Campaigners in Northern Ireland have welcomed the scrapping of transgender guidance for children in primary schools. The guidance, which would have taught pupils that children can become aware they are transgender “between the ages of three and five,” has now been scrapped, the BBC has reported.
The guidance had formed part of recent Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) resources provided by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA). The guidance for primary schools in the North stated that it aimed to support “transgender or gender-questioning children.” CCEA has, however, recently undertaken a review of LGBTQ+ guidance for primary schools contained in its online hub, and in a statement told the BBC that the content “was removed as it referenced research which is over 10 years old.”
“Research shows that transgender young people become aware that their assigned birth sex is different from their gender identity between the ages of three and five,” the now removed guidance had stated.
CCEA said the guidance had been based on research detailing the experiences of transgender young people in Northern Ireland funded by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM), published back in 2013. This was part of a broader range of RSE resources provided by CCEA for schools to use, with each school required by the Department of Education to teach pupils RSE.
Up until recently, individual schools across the North have been allowed to decide what to teach pupils regarding issues related to RSE, based on their individual school ethos.
However, a change in the law from Westminster last year now means that post-primary pupils in Northern Ireland will be taught about access to abortion and prevention of early pregnancy. Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris’s Office announced the plan last June, sparking concern from Unionists, with the DUP among critics of the proposals.
The regulations, which are set to be enforced by the UK government, will educate pupils aged 11-16 on how to prevent a pregnancy, the legal right to abortion, and will provide information on access to abortion services.
At the time, the NIO said the regulations would result in “educating adolescents on issues such as how to prevent a pregnancy, the legal right to an abortion in Northern Ireland, and how relevant services may be accessed”.
Some campaigners in the North have welcomed the removal of the transgender guidance for young children. Fiona McAnena, director of campaigns at advocacy group Sex Matters, said that the previous guidance was “encouraging children to take on board gender stereotypes and to use them to judge themselves and judge other people”.
“That is not progressive,” she told BBC News NI, as she welcomed the guidance being dropped.
“Sometimes you do have to make special provision for individual children,” she said.
“If there is a little boy who’s hugely distressed about using the boys’ toilets – for whatever reason – then a school may try to make separate arrangements for them, if that’s possible.
“But you can’t let them go into the girls toilets because then that affects everyone else.
“It’s certainly progress that people are not being told that three-year-old boys know that they’re really girls,” she continued.
“That’s just dangerous and foolish.
“Everyone should be free from stereotypes and children should not be encouraged to think that maybe if they don’t conform to stereotypes they’re the other sex.”
“There is a need for guidance, but no child is transgender,” Ms McAnena said, adding: “Most children who are confused about their sex grow out of that through puberty.”
Sarah Phillimore, a family law barrister and co-founder of the campaign group Fair Cop, also welcomed the scrapping of the guidance, writing on X, “Good. This was aimed at 3 year olds!!”
The topic of RSE has become not only a point of contention, but an election issue for parents in the North, with a number of candidates in the upcoming general election bringing it to light in their campaigns for votes.
Former high-ranking British Army officer and Ulster Unionist candidate, Colonel Tim Collins OBE, has featured the issue in his own bid for office in North Down. Responding to the news on X, he wrote: “I welcome the decision by CCEA to remove the current guidance regarding transgender issues for primary school children. I do question their use of the term “assigned birth sex”, Sex is not assigned, it is a biological fact.”
It comes amid controversy over a recent Alliance Party Motion brought forward in the Stormont Assembly in April calling for compulsory RSE education in schools right across Northern Ireland.
MLA Kate Nicholl called on the Department of Education to ensure children are given “comprehensive, age-appropriate and evidence-based education on sexual and reproductive health into mandatory school curricula at all levels of education, including information around responsible sexual behaviour and violence prevention, sexual and reproductive health rights, and sexual diversity.”
However, parties across the North are at loggerheads of the controversial proposals. TUV Leader Jim Allister said that the motion was “not about education,” claiming, “It is about indoctrination,” showing little regard for the individual ethos of the school.
Jonathan Buckley of the DUP, who is leading the ‘Let Kids be Kids’ campaign, meanwhile, hit out at the “incredibly vague wording” within the Alliance motion while pointing to its wide implications. The DUP MLA described the move as an Alliance power grab from parents, warning that such a change would mean school ethos being ignored and the rights of parents suppressed.
“Let parents parent, let teachers teach, let governors govern, and most importantly, let kids be kids,” the MLA urged Stormont.
Ms Nicholl previously told BBC Talkback that the party was “uncomfortable with the ability to opt out” of RSE lessons, adding: “We believe very firmly that this dilutes the education received by our young people.”