Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“I welcome the fact that after I submitted a series of questions to the Education Minister on the issue of transgender guidance which has been issued to schools, Minister McIlveen has committed to a review of the document.
“The most troubling aspect of the guidance as it stands is that it advises teachers, for example, to treat biological males as females, including using their preferred names and pronouns, without advising the child’s parents, if that is the wish of the student. In a situation where the parents have expressly advised the school that they will not to using anything other than the child’s birth name and referring to him or her by their biological gender, schools are advised to keep using the child’s preferred name and pronouns regardless of the wishes of the parents.
“Such a situation is perverse and should not be tolerated.
“There are other worrying recommendations in the document including the suggestion that gendered toilets and changing rooms should be done away with. The abolition of female only spaces deeply worries many in society. There are good reasons why it has been found to be prudent to have single sex areas when people are changing and using toilets. Rushing to abolish them to accommodate something which the guidance itself admits is controversial is ill advised to say the least.
“I would encourage the Minister to to not just review the guidance but withdraw it as fundamentally flawed.”
Note to editors
Mr Allister’s questions and the Minister’s reply are as follows:
To ask the Minister of Education what steps have been taken to require a review by the Education Authority of its Guidance for Schools, EOTAS Centres and Youth Service on Supporting Transgender Young People, following publication of the Interim Report of the Cass Review.
To ask the Minister of Education whether she will review the absence of parental involvement and consultation before schools can facilitate or acknowledge the gender transitioning of a pupil.
To ask the Minister of Education (i) for her assessment of the Education Authority’s Guidance for Schools, EOTAS Centres and Youth Service on Supporting Transgender Young People; and (ii) what steps she has taken to review this guidance.
ANSWER
It is my intention to review the guidance and I have asked my officials to draft the Terms of Reference.
Michelle McIlveen MLA