Supporting transgender young people in schools: guidance for Scottish schools

Appendices

Scenarios for teachers

Scenario 1

What do I do if…?

A young person comes out to you as transgender and is looking for support. In order to adequately support them, you feel you need to speak to your colleagues for advice and support. You ask if it's OK to share but the young person says it isn't, they only want you to know.

Points to Consider

Confidentiality and privacy are important in building trust with young people. If a young person trusts you, they are more likely to ask for your advice and support.

Your response will depend on the situation. No teacher can guarantee absolute confidentiality but teachers are expected to act in accordance with the wishes of a young person, especially if there are no other concerns.

• If all relevant information is already in the public domain you are not breaching confidentiality if you share it with a colleague or manager for advice
• You can also talk to others if what you say would not specifically identify a young person or breach their confidentiality
• Being transgender is not a child protection issue but if there is a child protection or wellbeing concern, you should follow your school's guidelines.

See more on confidentiality and information sharing on page 35, coming out on page 20, and steps for good practice on page 41.

Scenario 2

What do I do if…?

A young person has 'come out' as transgender. Other young people are calling them names, threatening them and shoving them or tripping them up in the corridors.

Points to Consider

All of the above constitute bullying. You should respond as soon as possible, consistent with the school anti-bullying policy. It is important to base your response on what the young person wants to happen. Being bullied can be disempowering. It's therefore important that they have a say about what happens next.

• Firstly, take some time to listen to the young person and find out what support they need. They may not want anything to happen at this stage
• Record the incident in line with your school bullying policy and procedure
• Arrange a follow-up meeting and let the young person know who they can talk to.

If the school or local authority anti-bullying policy does not explicitly mention transphobic, homophobic or biphobic bullying, the school should review its policies and procedures.

If any of the elements are violent or could be identified as criminal behaviour this can be reported to Police Scotland.

Consider with the young person when and how they would wish their parents/carers to be brought into any discussions about this (see page 39 for further information).

See more on bullying on page 16.

Scenario 3

What do I do if…?

A teacher deliberately uses the wrong pronoun and name for a transgender young person despite being briefed by the school. This is making the young person visibly upset and angry.

Points to Consider

This scenario is different from getting someone's name or pronoun wrong by accident and is clearly inappropriate behaviour from a staff member. If someone gets a name or pronoun wrong by accident they should simply apologise and try not to do this again.

In this scenario you should report this to the head teacher. The head teacher in line with complaints procedures, should then investigate what has happened, and the young person has the right to know the outcome of the investigation

If others witnessed the behaviour, ask them to report it too

If you, or the young person, are not happy with the outcome of the investigation, either of you can contact your local authority education team or ask them to investigate too

If a head teacher behaves inappropriately towards a transgender young person, you can report the incident to the deputy head or to the local authority education team.

Consider with the young person when and how they would wish their parents/carers to be brought into any discussions about this (see page 39 for further information).

Scenario 4

What do I do if…?

A young person wants to change their name and sex on the official record system (SEEMiS).

Points to Consider

There is no reason why a transgender young person's name and sex cannot be changed on school information management systems. The following is recommended:

The young person or parent should send in a written request (see sample letter in the appendix). For those under 16, there must be consent from their parents and carers.

If a young person (over 16) has requested this but has not spoken to their parents/carers about their gender identity, let the young person know that changing their SEEMiS record means that any letters sent home will effectively 'out' them

At present, there is no option to record non-binary³⁰ identities on SEEMiS. Schools can ask if the young person prefers one sex over another to be on the official record

This does not affect a young person's candidate SQA number. See more on changing names, pronouns and SEEMiS on page 22.

Scenario 5

What do I do if…?

A young person comes out and wants to transition immediately. You would like some time to talk to colleagues to ensure that there is planned support for the young person.

Points to Consider

They should feel supported immediately and as far as possible.

It can, however, be reasonable for you to ask a young person for time to ensure the right support is in place for them. This should be clearly communicated with the young person so that they know what support you are looking for and how long it will take. The following is recommended:

• Find out when the young person is looking to transition and in what way, for example to change their name and gender on records
• Spend some time listening to, and understanding, any concerns they may have
• Consider different scenarios with the young person, thinking about who needs to know and what they should know
• Outline when you will get back to the young person and clearly explain the reasons for any delay.

Consider with the young person when and how they would wish their parents/carers to be brought into any discussions about this (see page 39 for further information).

Scenario 6

What do I do if…?

A parent/carer or another pupil complains about the approach you are taking to support a transgender learner.

Points to Consider

• As with any complaint you should take time to consider their complaint and ensure their views are heard, as part of the appropriate complaints handing process.
• Before sharing information the school should be mindful of confidentiality, following any information sharing protocols and consider its legal obligations in regard to data protection.
• Where the wishes, rights and needs of different young people are involved the school should seek to respect the rights of all
• Take steps that are reasonable and proportionate and consider what is in the best interests of the children and young people involved.
• If someone raises a concern regarding sharing facilities with a transgender young person and can identify that they will experience detriment (or disadvantage) as a result, then the school should seek to respect the rights of all. To do this the school should come to an arrangement, though discussion and consideration of options available.
• Consideration of complaints should be made in line with the school and where appropriate education authority, complaints handing procedures.

Sample text: to request change of name and recorded sex

I/We [insert full name/s], the parents/guardians of [insert young person's name as it appears on current records], in accordance with their wishes, request for them to now be known as [insert young person's new name].

From now on, please ensure all records, documentation, resources and workbooks are in the new name of [insert young person's new name].

We also request that previous records, documentation, resources and workbooks be changed from [insert young person's name as it appears on current records] to [insert young person's new name]. OR Previous records, documentation, resources and workbooks do not need to be changed from [insert young person's name as it appears on current records] to [insert young person's new name].

The name [insert young person's old name] should no longer be used to refer to [insert young person's new name].

We also request, in accordance with the wishes of [insert young person's new name], that all locations where gender is recorded, including on SEEMiS, are updated to record the gender of [insert young person's new name] as [insert male or female] and that the pronouns [he/him or she/her] are used when referring to [insert young person's new name]. OR We also request, in accordance with the wishes of [insert young person's new name], that the pronouns [they/them or specify other non-binary pronouns] are used when referring to [insert young person's new name] and that gender neutral language is used so that [insert young person's new name] is not referred to as a female/girl or as a male/boy.

Yours faithfully [Insert full name/s]