Gender is a big topic among young people and within educational contexts. Many Christian teachers find themselves in a difficult situation. They want to care well for and to act in the best interests of students who are questioning their gender or identifying as trans. They want to honour the leadership and policies of their school. And they want to stay true to their Christian convictions. Often, holding those desires together is very tricky.

Two recently released resources are designed to help teachers think about how they can best navigate this complex situation.

A quick guide for teachers

One is a quick guide for teachers on the topic of gender identity and trans identification produced by the Christian Medical Fellowship. This guide explores important topics like a medical and biblical perspective on gender identity and things which may be having an influence on young people. It then explores some matters specific to those in the teaching profession, including what the law and statutory guidance says, some of the tricky issues that teachers can face, and top tips for supporting a trans-identifying student.

The guide is a new addition to an existing set of quick guides for various groups including parents, pastors and youth workers. The quick guide for teachers can be found here on the CMF website and as a PDF here.

A podcast episode for teachers

A second resource is an episode of the Association of Christian Teachers (ACT) podcast, in which I join Lizzie Harewood, Executive Officer of ACT, for a conversation around a pastoral response to gender identity. We discuss the reality of trans-identification among young people and how teachers can engage well with the topic and those impacted. You can listen to the podcast episode below, online here, or on your preferred podcast platform (e.g. Spotify; Apple Podcasts).