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Transgender students enrolled in prestigious boarding schools, where annual fees can reach £45,000, are reportedly being permitted to stay in dormitories aligning with their gender identity, in defiance of government guidelines.
The Telegraph reveals that schools such as Taunton School in Somerset and Bedales in Hampshire have informed transgender pupils about the possibility of residing in dorms corresponding to their gender preference.
According to a report on Daily Mail, this policy, however, contradicts government recommendations stipulating that trans children should sleep in dorms corresponding to their biological sex.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, who released draft guidance last month, is among the concerned Tory MPs. The discovery has prompted a review of existing policies, particularly at Taunton School, which charges parents up to £14,970 per term for full boarding.
Taunton School's equality, diversity, and inclusion policy, currently under review, emphasizes accommodating transgender students in dorms that align with their gender identity "as far as possible." Bedales, charging up to £14,185 per term for full boarding, similarly allows students to stay in dorms based on their identified gender, conflicting with government guidance.
Christ's Hospital in West Sussex also practices careful consideration for requests from transgender pupils regarding dormitory placements, but the school ensures that students questioning their gender do not share sleeping or changing facilities with those of the opposite biological sex.
Top Tories express concern as these policies seem to clash with government guidance, emphasizing the protection of single-sex spaces. The draft guidance suggests that trans students unwilling to share rooms with the same biological sex should be allowed to do so only after considering safeguarding obligations.
Miriam Cates, Conservative MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, voices concerns about the impact of gender ideology on parents who invest substantial amounts in their children's education at these schools. MailOnline has reached out to Taunton and Bedale schools for comments on the matter.
[With information sourced from Daily Mail]
