Exclusive:Schools Scotland: Teachers 'hung out to dry' as SNP Government stalls on single-sex space guidance
The new school year starts in Scotland from Wednesday - and the Scottish Government is under pressure to issue guidance on single-sex spaces.
Head teachers are being “hung out to dry” by a lack of updated and specific guidance on single-sex spaces in schools, campaigners have claimed.
Just days before the new term begins, the Scottish Government is still not in a position to issue clarified instructions on how to manage toilets and changing facilities.
Recent court rulings have led to local authorities seeking clarity on balancing the rights of trans-identified pupils and girls.
Existing guidance promotes gender self-identification and, experts say, is unlawful.
Pupils are due to return to school for the new academic year in a host of council areas, including Edinburgh, from Wednesday, heightening the pressure on Government officials to issue fresh guidance.
A judge’s ruling in April forced Scottish Borders council to concede it had been wrong to install no sex-segregated bathrooms at the new Earlston Primary School. This followed a Supreme Court ruling that month on the definition of “sex” in law in a case taken by feminist organisation For Women Scotland against the Scottish Government.
Susan Smith, a co-founder of For Women Scotland, said: “The Scottish Government seems prepared to hang schools out to dry rather to step up and provide clear guidance.
“There is little excuse now to procrastinate - they must withdraw all unlawful guidance and ensure that safeguards are robust.
“If they don’t, we expect that many more cases will come before the courts, at increasing expense to the public.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman confirmed it was still “considering” whether guidance requires to be updated.
She said local authorities had statutory responsibility for the school estate, including provision of toilets.
“As with any significant legal or policy developments, we consider whether guidance requires to be updated to reflect recent legal decisions and this consideration is underway,” the spokeswoman said.
Lady Ross KC said she would issue a court order making legal obligations on Scottish state schools clear after parents brought a judicial review over their concerns around transgender policies at Earlston primary school.
Kath Murray, of the policy think-tank Murray Blackburn Mackenzie, said: “Local authorities are relying on Scottish Government schools guidance, which continues to promote gender self-identification.
“After the For Women Scotland ruling and Earlston Primary school case, which specifically clarified that schools must provide single sex facilities, it is hard, if not impossible, to understand why the Government has not withdrawn this.”
When asked in June by The Scotsman if she was concerned about schools being left to make their own decisions on single-sex toilets, Ms Gilruth said: “As you’ll be aware, in relation to the Supreme Court ruling, we are working across government.
“Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville is leading that work and the EHRC [Equality and Human Rights Commission] has launched a consultation. We will respond to that in due course. But we have published updated guidance, which is shared with all local authorities, and we are engaging directly with the EHRC.”
At least six schools in Aberdeenshire, the Borders and Shetland, which previously only offered gender-neutral toilets, had previously said they would be creating single-sex facilities on the back of the Supreme Court verdict.
Meanwhile, Police Scotland has issued updated guidance to its officers about single-sex spaces on the police estate.
New rules say all toilets and changing facilities must be used on the basis of biological sex.
Assistant Chief Constable Catriona Paton said: “As we continue to navigate this complex and sensitive area of policing, the wellbeing of our officers and staff remains an absolute priority.”
Ms Paton went on to say the situation may be “difficult and upsetting”, but urged staff to be “patient and kind” to one another.
The force came under fire in June for guidelines that allow transgender suspects to request officers of different sexes to frisk various parts of their body.
The advice — designed to accommodate people who have not completed a full surgical transition — would mean detainees could ask for a woman to search their top half and a man to search below the waist.
It was described as a “botched compromise” by critics.
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