Your Transgender Child Has the Right to Go on That Trip: What the Law Actually Says
What the law actually says about transgender children and school activities, and a letter you can use today
A mother wrote to me recently, heartbroken. Her ten-year-old transgender daughter had been told, just two weeks before departure, that she could not go on her school trip. The reason given was that she could not share a room with her friends because of new legislation. Her daughter was inconsolable. And her mother wanted to know: how can this happen? What can I do?
I want to answer that question as clearly and as helpfully as I can, because this family is not alone. Schools across the country are making decisions like this one right now, often in good faith but on the basis of a misunderstanding of what the law actually requires. So let me set out what the law says, what the current guidance actually is, and what any parent in this situation can do.
The Law Has Not Changed
The Equality Act 2010 is the piece of legislation that governs this. Under Section 7 of that Act, gender reassignment is a protected characteristic. That means a child who is transgender, or who is in the process of transitioning, is protected by law from discrimination at school.
Section 85 of the same Act makes it explicitly unlawful for schools to discriminate against a pupil on the basis of a protected characteristic in the way they provide education and related activities. School trips are school activities. Excluding a child from a trip, or placing conditions on their participation that prevent them from going, on the basis of their transgender identity, is direct discrimination. It is unlawful. That has not changed.
The UK Supreme Court ruling in April 2025 has been widely misreported and misunderstood. What that ruling did was address the meaning of the word ‘sex’ in certain specific provisions of the Equality Act. What it did not do is remove or reduce the protection afforded by gender reassignment as a separate protected characteristic. Trans children still have full legal protection from discrimination. That protection remains in place today.
The Guidance in Circulation Right Now Is Draft Guidance Only
Schools have been receiving communications about transgender pupils, and some are acting on them as though they are law. They are not. The government guidance currently in circulation in early 2026 has not been finalised. It has not gone through full statutory consultation. It is draft guidance, and draft guidance does not override primary legislation.
No school is legally required to follow draft guidance. More importantly, if a school follows draft guidance in a way that causes discrimination against a child with a protected characteristic, the school, not the government, carries the legal risk for that decision. This is something governing bodies and headteachers need to understand clearly, because they are the ones who are liable if a complaint is made.
The Question Nobody Is Asking: Was There a Consultation?
When a school decides that a transgender child cannot share a room on a trip, the question I always want to ask is: was there a consultation? Were all families told, before any individual decision was made, that children on this trip would be sharing accommodation across a wide range of backgrounds, abilities, religions, races, sexualities, stages of gender reassignment and other characteristics, and invited to raise any concerns?
Because that is the equitable way to handle this. A general communication to all parents, noting that shared accommodation will involve children from across the school community, and offering families with specific concerns the opportunity to discuss alternative arrangements, would be transparent, fair, and legally sound. It would also mean that any adjustment made was about the child or family who raised the concern, rather than about the transgender child being singled out and removed.
The principle here is simple. If any child feels uncomfortable sharing a room with another child, it is that child who should be offered an alternative. The transgender child should not be the one excluded from the trip. Inclusion is the default. Exclusion requires a much higher threshold, and it requires individual justification, not a blanket policy applied to one group.
What You Can Do Right Now
If your child is in this situation, or if you know a family whose child is, there is something practical and immediate you can do. I have written a template letter that any parent can use, addressed to the headteacher, setting out the legal position clearly, asking the school to identify the specific document it is relying on, and requesting an urgent review of the decision.
The letter is available to download. Fill in your child’s details, the name of the school, and the relevant dates, and send it as soon as possible. Ask for a written response within 48 hours given any imminent departure date. Keep copies of everything.
If the school does not respond constructively, the next steps are the Local Authority Inclusion Team, the school’s governing body, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission, who have a free advice line. Organisations such as Mermaids and Gendered Intelligence also offer support to families navigating exactly this kind of situation.
A Note to Schools
If you are a teacher, a pastoral lead, a SENCO, or a headteacher reading this, I want to say something directly to you. I know that many of you are doing your best in a confusing landscape. Guidance is changing, communications are arriving from multiple directions, and you are trying to balance competing pressures while keeping children safe.
Please take legal advice before acting on any guidance that would result in a child being excluded from a school activity. Please consider whether the decision you are making is proportionate. Please ask whether you have consulted with the child’s family before reaching that decision. A transgender child in your school is a child in your care, and they deserve the same opportunities as every other child you teach.
Download the letter template and share this article with anyone who needs it.
If this has been helpful, please share it. Other families are facing this right now, and the more people who understand what the law actually says, the better placed we all are to protect these children.
Dr Helen Webberley | Gender Specialist and Medical Educator