Primary schools in the UK can now officialy use the preferred pronouns of transgender pupils, according to new proposals from the Labour Government.

This ends an outright ban on such pronouns for primary aged children instituted by the Tory Government in 2023. This means a biological female can be addressed as ‘he’, ‘him’ or ‘they’ if they wish and a biological male as ‘she’, ‘her’ or ‘they’.

The new guidance says children under 11 should be supported to socially transition only in “exceptionally rare” circumstances and argues that early social transition can have significant psychological and practical consequences and should not be treated as a neutral act.

Secondary schools will have more discretion but are still told that parents must be involved. Only in cases where seeking parents’ views would create a safeguarding risk, such as in cases of abuse, can schools proceed without informing families.

Children over eight should not be permitted to use toilets for the opposite biological sex, while those over 11 should not access opposite-sex changing rooms.

Mixed-sex sleeping arrangements on residential trips are also ruled out.

And a child’s birth sex must be accurately recorded in records.

However, Maya Forstater, chief executive of Sex Matters, said it was a “dangerous fairytale” to let children be treated as the opposite gender at all.

“Schools are still being left with the idea that they can facilitate ‘social transition’ — which remains undefined — and that they should negotiate this on a case-by-case basis,” Forstater said.
“It should be clear by now that allowing children and parents to think that a child who starts their education as a girl can graduate as a boy, or vice versa, is a dangerous fairytale.”