Trans Inclusion Schools GuidanceTrans Inclusion Schools Guidance
Produced by the Freedom of Information officeAuthored by Children, Young People, Education and Skills and published on
14 November 2025.Prepared internally, no external costs.
Request 757742021
The UK Supreme Court ruled on 16 April 2025 to clarify that the definition of sex in the Equality Act (2010) means biological sex.
In June 2025, the Jersey and Guernsey Law Review published an article concluding that Jersey should be applying the UK Supreme Court ruling here.
This is a significant and important development with far-reaching consequences for Jersey policy and practice.
I have contacted all Jersey government departments with guidance which currently does not comply with the UK Supreme Court. One has already responded confirming that their guidance has been updated to reflect the UK Supreme Court ruling on the basis of advice from the Law Officers’ Department.
The Guidance for which CYPES is responsible: “Trans Inclusion Schools Guidance” (March 2025) is non-compliant with the law. This includes but is not limited to the following:
1. Toilets (Section 14, p. 12)
2. Changing rooms (Section 15, p. 13)
3. Physical education and sport (Section 16, p. 13)
4. Residential trips (Section 17, p. 13)
5. Single-sex schools (Section 34, p. 23)
6. General approach to gender identity (Sections 6, 27, pp. 7, 19) *.
* (Guidance defines “trans*” as individuals whose gender identity differs from their biological sex [p. 25], relying on the Discrimination Law’s gender reassignment protections. The UKSC clarified that trans individuals are protected under gender reassignment, not as their acquired gender for sex-based protections. Sex-based provisions require a biological sex interpretation to avoid incoherence.)
1. Please provide copies of any internal correspondence, reports, memoranda, or meeting minutes produced or received by the Children, Young People, Education and Skills (CYPES) department between 16 April 2025 and the present that discuss, assess, or acknowledge the need to revise the Trans Inclusion Schools Guidance (March 2025) to align with the UK Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, the Jersey and Guernsey Law Review (June 2025) article, or advice from the Law Officers’ Department (LOD) regarding compliance with this ruling.
2. Please provide any records, including but not limited to meeting minutes, project plans, correspondence with the Law Officers’ Department, internal briefings, or working group documents, created or received by the Children, Young People, Education and Skills (CYPES) department between 16 April 2025 and the present, that detail actions, plans, or discussions undertaken to review or revise the Trans Inclusion Schools Guidance (March 2025) in response to the UK Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16.
3. Please provide a copy of any updated version of the Trans Inclusion Schools Guidance (March 2025) held by the Children, Young People, Education and Skills (CYPES) department as of the date of this request.
4. Please provide copies of any documents, such as project plans, timelines, correspondence, or meeting minutes, held by the Children, Young People, Education and Skills (CYPES) department as of the date of this request, that outline the planned timeline or schedule for revising the Trans Inclusion Schools Guidance (March 2025) to align with the UK Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16.
Response
1. The Supreme Court decision is an interpretation of the Equality Act which does not directly extend to Jersey.
The applicable law in Jersey is the Discrimination Law (2013) which can be found at this link can be found at this link https://www.jerseylaw.je/laws/current/l_10_2013.
Legal advice from and/or correspondence with the Law Officers’ Department are subject to the exemptions set out in Article 32 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.
2. The Trans Inclusion Guidance (Non-statutory guidance for CYPES including schools and educational settings in Jersey), was published in March 2025, with a review period of 2 years. Any update will be indicated in the Change History section of the published document.
Legal advice from and/or correspondence with the Law Officers’ Department are subject to the exemptions set out in Article 32 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.
3. The current published Trans Inclusion Schools Guidance (March 2025) can be found at this link: https://www.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Education/ID%20Trans%20Inclusion%20Guidance%20%28Non-statutory%20guidance%20for%20CYPES%20including%20schools%20and%20educational%20settings%20in%20Jersey%29%2020250317PS.pdf.
4. Please see the response to question 2.
Articles applied
Article 3 - Meaning of “information held by a public authority”
For the purposes of this Law, information is held by a public authority if –
(a) it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person; or
(b) it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.
Article 32 - Legal professional privilege
Information is qualified exempt information if it is information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.
Public Interest test
Whilst accepted that there may be some public interest in disclosing advice from the Law Officers Department to the Children, Young People, Education and Skills department, there are many competing arguments which suggest that on balance there is greater public interest in keeping this advice confidential. The purpose of such confidentiality being to protect fully informed decision-making by allowing government to seek legal advice in private, without fear of any adverse inferences being drawn from the content of the advice or the fact that it was sought - or the scope of the same.
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