National guidance for schools in Wales to support transgender students will be published over the next school year.
The Welsh Government said it needed “wide consultations” and would provide “clear and sound advice”.
One charity said teachers often lack confidence when it comes to speaking about gender issues.
School of Hard Knocks said the issue is “coming up more and more” in schools.
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The charity uses sports like rugby to help vulnerable children reintegrate into school and avoid permanent exclusion, but found teachers were looking for help to support transgender, non-binary and gender-exploring young people.
Sian Edwards said it ran focus groups to find out what key issues teachers and students were facing.
“More and more students are exploring their gender and being open about how they identify and use pronouns that differ from those given to them at birth,” she said.
“It’s something teachers are seeing more and more, and it’s not something they’re necessarily familiar with or comfortable with.”
The Inc Project, led by School of Hard Knocks, now offers training for schools and other organizations.
“A key message of the training is: have your say. Students just want to know that you’re trying to help – that’s the biggest difference,” added Dr. Edwards added.
Alison Carney, a consultant who helps deliver the training, acknowledged it could be a sensitive area and teachers feared getting it wrong.
“We’ve talked to the kids and the teachers about the problems they’re having at school, and this isn’t necessarily about getting down to business [detail] politics,” she said.
“It’s just about what could make their everyday life better.”
The Welsh Government has committed to issuing guidance as part of its LGBTQ+ action plan in the summer of 2023 but said this has been postponed to ensure full consultation to avoid exam season and the school summer holidays.
“This is a complex policy area that requires extensive consultation with experts, practitioners and the public, as well as with children and young people themselves,” the Welsh Government said.
The guidance is needed to help teachers ensure transgender children and youth “feel safe and adequately supported in education.”
Dan Hayes, 23, of Rhondda Cynon Taf, said more guidance could have helped him while he was at school.
“It started when I was maybe eight or nine years old. Mainly I was thinking, ‘These aren’t the clothes I’m supposed to wear’ called.
“Actually, I found the words to describe myself much later, when I was 16 or 17. But even then, it took a lot for me to identify with those words, ‘I’m transgender.’
Dan said he finds it difficult to wear girls’ uniforms.
“I’ve always felt very uncomfortable going to school like that. I tried my best to grow my hair long, wear makeup, but it just never worked,” he said.
Dan said being transgender or non-binary was rarely mentioned in school, apart from “a joke,” and he said more guidance for teachers could be helpful.
“I didn’t want to talk to any of my teachers about it because I didn’t think they would understand.
“I think it’s important for trans kids to know that there are people like them out there.”
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Welsh Conservatives said it was a “sensitive issue” and “vital” to get it right.
The party’s education spokeswoman, Laura Anne Jones MS, said: “The guidelines should allow teachers to focus on teaching and not engage in identity politics and culture wars.”
Any guidance “should not come at the expense of the rights of women and girls,” she added.
Children’s Commissioner for Wales Rocio Cifuentes said it was important that adults were “well equipped and confident in giving advice and help”.
“I expect that the Welsh Government’s forthcoming national transgender policy for schools will be a comprehensive and practical tool to help schools be confident in responding to pupils’ needs,” she added.
The UK government has promised guidance to schools in England during the summer semester after an education union said members were “navigating a minefield”.
Some parents have previously tried to question the schools’ and local authorities’ approach.
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