Labour opens door to trans children in primary schools: Government could allow pupils as young as FOUR to ‘fully transition’ to opposite gender
Labor opened the door to gender reassignment for primary school students on Thursday.
Long-awaited trans guidance for schools has finally arrived, watering down previous Tory proposals.
Directions drawn up by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch have banned changing pupils’ pronouns in primary schools. However, Government guidance lifted the ban; instead, he said, four-year-olds should be allowed ‘full social transition’ to the opposite sex, albeit in ‘rare’ cases.
Other sections have been deleted, including edicts that secondary students should change their pronouns only in ‘very rare cases’, that no teacher or student should be forced to use the new pronouns, and that teachers should not be prevented from saying ‘boys and girls’.
On Thursday campaigners said the guidance was putting students at risk by promoting the ‘dangerous fable’ that it was possible for children to change gender.
Conservative Party education spokeswoman Laura Trott said: ‘Primary school children should never be tempted by changes in pronouns. But surprisingly Labour’s guidance opens the door to four-year-olds being referred to in ways that do not reflect their biological sex.’
The Department for Education’s guidance on ‘gender questioning children’, which is subject to consultation, will eventually be backed by law.
Dr who is carrying out the 2024 independent review of the NHS’s gender identity services for children. It was supported by Hilary Cass and this review led to the banning of puberty blockers for those under 18.
Labor opened the door to gender reassignment for primary school students on Thursday. Long-awaited trans guidance for schools has finally arrived, watered down by previous Tory proposals
Department for Education guidance on ‘gender questioning children’, subject to consultation, will eventually be backed by law
Orders drawn up by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch ban changing pupils’ pronouns in primary schools
The guidance was first prepared under the Conservatives in 2023, but when Labor came to power it was delayed by 18 months due to divisions within the party over the issue.
The previous text said: ‘Primary school age children should not have pronouns that differ from the gendered pronouns used for them.’
But the new advice simply says ‘schools should be particularly conscious of safeguarding concerns for primary school-age children’, noting that those who transition so early are more likely to seek medical attention later.
He adds: ‘Primary schools must be particularly careful and we expect support for full social transition to be agreed very rarely.’
Maya Forstater, chief executive of Sex Matters, said: ‘Schools are still faced with the idea that they can facilitate the undefined ‘social transition’ and need to negotiate this on a case-by-case basis.
‘Children are encouraged to think that there is a ‘birth sex’ as well as another concept of gender. This has no legal or factual basis and undermines conservation.
‘It should now be clear that allowing children and parents to think that a child who starts school as a girl can graduate as a boy, or vice versa, that a child who starts school as a girl can graduate as a boy, is a dangerous fairy tale.’
Stephanie Davies-Arai, founder of Transgender Trend, which advocates an evidence-based approach to children, added: ‘No child should be forced to call a boy ‘he’ or a girl ‘she’. ‘It is other children who are expected to socially transition to a classmate using their own “preferred pronouns” and this is a completely inappropriate request for any child.’
As in the draft version, the new document also states that girls’ toilets and changing areas should be for women only. It is stated that students who question their gender should be offered an alternative if they do not want to benefit from opportunities designed according to their gender.
Conservative Party education spokeswoman Laura Trott (sitting next to Badenoch) said: ‘Primary school children should not be facing changes in pronouns at all.’
Trott continued: “But surprisingly Labour’s guidance opens the door to four-year-olds being referred to in ways that do not reflect their biological sex.”
As in the draft version, the new document also states that girls’ toilets and changing areas should remain exclusively for women.
Additionally, travel should not include mixed toilets or mixed-gender sleeping arrangements for children over the age of eight. The guidance says a child’s birth gender should be recorded in school and university records.
Schools should seek parents’ views on their child’s gender reassignment request and should always take into account the clinical advice received by families. No staff member can decide on a child’s transition on their own, without agreement with the school and parents, and schools should not ‘initiate’ the transition; they can only ‘respond’ to requests.
Meanwhile, additions to the guide include a seemingly obvious note that it is ‘common’ for girls to play with trucks and for boys to wear ‘feminine’ clothes.
She adds: ‘Sometimes young children also go through a period of questioning their gender, but for the majority this will not continue into adulthood.’
He also says the sport should remain single-gender if there are safety concerns about accommodating transgender children.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, who has repeatedly delayed the guidance, said: ‘Parents send their children to school and university with the confidence that they will be protected. Teachers work tirelessly to keep them safe. This is non-negotiable and this is not a political football.’
The gender inquiry document will be included in the overall statutory Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance that schools must follow and is reviewed regularly.
