A growing debate over the divisive issue of how Jersey schools should respond to children questioning their gender identity intensified this week as politicians heard directly from the campaigner behind suggested new guidance for schools – before being urged by the Education Minister to reject it outright.

The States Assembly is due to debate a proposal from Deputy Sir Philip Bailhache which, if approved, would replace the current guidance with a document authored by Transgender Trend founder Stephanie Davies-Arai and endorsed by the Jersey branch of the Women’s Rights Network.

Stephanie Davies-Arai travelled to the island this week to brief States Members about her alternative safeguarding framework for schools.

But within days of that meeting, Education Minister Deputy Rob Ward urged politicians to vote against the proposal, warning that it contains “many flaws and inaccuracies” and risks undermining children’s rights and safeguarding practice.

“Many flaws and inaccuracies”

Deputy Ward said the existing trans-inclusion guidance for schools had been developed collaboratively with educators, parents and agencies, and remains “an important resource for schools” when a child raises questions about their gender identity.

He claimed that the proposition misrepresents both the law and safeguarding duties.

“The evidence provided above clearly shows that this proposition and the proposed document both contain many flaws and inaccuracies,” he wrote.

The proposal focuses on how schools should respond when children question their gender identity.

Current guidance encourages a case-by-case approach, involving parents where it is safe to do so and offering pastoral support while avoiding medical interventions in schools.

By contrast, the proposition calls for a uniform “watchful waiting” approach and rejects school-led social transition as an intervention.

The Education Minister argued that this rigid stance could conflict with safeguarding principles that require flexibility and individual assessment.

Treating all disclosures of gender questioning as safeguarding concerns and imposing blanket restrictions would contradict Jersey’s child-centred safeguarding model, he argued.

He also rejected claims that the current policy excludes parents, insisting that the guidance encourages schools to work closely with families while allowing for confidentiality where safeguarding issues arise.

Deputy Ward said he had been “overwhelmed by the many heartfelt emails which describe the negative effect this proposition has had just by being lodged, let alone the thought of it being accepted”.

He also warned that elements of the proposed guidance could clash with Jersey’s discrimination law, which protects people undergoing gender reassignment.

Under the law, a transgender person includes anyone proposing to undergo, undergoing or having undergone a gender reassignment process – regardless of whether medical treatment is involved.

He concluded that the existing guidance remains “fit for purpose”, adding that Jersey would continue to monitor developments in England before considering any future updates.

Meanwhile, the Children’s Commissioner has recommended that the proposition is withdrawn until a “more thorough” children’s rights impact assesment can be undertaken.

In a letter to Deputy Bailhache, Dr Carmel Corrigan said the proposal raises issues around the interpretation of children’s rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

She added: “Should the proposition proceed, we will share our concerns, outlined above, with all States Members prior to the debate, in line with our statutory duty to advise States Members on children’s rights.”

“Safeguarding needs to be the principle and the framework”

Ms Davies-Arai addressed a group of politicians in the States Chamber this week, outlining the case for replacing Jersey’s current guidance with an alternative approach centred around safeguarding.

She authored the document that Deputy Bailhache is proposing should replace the existing guidance issued to schools.

Speaking to Express after the meeting, Ms Davies-Arai said she believed safeguarding should be the central principle guiding how schools respond when a child raises questions about their gender identity.

“I think safeguarding needs to be the principle and the framework of any school’s guidance,” she said.

“The trans-inclusion guidance put certain groups of children outside normal frameworks of safeguarding, and failed to consider the needs and the safeguarding of all children in the school.”

Her presentation focused on what she described as “problems” in the current guidance, and “why I feel that there needs to be alternative guidance”, she said.

Ms Davies-Arai told States Members that historically many clinicians adopted a cautious approach to children experiencing gender distress, which she described as “watchful waiting”.

She contrasted this with what she described as a more recent “gender affirmation” model, in which schools may recognise a child as the opposite sex through changes such as names or pronouns.

According to Ms Davies-Arai, the debate is ultimately about how schools balance the needs of individual children with their wider safeguarding responsibilities.

“A school doesn’t just have responsibility for one child – it has a safeguarding responsibility for the wellbeing of all the children in the school,” she said.

She also warned politicians to proceed cautiously before introducing policies affecting schools, adding that she believes schools should avoid reinforcing a child’s gender identity at an early stage.

“I think it crosses a line”

“I think it crosses a line if you start to say to a girl, ‘yes, you are really a boy’,” she said, arguing that identities in adolescence can change as children grow older.

Ms Davies-Arai also questioned whether other pupils should be expected to adopt new language for classmates who socially transition.

“You can’t ask other children to refer to a girl as ‘he’,” she said. “Children cannot have that responsibility.”

Though the topic itself was sensitive, she described her meeting with politicians on Monday as constructive.

“I’m always glad when people argue with me,” she said. “That means people are engaged.”

States Members are expected to debate Deputy Bailhache’s proposition later this month.