The Department for Education and Capita, who run the schools’ managements information systems (SIMS) seem to have clashed over how to record the gender of transitioning or non-binary pupils on their census returns, which have to be completed by October the 6th. For the Government Department advises that the gender recorded for pupils should be decided by the pupils themselves or parents, while Capita states that they must be recorded under the gender they were assigned at birth unless their name has been legally changed.
Schools’ management teams will be perplexed by the contradictory information. However, GIRES, Stonewall and Cambridgeshire County Council (in a letter to schools) all advise they follow the DfE advice.