In February 2026, the Department for Education (DfE) published a draft of a document called Keeping children safe in education 2026. Statutory guidance for schools and colleges (referred to through the rest of this article as “the draft KCSIE guidance”). It being “statutory” means it sets out the legal duties schools and colleges must follow (it isn’t optional).

If implemented as is, we have deep concerns about the impact this will have on the trans and non-binary young people that exist in all schools and colleges. Many schools and colleges have taken a more trans-inclusive approach than the draft KCSIE guidance allows, and, if they wish to continue to do so, they may not be able to because of the risk of legal action being taken against them.

YOUNG PEOPLE NEED YOUR HELP

At this stage, this version of KCSIE has been published as a draft for consultation. This means it is not the final version and should not be followed by schools. The DfE is inviting people to read their draft and give feedback on the proposed changes.

Anyone who wants to respond to the consultation has until 22nd April 2026 to send in their comments.

We have been working with partners across the LGBTQ+ youth sector – Allsorts and The Kite Trust – to produce some easy guidance to help you respond, find it here:

A deeper dive into our rationale and thinking can be found below.