“Supporting transgender young people, guidance for schools in Scotland” document: FOI release

FOI reference: FOI/19/00998
Date received:  04/04/2019
Date responded: 18/04/2019

 

You asked for us to provide information regarding the questions below which all relate to the following document: “Supporting transgender young people, guidance for schools in Scotland”.

1. Was the Scottish government ever asked to endorse this document?

2. Has anyone from the Scottish Government read the above document in an official capacity to determine whether it would be supported by the government or not? If yes, please provide details of this review, the scope, the findings, the basis for any decision, who this was communicated to and any other related information.

3. The Scottish government have said publicly to STV that the guidance has the full support of ministers. Please provide information as to how this support was determined.

4. If the answer to question 2 was no, please also provide information as to how all ministers can be fully supportive of guidance that has not been reviewed by anyone in an official capacity.

5. Has the above document been used in the formation of policy on LGBT inclusive education? If so, please provide details of how and why this document has been used to inform policy.

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6. If the answer to question 2 is no, and the answer to question 5 is yes, please provide details of how the above document can be used in the formulation of Scottish government policy, if no one from the Scottish government has read it to determine if it is something that should be supported, or indeed if it is compliant with domestic and international law..

 

Previous Freedom of Information responses relating to this guidance cover many of the
questions you have asked and can be found online at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-18-03101/ and https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-19-00152/.

The Scottish Government funds LGBT Youth Scotland to address discrimination, engage with LGBTI young people and build the capacity of professional and public bodies. As part of their application submitted for the 2016/17 funding round, LGBT Youth Scotland set out the activity they intended to pursue, which included the production and roll out of LGBT Youth Scotland’s Guidance on ‘Supporting Transgender Young People in Schools’, developed in partnership with Scottish Trans Alliance.

This guidance has not informed LGBT inclusive education policy. While the Scottish Government is supportive of the guidance, we did not take any decision to formally endorse the guidance as we do not take a prescriptive approach to the curriculum in Scotland. It is up to individual schools and local authorities how they deliver relevant and engaging learning, and who they work with to do so.
Additionally, the 2017 minutes of the LGBTI Inclusive Education Working Group may also be of interest to you, and can be found online at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/lgbti-inclusive-education-minutes/.

 

 

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses