Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take to keep gay, lesbian, transgender and bi-sexual pupils safe in schools, in the light of claims that a transgender pupil aged 11 was shot with a BB gun at a school in Greater Manchester.

The UK has one of the world’s strongest legislative frameworks to prevent and tackle discrimination.

The Equality Act 2010 protects transgender people from discrimination. The Government has published guidance for schools on how to comply with the Act. The guidance contains advice on supporting transgender children and protecting them from discrimination.

The Government has sent a clear message to schools that bullying, for whatever reason, is unacceptable and should not be tolerated. All schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent bullying amongst pupils. Schools are free to develop their own anti-bullying strategies and they are held clearly to account for their effectiveness through Ofsted.

Homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying is unacceptable and the government is committed to tackling it. In September, the Government announced a £3million programme from 2016-2019 to prevent and address homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in a sustainable way. The programme focuses on primary and secondary schools in England.

All schools in England have a legal duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children at their school. As part of this duty all schools must have regard to the statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education. The guidance sets out that all school staff have a responsibility to provide a safe environment in which children can learn and that all schools should have an effective child protection policy.