b'Gender diversity in schoolsAn Admissions PerspectiveAt the beginning of Term 2 in 2018 InternationalAs we are an independent school I felt it wise to also seek advice GrammarSchool(IGS)enrolledtwonewfrom the Association of Independent Schools in New South studentswhoopenlyidentifyastransgender.Wales (AISNSW). A senior staff member confirmed that the two These young people were both coming into highLegal Issues Bulletins still contained the best advice and that a school year groups, one born male identifyingvery important part of our pre-enrolment discussions with the as female and just turned 14 years old and onefamilies should focus on disclosurehow much can we divulge born female identifying as male and just 15. about their child, to whom and under what circumstances?IGS is a co-educational, secular school in inner Sydney. WeThe two families concerned were very supportive of their childs have a significant population of single sex families and a strongnew-foundidentityandsubsequentwellbeing.Bothwrote rainbowcommunitywithmanysupporterswithinourstaff,letters requesting the name and gender changes and both alumni and general family population. And, of course, wevewere very clear about their wishes on the matter of disclosure. always had gay students, along with students who expressOne family wrote a very moving letter about their childs gender themselves in ways other than the usual gender boundaries.identity journey and asked me to pass it on to any other staff This is perfectly okay in a school which includes authenticitymember who may have dealings with their child. anddiversityamongstitscorevaluesandwhoseschoolI was then able to record the two students in our database by population embodies inclusivity. their chosennot borngender and name. Through further However, we had not before had students who wished to beresearchIlearntthatotherinstrumentalitiessuchasthe accepted and treated as a gender they were not born with. TheirNational Education Standards Authority (NESA) and the School families had requested it and were very open in articulatingFunding Branch of the Commonwealth Education Department their wishindeed their expectation - that their child be treatedrequired that we record our transgender students with them accordingly.Thesetwostudentsfittedthemostsuccinctin exactly the same way as in our own database. I confess I definition of transgender - that is, someone who identifies aswassurprisedatthelackofobstaclesintherecordingof a member of the opposite sex and seeks to live accordingly. transgender students, even beyond the schools walls.AsAdmissionsDirector,IwasstruckbytheopennessandThatsthepracticalstuff.Inourexperience,transgender bravery of these families. But I was equally concerned with howstudents and their families have already been through an awful we would fulfil their needs.lot before arriving at our school. AlittleresearchturnedupaLegalIssuesBulletin(No.20), published by the NSW education department in 2014 dealingThe Struggleswith the way a students name is used and recorded by schools andother(state)educationalinstitutions.ThisdocumentThey have struggled with their own thoughts and feelings about advised that it is possible to record a student by a name andthe situationoften fear and shame. They have had to deal with gender contrary to what is stated on their birth certificate,friends, family and schools and the students have already, in providingthereisasignedconsentfrombothparents.Asome cases, experienced isolation and bullying. Transgender second Legal Issues Bulletin (No.55) originally, published thestudents will be more vulnerable and more at risk than most sameyear,dealswithsomeofthebroaderissuesaroundstudents, especially if there are mental health issues in play.having transgender students at school.'