The Government Has Defined Abuse, and Then Told Schools to Carry It Out
Draft safeguarding guidance tells schools exactly what emotional abuse looks like. Then it instructs them to do it to trans children. The consultation is open now.
Trans children exist. They are recognised in law. They are protected by the Equality Act. Gender reassignment is a protected characteristic, sitting right alongside race, disability, religion, and sexual orientation.
Yesterday, the Department for Education published its draft Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2026 guidance1 for consultation. This is the document that every school and college in England will follow if approved. It covers child abuse, exploitation, neglect, and safeguarding. It is weighty, serious, and carries statutory force.
It also now includes, for the first time, detailed instructions on how to treat children who are questioning their gender. The government chose not to publish standalone guidance on gender questioning children. Instead, it folded this into its safeguarding document, sitting alongside sections on child sexual exploitation, county lines, and radicalisation.
The message is clear:
A child exploring their gender identity is, in the eyes of this government, a safeguarding concern.
What the guidance actually says
KCSIE 2026 sets out four categories of child abuse: physical, sexual, emotional, and neglect.
The guidance defines emotional abuse as:
“the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and adverse effects on the child’s emotional development.” It includes “conveying to a child that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person.” It specifically names “preventing the child from participating in normal social interaction.”
In the same document, the government instructs schools to do the following:
Schools must not allow children over the age of 8 to use toilets designated for the opposite biological sex. A trans girl must use the boys’ toilets.
Schools must not allow children over 11 to use changing rooms designated for the opposite biological sex. A trans girl must change with the boys.
Schools must not allow children to share overnight accommodation with children of the opposite biological sex. A trans girl on a school trip must sleep in the boys’ room.
Schools must not proactively support social transition. Any request, including something as simple as using a different name or pronoun, must be treated as a safeguarding matter requiring parental involvement and clinical advice.
Read those two things side by side. The guidance defines emotional abuse as making a child feel inadequate and preventing them from normal social participation. It then instructs schools to do exactly that to trans children.
Imagine if this were any other protected characteristic
Gender reassignment is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. It has the same legal standing as race, disability, religion, and sexual orientation.
Imagine the government published guidance telling schools that a Black child must use separate facilities. That a disabled child must be excluded from activities unless a clinical assessment says otherwise. That a Muslim child’s identity must be treated as a safeguarding concern requiring parental consent and professional oversight before the school can acknowledge it.
There would, rightly, be outrage. There would be legal challenges. There would be headlines.
When it comes to trans children, we get a consultation.
The Cass Review is not a green light for exclusion
The government cites the widely contested Cass Review throughout this guidance as justification for its cautious approach. The Cass Review itself acknowledged that adolescent exploration of gender is a normal process and that rigid binary stereotypes can be unhelpful. It did not recommend that trans children be forced into facilities that do not match who they are. It did not recommend that schools treat a child’s identity as a safeguarding concern.
There is a significant difference between exercising appropriate care and using safeguarding language to restrict a child’s rights and dignity.
The consultation found no consensus
The government’s own consultation on the earlier draft guidance received over 15,000 responses. It acknowledges this is “a highly contested policy area, with no clear consensus on the appropriate approach.” 74% of respondents said the guidance did not provide enough detail to support schools. More respondents were negative than positive about the guidance’s useability.
Despite this, the government has pressed ahead, embedding the most restrictive elements into statutory safeguarding guidance that schools must follow.
What this means for children
A transgender girl in Year 5 will be told she must use the boys’ toilets. A transgender boy in Year 7 will be forced to change with the girls. A teenager on a school residential trip will be placed in accommodation that does not match who they are, surrounded by peers who know this, in what should be a safe and supportive environment.
These are not abstract policy questions. These are real children, in real schools, who already face disproportionate rates of bullying, mental health difficulties, and exclusion. This guidance will make their lives harder. It will make school feel less safe, not more.
The government has defined abuse. And then it has told schools to carry it out.
This is a draft. You can have your say.
This guidance is out for public consultation until 22 April 2026. Anyone can respond. You do not need to be a teacher, a parent, or a professional. If you care about the wellbeing of trans children in our schools, your voice matters.
Read the guidance. Submit your views. Tell them this is not safeguarding. This is harm.
I’d ask you the same question I’d ask anyone: would you accept this guidance if it targeted children because of their race, their disability, or their religion? If your answer is no, then you should not accept it here.
Dr Helen Webberley, gender specialist and medical educator