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Download little people toy story7/5/2023 “I don’t think I realised this until I became ill, and my school was really supportive of that and offered me things I didn’t even need to make my day easier and more comfortable,” they add. However, beyond their name change, Chase has had to ask his school “for every accommodation that has been made over the past two years” – nothing was offered to him unprompted, he says. Chase Evans thinks it’s important for schools to support trans pupils because it “allows them to do better”, which is “what they should want for their students”. “Some of my teachers also went above and beyond when trying to make me feel supported when I first came out, and I was really appreciative that nobody made it a big deal,” says Chase. When Chase Evans, 16, first came out to his friends, they were “really supportive” – having people who would correct others “when felt too awkward to” made him feel more comfortable in sharing his truth. So PinkNews asked trans and non-binary ambassadors for Mermaids – who are either in education or have just left school – about how they’ve been supported in the UK education system, and how it could be better for those in the future. However, there was no clear input from young trans people or their parents. The Policy Exchange report that appears to have inspired this opened with a foreword by gender-critical MP Rosie Duffield and based its findings on freedom of information requests sent to schools. Leaks have suggested the government guidance, which will cover state and independent schools, would bar trans children from using toilets or changing facilities which align with their authentic self, prevent trans girls from playing certain sports with other girls, and discourage schools from allowing students to change their names and pronouns. In March, prime minister Rishi Sunak promised schools would receive new guidance after a report by the right-wing lobby group Policy Exchange, cynically titled “Asleep at the Wheel”, which claimed schools are compromising “fundamental safeguarding principles” by not outing trans kids to their parents. As the government prepares to release restrictive new guidance for schools on trans students, three young people share their experiences of exploring their gender while in education.
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