Radical trans ideology could finally be banned from schools with Labour told ‘stop dithering’ and protect children

Schools could finally be forced to stop teaching radical transgender ideology under a new law due to be tabled by the Tories.

Shadow ministers are putting forward legislation which would make the 2023 draft trans guidance for schools legally binding.

The guidance says pupils born male must not use the girls’ toilets, and parents must be consulted if pupils ask to ‘socially transition’ to the opposite gender.

Officially called the ‘Gender-Questioning Children Guidance’, it also forbids schools from teaching ‘gender identity’ views as fact.

However, it was originally published under the Tories as non-statutory, meaning compliance would be voluntary.

And when the Tories lost the election last year, Labour placed it under ‘review’, leaving schools in limbo ever since.

It has meant heads are still inviting trans activist groups to teach gender ideology to children as young as nine.

Today, the Tories announced they would table an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, currently passing through the House of Lords, which would make the guidance law.

Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott said: ‘The Education Secretary has failed to act.

‘The guidance for schools on gender-questioning children has been sat on her desk for nearly a year and she won’t take a decision.

‘There is no justifiable reason for delay.

‘Schools want clarity and children need safeguarding.

‘Labour should stop dithering, publish the guidance and back our amendment to make it statutory.’

The amendment says the guidance ‘must be published’ when the Act receives royal assent, and schools must, by law, ‘have regard’ for it.

The pressure on Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to act has increased following the Supreme Court’s May judgement that the word ‘woman’ is defined by biology.

Mrs Trott added: ‘The time for delay is over.

‘It has been 75 days since the Supreme Court told us what most already knew: biological sex matters.’ 

However, last night a Labour source hit back saying: ‘The Tories have some nerve.

‘The original gender questioning guidance was delayed, shamefully, for years due to Tory ministers squabbling over the contents so they could position for a future leadership campaign.

‘This Labour government is making sure we get this guidance right, taking into consideration the findings of the Cass Review, so we can safeguard the wellbeing of children.’

It comes after Labour MPs were photographed earlier this month supporting an activist group which teaches gender ideology to children as young as nine.

Kim Leadbeater and Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty were among those backing Pop’n’Olly, a controversial group which promotes ‘transgender Cinderella’ books to primary schools.

Pop’n’Olly have produced a video called ‘Gender Explained for Kids’, which is marketed as ‘family friendly’.

It says: ‘Most people’s gender will be the same as their assigned sex, although this will not be the case for everyone.’

It adds that gender ‘can be something that someone discovers about themselves as they grow older’.

And it says: ‘Some people find it useful to think of gender as a spectrum’.

According to their website, Pop’n’Olly regularly visit primary schools.

In May 2024, Pop’n’Olly’s training lead, Jack Lynch, wrote about speaking to a group of children aged nine to 11 at a primary in Sussex regarding ‘gender identity’. 

It is thought some schools are still engaging with such groups due to a lack of clarity from the Government.

In addition, it is thought many grassroots teachers are actively working against the guidance.

In April 2024, the National Education Union (NEU) passed a motion vowing to ‘campaign and lobby’ the then Tory government to ‘scrap’ it.

NEU activists said at the time they had taught pupils who had transitioned at age eight, and no one ‘had any issue with it’.

In particular, the union opposed the part which says parents should be told if a child wants to socially transition.

It said this is akin to ‘compulsory “outing” of students to parents/carers’.

During a debate on the motion, Midge Lowe, a teacher from Doncaster, said the guidance was ‘regressive trash’.

She added: ‘Refusing to allow a cautious, but early transition is harmful.’

Kathryn Barton, a teacher from Birmingham, said: ‘I have taught a pupil who had transitioned in the summer holidays between year two and year three.

‘Not a single pupil in the community had any issue with it or were affected with it in any way. They very easily changed his pronouns that they used to referred to him.’ 

The guidance was originally issued in response to schools’ complaints that they often had no idea how to respond to requests by children to change gender.

Many schools said at the time they were bound by equality laws to facilitate changes, but the guidance says this is not the case.

A Department for Education spokesman said: ‘The Education Secretary has been clear that children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of this guidance for schools.

‘As such, the government is looking carefully at the consultation responses and considering the relevant evidence, before setting out next steps to take the RSHE and gender questioning guidance forward.’

A spokesman for Pop’n’Olly said: ‘We are incredibly proud of the work we do at Pop’n’Olly which supports schools, parents and carers in teaching about diversity and inclusion.

‘Our work is supported by many thousands of teachers, educators, parents and carers, designed and delivered by education experts, in line with all current legislation and informed by research.’

It comes after the Prime Minister said at the weekend hospitals and government departments refusing to implement the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman must ‘get on with it’.

Sir Keir Starmer has said guidance on how to interpret the court’s decision must be ‘consistent with the ruling’, after reports civil servants were attempting to ignore the judgment.