Transgender toilet crackdown in schools under new guidance being rolled out

New rules, which are due next month, are expected to highlight exemptions in the Equality Act which allow schools to provide “same-sex services” if they are “objectively justifiable”.

According to a report by Policy Exchange, a conservative think tank, at least 28 per cent of schools were not maintaining single-sex lavatories and 19 per cent did not have single-sex changing rooms.

The advice is expected to say that children who wish to change their gender can be provided with alternative facilities where appropriate.

Laws already permits unisex bathrooms as long as they can be “secured from the inside” and used by only one pupil at a time.

Schools are also likely to be told to inform parents if their child wants to change gender, unless there are serious safeguarding issues.

In addition, teachers are to be warned that allowing children to change their names and pronouns can have a marked psychological impact.

Some schools have been calling for guidance on trans issues, however new rules to provide single-sex facilities and separate provisions for those changing their gender identity could add extra pressure on those struggling with budgets.

Schools across Britain have introduced unisex toilets with cubicles featuring a sink and a floor-to-ceiling door that opens onto a corridor, rather than communal areas without supervision.

However, some pupils launched protests over toilet rules earlier this year and one mother said her daughter, at a school in Coventry, was left with a gashed forehead after a schoolboy kicked open the cubicle door in unisex lavatories while she was inside.

Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We have been calling on the government to provide guidance for schools about how best to support transgender pupils and pupils questioning their gender identity for many years.

“This guidance must be underpinned by a commitment to fairness, respect and safety and ultimately help schools navigate this sensitive territory in a way that ensures every pupil is treated with dignity.

“Schools having both single-sex and separate gender-neutral toilets would seem a sensible way forward.

“It is crucial that there is full consultation with school and college leaders and teachers in advance of publication to guarantee all parts of the guidance are deliverable.

"This includes giving schools the time and resources necessary to implement any changes that are required.”