Mick Hartley

It was a big secret, apparently:

A four-year-old was allowed to join a Church of England primary school reception class as a girl without the other parents and children being informed of their male biological sex.

A mother at the school in the southeast of England said the child became friends with her daughter and other girls and was invited on play dates, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The child is now in Year 3, where pupils are aged seven or eight, and was reported to have “flashed” at girls, and told them of their “deep secret” while in the school lavatories.

The mother told the Daily Telegraph: “The fact that a boy was being enrolled as a girl aged four, that alone for me is a massive red flag. Because I don’t see how a child of that age can make that decision … to actually go through a social transition. I just want my daughter to be a child.”

She said her daughter started behaving oddly in the present academic year, and eventually revealed that she knew her classmate’s “secret”. The mother has removed her daughter from the school.

A spokesman for the school said: “We are aware of the concerns raised and are already looking into them. We are in contact with relevant authorities and have an ongoing open dialogue with all parents involved.

“The safety and wellbeing of all of our pupils is our utmost priority and we take any reports of bullying and safeguarding concerns extremely seriously. All are dealt with in line with statutory and local guidance, and our policies and procedures.

“We are unable to comment on individual pupils and are proud we are an inclusive school and welcome all children to join our school family.”

Proud to be "an inclusive school". There's the give-away.