Transgender guidance for schools is being refined and will come soon, the Education Secretary said, as she acknowledged it has taken longer than expected to be published.

Gillian Keegan said the subject is “quite a contentious area” which has prompted much debate and said the Government wants to make sure it gets the right balance.

Education unions have described delays to the long-awaited guidance as frustrating as they leave schools in a difficult position, while England’s Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said teachers, families and pupils are “crying out for” it so there is “clarity” in the approach across the country.

It will come soon, we’ve been refining it and going through the various legal aspects of it as well

In March, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged that the guidance would be published “for the summer term”, but in July Ms Keegan confirmed it would take “a little bit longer”.

On Tuesday, she used similar language, as she explained “various legal aspects” of the guidance are being looked at.

She told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme: “We are still working on it. I had hoped to put it out by the summer but it has taken a bit longer.

“It’s a very sensitive area. We have been trying to make sure we get the balance between the rights that people have but also something that’s useful for schools to be able to navigate this.

“We know it’s quite a contentious area, there’s lots of discussions around it, there’s lots of debate around it.

“So I’m working with the equalities minister and the Attorney General to make sure that the legislative structure, even though it’s non-statutory guidance, is something that is helpful as well.

“It will come soon, we’ve been refining it and going through the various legal aspects of it as well.”

Following the latest update, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union the NAHT, said the “ongoing delays to the publication of the draft guidance are incredibly frustrating and continue to leave schools in a difficult position”.

A report by the centre-right think tank Policy Exchange, published in March, suggested a number of secondary schools are not informing parents as soon as a child questions their gender identity.

It suggested that safeguarding principles are being “routinely disregarded in many secondary schools” when it comes to gender identity.

Ms Keegan has previously stated that the guidance will say children should not change gender ID without schools having a conversation with parents, as she insisted “parental consent is really very important”.