East Lothian Council Gender Statement Schools Policy Review 2026
A warm and mostly encouraging review of Scotland’s latest local authority gender guidance, with honest notes on what still needs to improve
East Lothian Council Gets It Right for Trans Young People in Schools
When a local authority publishes a formal gender statement for its schools, it is making a statement about who it believes matters. East Lothian Council published its Gender Statement: Supporting Transgender Children and Young People in Schools in January 2026, and presented it to the Education and Children’s Services Committee on 17 March. Having read it carefully, I want to start by saying something that does not get said often enough in the current climate: this is genuinely good work. It is compassionate, legally grounded, and it puts children at the centre. There are things I want to highlight, and one significant concern I will not shy away from, but the people who put this together deserve recognition for producing something that many local authorities across the UK have yet to attempt.
At a Glance: Policy Review Summary
🟢 Genuine consultation with staff, children and young people, and Time for Inclusive Education
🟢 Chosen name and pronoun support, led by the young person, with flexibility as preferences evolve over time
🟢 Gender-neutral uniform options available for all learners across all East Lothian schools
🟢 Inclusive PE: transgender learners placed in the group matching their gender identity
🟢 Non-binary learners asked which group they feel most comfortable in
🟢 Residential trips: provision for separate or gender-affirming room allocations where needed
🟢 LGBTQIA+ education integrated across the curriculum at all stages
🟢 Strong confidentiality protections: no disclosure to parents or carers without the young person’s knowledge and consent
🟢 Grounded in the UNCRC, now incorporated into Scots Law as of July 2024
🟠 Toilet and changing room provision is legally constrained by the 1967 Regulations and the Court of Session ruling; gender-neutral provision is encouraged but cannot be guaranteed in older buildings
🟠 Parent and carer notification language could be strengthened to make clear that the young person must lead any decision to involve parents
🔴 The Cass Review is listed as a key guiding document alongside the UNCRC and the Equality Act. Its methodology and conclusions have been subject to serious academic challenge and it should not sit as a foundational reference for guidance designed to support trans young people. It was a review of healthcare service, not education provision.
The Starting Point That Matters
The document opens with a principle that should underpin every piece of education policy on this topic: the starting point is the child. East Lothian’s guidance is explicit that all children and young people have the right to the support they need to benefit fully from their education, and that all learning environments should feel safe and nurturing. This is not a radical statement. It is simply good education policy, applied consistently to all children, including those who are transgender.
The guidance was developed through genuine consultation. Staff across all schools were asked about their confidence levels and what additional guidance would help them. Children and young people were consulted through focus groups, and they reported that having this statement would help school staff understand their needs better and support them more effectively. The organisation Time for Inclusive Education reviewed the final version and described East Lothian as taking a positive and proactive approach, calling the statement one of the best they have read. That is not faint praise, and it is clearly well deserved.
What I Welcome
There is a great deal to celebrate in this document, and I want to take the time to name it properly.
On language and names: the guidance is clear that staff should use the name and pronouns a child or young person has asked to be used, and that good practice is to be led by the child or young person themselves. It acknowledges that terminology is evolving, that young people do not need a label to receive support, and that a young person’s preferences may change over time and vary between settings. That flexibility and respect is exactly right.
On school uniform: the guidance states that there should be a gender-neutral option available for all learners, and that specific items of uniform should not be assigned based on gender. Every child should be able to wear what makes them feel comfortable and at ease, within the school’s general guidelines.
On physical education: the document is clear that transgender learners should be allowed to take part in the group that matches their gender identity where classes are organised by sex assigned at birth. Non-binary learners should be asked which group they would feel most comfortable in. Reasonable adjustments should be made across groups, activities, clubs, and competitive opportunities. This approach is inclusive and practical, and it starts from the right place.
On residential trips: the guidance asks schools to consider making alternative arrangements for transgender children and young people, including giving them their own room where appropriate. It also encourages schools to give consideration to enabling all children to share a room with the gender that most aligns to their identity, provided the rights of all those involved are considered and respected. This is a genuinely sensitive approach to what can be a stressful situation for trans young people and their families.
On curriculum: LGBTQIA+ education should be integrated across all curricular areas, and transgender identities should be included alongside other identities in classroom resources and displays. There is also a section on tackling unconscious gender bias from early years, which recognises that limiting messages about gender reach children from a very young age. Addressing this from early learning and childcare onwards is a meaningful commitment.
On confidentiality: the guidance is clear that inadvertent disclosure of a young person’s transgender identity to their family could cause needless stress or put them at risk. It explicitly states that it is vital not to share information with parents or carers without considering and respecting the young person’s views and rights. This is a critical protection, and it is genuinely reassuring to see it stated with such clarity.
What Needs Attention
The toilet and changing room section is where the guidance has to navigate the most difficult legal terrain. The School Premises (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) Regulations 1967 require schools to provide separate toilet facilities based on biological sex, as confirmed by the Court of Session ruling referenced in this document. The guidance acknowledges this legal requirement but also notes that recent practice has meant schools are now designed to include gender-neutral facilities, and it encourages schools to ensure all children have a changing space that supports them to feel safe and comfortable.
This is handled with as much care as the legal constraints allow. The hope is that over time, more schools across Scotland will be built or refurbished with adequate gender-neutral provision, so that no child is placed in a position of having to use facilities that feel unsafe or uncomfortable. In the meantime, schools are being encouraged to find individual solutions, which is the right approach given the constraints.
The section on involving parents and carers is thoughtful overall, but there is one line worth watching. Scottish Government guidance recommends that parents and carers should be brought into discussions about a name change at as early a point as possible, as discussed with the child or young person. That final phrase matters enormously and should not be overlooked or minimised. The young person must lead that conversation. Schools should not feel they have a duty to notify parents before the young person is ready. I would welcome clearer and more emphatic language on this point in any future revision of the statement.
What Concerns Me
I want to be honest about one aspect of this document that gives me pause, because I think it is important enough to name directly.
In the list of key legislation, policy, and guidance underpinning this statement, the Cass Review appears as a foundational reference. It is described as outlining the role of understanding the nature of the child’s wellbeing and functioning in their education setting and the quality of peer and social relationships.
The inclusion of the Cass Review as a key guiding document is a concern. The review has been subject to serious and sustained academic criticism regarding its evidence base and methodology. Multiple peer-reviewed responses from researchers and clinicians have challenged its conclusions, and questions have been raised about whether the studies it relied upon would meet standard quality thresholds for systematic review. The fact that it was commissioned by NHS England does not place it beyond scrutiny, and organisations across the international medical and research community have raised significant concerns about how its findings have been applied in policy contexts.
Guidance designed to support transgender children and young people should rest on robust, internationally recognised frameworks grounded in children’s rights, wellbeing, and inclusive education. Listing the Cass Review alongside the UNCRC, the Equality Act, and Getting it Right for Every Child implies an equivalence that I do not think is warranted. I would encourage East Lothian Council to review this reference as part of any future iteration of the statement.
The Bigger Picture
Scotland is not immune to the political pressures that have made life harder for trans young people across the UK in recent years, and some of those pressures are visible in this document, particularly around facilities. The legal landscape has shifted significantly, and local authorities are having to do their best within constraints that were not of their making. Within those constraints, East Lothian’s team has produced something warm, workable, and genuinely child-centred.
What I find most encouraging is not any single policy commitment, but the spirit that runs through the whole document. This is guidance that was written by people who consulted the children it would affect. It was shaped by people who asked their staff what they needed. It was reviewed by an organisation that works with LGBTQ+ young people every day. The result is guidance that treats transgender children and young people as part of the school community, deserving of the same care and consideration as every other young person in their class.
More local authorities should be doing this. If you are a parent, a teacher, a school governor, or anyone involved in education policy, I hope this review is useful to you. Take a look at the original document, share it with the people around you who need to see it, and use it as a benchmark for what good local guidance can look like.
Resources
Supporting Transgender Pupils in Schools: Guidance for Scottish Schools (Revised, September 2025)
Cass Review: Implications for Scotland (Scottish Government)
Dr Helen Webberley, Gender Specialist and Medical Educator
Thanks. As an East Lothian resident, I do find this encouraging. Sadly, the only trans child I know personally was unable to continue schooling locally due to harassment from other pupils. This was just a few years ago.
The improvements in guidance are welcome, but lets be clear, even gender neutral toilets alone are not good enough. Transgender pupils should be allowed to use the toilets which align with the gender they identify with. Anything less sends the child the message they are not viewed as their gender by the school, with the added implication that they are the "problem" or, even worse, viewed as predatory. I have 12 year old who was effectively forced out of school due to gender neutral policies around changing rooms and toilets, as they created severe anxiety. I have seen first hand how schools trying to force a trans girl into a "gender neutral" box harms their mental health. A blanket policy where all trans kids are assigned to gender neutral bathrooms is not a solution, and it does not make binary trans kids feel safe. It others them.