Teachers say trans pupils 'limiting food and drink' to avoid school toilets

Teachers have said transgender students are “limiting their food and liquid intake” to avoid using school toilets and being “outed”.

The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), the country’s largest teaching union, said on Wednesday that the Scottish Government’s updated guidance for trans students was “welcome”, but did not protect them.

The new guidance states that Scottish schools must provide separate single-sex toilet facilities for boys and girls.

It also said that pupils will be asked to use toilet facilities which correspond with their biological sex, rather than ones they feel most comfortable with.

It comes after the UK Supreme Court declared the words “woman” and “sex” in the 2010 Equality Act refer to a biological woman and biological sex.

It meant public bodies had to rethink and update their guidance around facilities like toilets and changing rooms.

The teaching union said new Scottish Government guidance “falls short of providing clarity and reassurance that the rights of transgender and non-binary pupils will be preserved in the current legal context”.

EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said it stresses the right of all young people to experience privacy, safety, dignity and respect, but she said it doesn’t provide “the clarity schools, teachers, parents and young people so urgently need”.

“Decisions will be left up to individual local authorities and schools while the guidance fails to address how significant concerns about the health, safety and well-being of transgender pupils will be addressed if pupils cannot use facilities in accordance with their gender identity,” Ms Bradley said.

She said the union has received several reports of “significant, detrimental impacts” on transgender and intersex pupils as a result of a recent UK Supreme Court ruling and “inconsistent practices” across local authorities.

Ms Bradley continued: “In schools where changes to access arrangements for toilets had been mooted, the EIS heard of transgender learners limiting their food and liquid intake so as to not risk having to use the facilities at school and thereby risk being ‘outed’.”

The updated Scottish Government guidance states that schools should recognise and mitigate the risk of “outing” a young person through the gendered facilities, and it adds that practical arrangements, such as enabling pupils to use facilities outwith breaktimes, can be made to reduce visibility.

However, Ms Bradley said she is concerned that such interventions risk creating “a state of exceptionalism” for transgender students, potentially resulting in isolation and a different educational experience than their peers.

“The practical implications of suggestions to utilise staff facilities or accessible facilities, must also be considered carefully and full Equality Impact Assessments carried out,” she said.

“We are clear that understanding, inclusion, and safety are all essential factors to ensure every pupil, including those who are transgender, can be visible in our educational establishments and have their needs met.”

On Monday, education secretary Jenny Gilruth said: “The Scottish Government respects the rights of everybody. I want every pupil to be able to reach their potential and every pupil deserves our support to do that. Our guidance means that all of their individual needs will be respected.

“In addition, the guidance makes clear that councils should give careful consideration to the individual needs of transgender pupils in light of the school context and school community.”