Schools to be banned from letting pupils change gender if their parents oppose to it in new guidance from Rishi Sunak
SCHOOLS will be banned from letting kids change their gender if their parents say no, The Sun can reveal.
And children who want to be called by another pronoun — he, she, they — will not be able to take part in competitive sport, under new government guidance to be published this week.
The Prime Minister has also expressed huge concerns over the content of sex education being taught to some pupils, where teachers are refusing to hand over the curriculum to worried parents.
In a move which will be seen as the PM taking on militant trans campaigners, teachers will be forced to tell parents their child is questioning their gender — even if the child objects.
The new guidance is set to spark a fiery backlash from the trans lobby and other campaigners, who will argue it is up to the children themselves to tell their parents if they want to change gender.
Under the new plans, heads in England will be told that parents must always be consulted if a child wants to be called another name, or wear a different gender uniform.
And the school will not be able to use the child’s new preferred pronouns until parents give consent.
Teachers will be ordered not to recognise a transition within the school gates if the parents do not agree with it.
And neither students nor teachers will have to call another pupil by their preferred pronouns if they do not want to.
Even if parents do give the move the green light, heads must also consider the mental effects on other children before approving the gender change, following a long period of consideration.
Schools will be ordered to take a “precautionary” approach to transitioning kids and will be urged to keep an eye on them at the first instance.
But critics have warned the new rules may put kids at risk of harm.
Teaching unions say they are dealing with a “minefield” around issues of gender, while trying not to offend anyone.
But the new rules will say that if there is a “significant safeguarding issue” where kids may be put at harm, schools must always act to protect them.
The PM will also insist that sport should be protected for children in the name of safety and to keep it fair.
Where a child is questioning their gender, they should not be allowed to play competitive sport.
A government source told The Sun: “Parents have got to be kept in the know about their child while they are at school and be consulted when sensitive matters arise.
“If their child expresses a desire to transition, for example, it’s vitally important that parents are made aware and have a say.
“It is in everyone’s best interest to ensure this happens, so that the child is looked after, teachers are clear in how they must handle the situation and parents know so that they can handle it appropriately and sensitively.
“The guidance will be crystal clear on all fronts.”
The PM has repeatedly insisted he wants to protect children in schools as well as parents’ rights.
The Policy Exchange think tank found a number of schools were routinely disregarding advice around transgender pupils and were not telling parents of their child’s decisions.
Just 39 of them reliably informed parents when pupils identified as trans, or questioned their gender. But 87 schools did not.
The PM had promised the review by the summer term, so teachers, parents and pupils can have their say on the rules in the coming weeks.
It will also consider how to teach kids age-appropriate sex education, after “disturbing” content was revealed to have been taught to young children. Reports showed kids as young as ten were being taught about pornography.
A new independent expert review will recommend specific age ratings on content.
Only high quality teaching materials from approved providers will be allowed to be used.
Sensitive topics, such as gender, will not be presented as facts to children, with discussion encouraged.
MPs have sounded the alarm about how parents are being kept in the dark about “graphic lessons on oral sex, how to choke your partner safely and 72 genders”.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has already written to all head teachers demanding they share curriculum materials with parents.
The PM, himself a dad of two girls, has previously said he was “very concerned” about reports into sex education classes and gender.
The long-awaited guidance is expected to come this week, but will undergo a lengthy period of consultation before coming into effect by the end of this year.
Mr Sunak told yesterday’s Sun on Sunday: “The wellbeing and safety of children is my top priority.
“We have to recognise that any degree of social transition could have potentially quite a significant impact and consequences for a child.
“So it is vital the right safeguards are in place.”
The PM has tried to draw a dividing line between the Tories, Labour and the Lib Dems over trans issues.
Mr Sunak has repeatedly insisted no woman can have a penis, whereas Lib Dem boss Ed Davey has said “of course” some do.
Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly tried to dodge the question. Recently he has said only one in 1,000 women have one.
The PM was last night revealed to have been caught on camera joking about the differences between the parties on this issue.
In footage obtained by Pink News, he said at a recent 1922 meeting of Tory backbenchers: “You’ll all know that I’m a big fan of everybody studying maths to 18, but it turns out that we need to focus on biology.”
Ordeal of teachers caught in woke trap
By Thomas Godfrey
THE call to ban children from changing their gender in schools comes after a string of woke outrages.
History teacher Roy Huggins claimed he was treated like a paedophile after Year 7 pupils with gender dysphoria complained about a lesson he gave on puberty.
During the lesson, given from an approved textbook, he told boys they could add muscle in the gym as they produced more testosterone “than an old man like me”.
The cover teacher also told pupils that biological women develop different muscles in order to give birth.
He was reported to a safeguarding body and faced a Disclosure and Barring Service probe over the lesson.
He was cleared by both bodies but still must inform any future employers of the DBS investigation.
The teacher, 54, of South Yorks, said he went through a nightmare two months that left him feeling suicidal.
He added: “I was on the floor. It was the worst thing that can ever happen to you as a teacher.”
Last month a teacher claimed she was sacked for refusing to use an eight-year-old’s preferred pronouns.
A Nottinghamshire school helped a girl transition into a boy two years ago and demanded all staff called the child by their preferred male name and pronouns.
But the Christian teacher refused and was suspended, only returning after she agreed to stop talking to the child.
She later objected to the child’s pronouns again and was sacked She now works in a sandwich shop.