When to use this template
Use this template to brief the governing board — or at minimum the Chair of Governors — when the school is dealing with a facilities and trans-inclusion matter, typically a parent or campaigner complaint about toilet, changing or sport provision, or a request relating to a gender-questioning pupil. It gives governors the assurance pack they need to test whether the school has complied with its statutory duties, kept proper records, followed its policies, and maintained oversight without grandstanding.
It is a governance instrument, not an operational response: the headteacher’s reply to a complainant sits elsewhere. This is a structure the board fills in — not a finished, worked example. The fully worked exemplar, the tailored site assessment and the response letter adapted to the school’s actual provision sit in the paid schools Consulting pack.
How to use this template
Complete each section before the board meeting. Be factual — a briefing that understates risk or papers over gaps in the school’s records invites challenge rather than absorbing it. The headteacher or clerk prepares the paper; the Chair reviews it before the meeting. Replace every [bracketed] placeholder with the school’s actual facts. Where a section does not apply, say so and why — an empty field is a gap; a field marked “not applicable, because…” is a record.
1. Purpose and scope
This paper briefs the governing board on a facilities and trans-inclusion matter so that governors can assure themselves the school is meeting its duties and keeping a defensible record.
- School: [School name]
- Prepared by: [name of headteacher / clerk]
- Date of meeting: [date]
- Matter triggering this paper: [summary — e.g. parent complaint received [date] / campaigner letter / press or social-media attention / a pupil request relating to social transition]
The board’s role here is assurance and challenge, not drafting the headteacher’s operational reply.
2. The statutory frame the school operates under
The school operates under four legal regimes at once. Single-sex facilities are a statutory requirement, not a discretionary proportionality choice.
School Premises (England) Regulations 2012 (still in force — not historic). Regulation 4 requires separate toilet facilities for boys and girls aged 8 and over (except single-occupancy rooms secured from inside), and separate changing and showering facilities for pupils aged 11 and over.
Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 — the parallel single-sex facilities duty for independent schools.
Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2026 — final version published 7 July 2026; comes into force on 1 September 2026 (KCSIE 2025 remains in force until that date). Gender-questioning guidance is now embedded in KCSIE (paras 252–282) on a statutory footing (section 175 Education Act 2002). Facilities rules sit at: toilets paras 105–111, changing rooms and showers 112–116, boarding 197–202, single-sex sport 95–98. Schools must not allow children into toilets, changing rooms or boarding accommodation designated for the opposite biological sex — no exceptions, including when supporting social transition. Schools should consider alternative facilities (for example self-contained individual lockable toilets) without compromising single-sex provision. Safety-based single-sex sport admits no exceptions; fairness-based sport is a balanced case-by-case decision.
Equality Act 2010 and Human Rights Act 1998 — KCSIE 2026 requires schools to comply with both safeguarding and equality / human-rights law. Trans pupils retain gender-reassignment protection; the public sector equality duty applies to maintained schools. In For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, sex means biological sex for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010; the ruling did not mandate trans exclusion. The EHRC Code of Practice — Services, Public Functions and Associations (2026) comes into force on 5 August 2026; its general proportionality frame does not override the schools-specific statutory single-sex facilities duties above.
Record that the board has had regard to each regime.
3. Current provision
Complete the table with the school’s actual figures.
| Provision | Number / description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Female-only toilets (girls 8+) | [number] | |
| Male-only toilets (boys 8+) | [number] | |
| Single-occupancy lockable toilets (secured from inside) | [number] | |
| Female-only changing / showering (11+) | [summary] | |
| Male-only changing / showering (11+) | [summary] | |
| Any alternative facilities provided (e.g. self-contained individual lockable toilets) | [summary] | |
| Boarding accommodation (if applicable) | [summary] | |
| Any recent alterations to layout or designation | [summary] | |
| Any single-sex provision removed or redesignated | [summary — state “none” if applicable] |
4. Suitable alternatives and dignity
What the school provides so that a gender-questioning pupil who will not use their biological-sex facility has dignified access without compromising single-sex provision.
| Alternative offered | Location | How single-sex provision is preserved | In place since |
|---|---|---|---|
| [e.g. self-contained individual lockable toilet] | [location] | [how] | [date] |
| [e.g. private changing slot] | [location] | [how] | [date] |
Privacy and anti-outing: where a child confides gender-questioning feelings but does not ask for changes to their provision, there is no reason to break that confidence unless a safeguarding risk arises (KCSIE 2026). Record how staff are briefed on this.
5. Social transition decisions
KCSIE 2026 sets a careful, parental-involvement process. Schools should not initiate social transition. Parents should be actively involved and their views carry great weight; a very careful approach is expected, and full social transition at primary school should be very rare. Biological sex must be recorded accurately. The Cass Review underpins the cautionary approach. Decisions must be reviewed over time and detransition support put in place.
These are judgement calls and must be recorded. For the current matter:
- Pupil initials / reference: [reference — do not name]
- Date of request: [date]
- Parental involvement to date: [summary]
- Biological sex recorded as: [record]
- Decision taken: [summary]
- Review date: [date]
- Detransition support arranged: [summary]
6. Equality duties
Equality and human-rights duties run alongside the safeguarding duties — they do not displace them.
- Equality Act 2010 — sex: the school must have due regard to the protected characteristic of sex. [Record the consideration given.]
- Equality Act 2010 — gender reassignment: trans pupils retain this protection. [Record the consideration given.]
- Public sector equality duty: applies to maintained schools. [Record due-regard evidence.]
- Human Rights Act 1998: [note any relevant Article 8 / Article 14 considerations.]
7. Decision trail and assessments on record
The board needs to know what is on record. Flag clearly if none is on record — that is itself a finding.
| Assessment / record | Date completed | Outcome | On file? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safeguarding risk assessment | [date] | [outcome] | [yes / no / none on record] |
| Equality impact assessment | [date] | [outcome] | [yes / no / none on record] |
| Consultation (parents / pupils / staff) | [date] | [outcome] | [yes / no / none on record] |
| Site review of facilities | [date] | [outcome] | [yes / no / none on record] |
| Legal or trust / local-authority advice | [date] | [outcome] | [yes / no / none on record] |
If any row reads “none on record”, the board should treat that as a gap to address, not an answer.
8. Chronology of decision-making
| Date | Action | By whom |
|---|---|---|
| [date] | [action — e.g. premises review, pupil request received, assessment commissioned] | [name / role] |
| [date] | [action] | [name / role] |
| [date] | [action] | [name / role] |
| [date] | [action] | [name / role] |
| [date] | [action] | [name / role] |
9. Risk assessment for the current matter
Assess the risks specific to this matter, not generic risks.
| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation in place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live parent / campaigner letter — [reference] | [L / M / H] | [L / M / H] | [summary] |
| Press or social-media attention | [L / M / H] | [L / M / H] | [summary] |
| Compliance gap (premises / KCSIE) | [L / M / H] | [L / M / H] | [summary] |
| Safeguarding gap | [L / M / H] | [L / M / H] | [summary] |
| Reputational / community | [L / M / H] | [L / M / H] | [summary] |
| Equality / discrimination claim | [L / M / H] | [L / M / H] | [summary] |
10. Recommendations and next steps for the board
The board’s job is to test compliance and records, not to draft the headteacher’s operational reply.
- Confirm the current provision table (section 3) is accurate and evidences the statutory single-sex duties.
- Confirm suitable alternatives are in place without compromising single-sex provision (section 4).
- Confirm social-transition decisions, if any, follow the KCSIE 2026 process and are recorded (section 5).
- Confirm the decision trail is complete — flag any “none on record” items from section 7 for action.
- Confirm whether specialist legal advice is needed before the headteacher responds to any complainant.
- Agree a review date and the follow-up report to the board.
11. Sign-off
| Role | Name | Signature | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chair of Governors | [name] | [date] | |
| Headteacher | [name of headteacher] | [date] | |
| Clerk | [name] | [date] |
This template provides general information and does not constitute legal advice. It is a scaffold to support the governing board’s own documented oversight. Adapt it to the school’s context and take specialist advice where the decision warrants it.