2000 Act to provide education which “is directed to the development of the personality, talents and mental and physical abilities of the child or young person to their fullest potential.”

The impact in relation to Article 16 – right to privacy was assessed as both positive and negative. All children and young people are entitled to privacy in relation to their information in line with data protection law and pupils’ education records regulations. The guidance makes clear these specific requirements as they apply to all children and young people, including transgender young people, but does not change those arrangements or operate under different legislative requirements.

It is also recognised that as a result of recent legal decisions that transgender young people may require to use different toilet facilities to those which they have used prior to the legal judgements. It is acknowledged within the guidance that this is likely to have a negative impact for those children and young people in terms of privacy, wellbeing and potentially safety. The guidance includes advice on actions which schools may take in order to reduce these concerns as far as possible.

3. Please provide a summary of the evidence gathered which will be used to inform your decision-making and the content of the proposal

Evidence from:

• existing research/reports/policy expertise

The evidence base has included a wide range of statistical and research evidence provided by a range of organisations and established by officials as part of the original impact assessment process. The data gathered has been updated to reflect more recent evidence. This has provided clear evidence of the experiences of transgender young people in schools, lesbian, gay and bisexual young people in schools, and girls in schools. The evidence base has highlighted that, in particular, toilets and changing rooms are of particular concern for children and young people within all of these groups.

• feedback from stakeholders

As indicated the impact assessments have benefitted from the materials provided as part of the original impact assessments by a range of organisations working with LGBT children and young people, and women and girls. The evidence base has been updated to reflect more recent evidence.

• feedback directly from children and young people

The evidence base has been informed by research which details young people’s experiences in schools. This material includes specific comments from young people gathered as part of research.

4. Further to the evidence described at ‘3’ have you identified any 'gaps' in evidence which may prevent determination of impact? If yes, please provide an explanation of how they will be addressed

This Impact Assessment is an update of a previous impact assessment recognising changes in the legal landscape. At this time, as a result of the legal decisions being taken relatively recently, there is limited evidence of the experiences of young people directly as a result of those changes.

5. Analysis of Evidence

Overall, the assessment of impact has concluded neutral or positive impact. It is recognised that there is potentially negative impact as a result of recent legal decisions in relation to transgender young people’s privacy, which are reflected within the guidance.

6. What changes (if any) have been made to the proposal as a result of this assessment?

The amendments to the guidance are as a result of recent legal decisions. The advice provided within the guidance seeks to, within the limits of the law as it now stands, limit the likely negative impacts on Transgender pupils, but it has not been possible to entirely mitigate some of the concerns. However, Officials have highlighted concerns about children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing to those responsible for the provision of counselling through schools.