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Somerset Transgender Inclusivity Guidance

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Somerset Transgender Inclusivity Guidance Somerset Transgender Inclusivity Guidance Supporting transgender and gender questioning young people in educational settings in Somerset. Contents Page no. 3 Forward and Acknowledgments 5 Introduction 6 Understanding Gender Identity 7 What Transgender means For you 8 Why is this guidance needed? 8 Local Context 9 National Context 10 Transition 11 Key Legislation 11 Equality Act 2010 12 Common Inspection Framework 12 Human Rights Act 12 Gender Recognition Act 13 What Somerset young people had to say 14 Practical guidelines to support young people who identiFy as transgender 14 Name change and pronoun 15 School UniForm 15 Toilets 16 Physical Education and Sport 17 ConFidentiality 18 Exam CertiFicates 18 Medical Appointments 19 Residential Trips 19 Vaccinations 20 Promoting transgender inclusivity (pull out poster page) 21 Glossary 2 Foreword and Acknowledgements With many thanks to the young people of 2BU-Somerset for talking to us about their experiences with courage and resilience; for being role models, sharing feelings and describing events for the purpose of this guidance. This input has been invaluable in ensuring that we can make a positive difference for young people moving forward. To those of you who insisted that such a document exists for Somerset (Other guidance in other areas are available), to the young people who talked to us about their experiences in our schools and colleges, for the positive and not so positive stories you have shared not only with us to write this document, but also with your peers and other professionals standing up as role models for others… You inspire us all. It is our hope that this guidance serves as a conversation starting point. Lisa Snowdon-Carr 2BU-Somerset I joined 2BU in May 2016 after moving back into Somerset, when I first started the group I felt very isolated, I was out of education and didn’t know anyone. I Quickly made friends and felt very at home in the group. Thanks to 2BU I have been given some amazing opportunities, I am part of the peer support team and I have become part of the training team so I get to go into schools and colleges and talk to staff and students about being LGBTQ+, how they can support other students and share my experiences of being LGBTQ+ in school. Growing up in Somerset can be isolating at the best of times, so for LGBTQ+ young people, who are often made to feel different by their peers and society, having a safe space to go where being LGBTQ+ is the norm is so important. Being transgender in school is challenging, there are a lot of changes that can be made but not a lot of information for students or schools on how to make those changes. This is why this document will be so important! Having this document will enable schools to have a policy in place to make a young person's transition as easy as possible. Young people spend a large amount of their time in school, so providing a supportive environment is key to their mental and emotional well-being and this document will help schools fully support their young trans people. Michael West, 19 3 The Following documents and websites also inFormed the writing of this guidance: Brighton & Hove City Council and Allsorts Youth Project - Trans Inclusion Tool Kit, 2017. Cornwall Schools Transgender Guidance, 2015. Supporting Transgender Young People, Guidance for schools in Scotland 2017. MERMAIDS UK - supporting gender diverse and transgender children. Gender Identity Development Service. Stonewall – Acceptance without Exception 4 Introduction This guidance has been written as an aid to educational settings and professionals to help them better support their young people who identify as transgender. For the purposes of this guidance we will use the terms “trans/ transgender” which should be taken to include all other gender identities for example non-binary and gender fluid. In recent years, there has been a greater visibility and prominence in relation to gender identity. With this in mind, we offer our contribution to the field, consolidating existing guidance and sharing our knowledge in a way that is relevant to Somerset. This guidance has been written for educational setting such as schools and colleges however it can be translated for use in other settings and for other providers operating out of your setting (for example; before and after school clubs, youth groups, holiday activity clubs etc). It is our aim to eQuip staff with the confidence and knowledge to enable them to ensure that children and young people who identify as transgender are consistently treated with fairness and inclusivity and are able to reach the same potential as their peers. All young people should have access to the same opportunities and wellbeing regardless of their gender identity. It is in the best interests of all organisations to foster an environment where young people are able to thrive. To achieve this, a whole school approach needs to be adopted in tackling transphobia and challenging stigma and any misunderstandings about transgender lives. This guidance seeks to reassure that good practice in these areas is easily achievable with awareness and training. It will benefit not only individual young people but the school community as a whole. “Teachers almost always try their hardest to be inclusive. When they are, it can do the world oF good to trans people” 5 Understanding Gender Identity DeFinitions Transgender – an umbrella term to describe people whose gender is not the same as, or does not sit comfortably with, the sex they were assigned at birth. Trans people may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms, including (but not limited to) Transgender, Transsexual, Gender-queer (GQ), Gender-fluid, Non-binary, Gender-variant, Crossdresser, Genderless, Agender, Nongender, Third gender, Two- spirit, Bi-gender, Trans man, Trans woman,Trans masculine, Trans feminine and Neutrois. Stonewall 2018 Gender Dysphoria - Gender dysphoria is the description used for a child or young person whose birth gender does not match the way that they feel inside, this may be a child born natally male who identifies as a girl or vice versa. Mermaids 2018 For some people, the binary concept of male or female is unhelpful. Increasingly, gender identity is described as a spectrum so while you can identify as male or female you can also identify as somewhere in between, neither or both (i.e. non-binary) or shifting at times between both male and female (i.e. gender fluid). A person who is transgender may identify as such either permanently or periodically. Periodically, does not mean that it is ‘a phase’, it recognises that as individuals we are free to explore our identity at will and that our gender can be fluid or shifting. There is a diverse language around gender identity (a glossary of terms is included in this guidance) and a multitude of ways people can label themselves, for example, genderqueer, agender, bigender etc. To the individual how someone chooses to identify themselves is deeply significant to them. The important thing to remember when supporting a person who is transgender is to understand what their identity means to them as an individual, irrespective on any definition you read here. “Everyone is diFFerent. Don’t stereotype” 6 What Transgender means For you? We spoke to young people in Somerset, here are their own definitions of what Transgender means for them; “To me, being transgender is the “It's being able to say out disconnect between my sex assigned loud that you don't feel like at birth and my gender. It's looking at you're in the right body and my body and not seeing the right body that you want something parts, it's the dysphoria I feel when I done about it.” see these wrong body parts. It's being aware of every part of my person, how I dress, talk, walk, interact with other people, I am aware of every part of myself and trying to make myself be seen as male. I'm not really sure! It's a difficult thing to define!" “Being transgender means learning that you are actually good enough and that you have always been good enough.” “For me personally, it means a lot of self-hatred and feeling like something is seriously wrong with me. I hate the way I feel, the way I look and the very essence of my being. BUT I have found the vocabulary to explain how I feel and I have found other people like me (transgender) and I feel less alone, less weird." 7 Why is this Guidance needed? ‘When I went to my school counsellor about my gender confusion, first of all I was out as lesbian and she was adamant that 1) being gay was the cause of my anxiety and depression and 2) told me the gender thing wasn’t a thing and that I shouldn’t question it and it wasn’t worth my time.’ Local Context In the 2BU-Somerset ‘2017 Coming Out Survey’ all transgender young people taking part told us that they have experienced transphobic bullying in school/ college and 58% waited more than a year before they felt able to come out (coming out is a term to refer to the point at which a person decides to tell another person about their sexuality and/ or gender identity). The following data provides an indication of the impact that the coming out experiences and transphobic bullying may have had on the mental health and wellbeing of young people who identify as transgender in Somerset; 67% transgender young people have deliberately selF-harmed, 90% had thought about suicide and 58% have attempted suicide in the last year.
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