Mick Hartley

Bridget Phillipson again. She really believes in the gender fairies.

Pupils will be allowed to change their gender at school and use different pronouns, including in some “rare” instances those as young as four.

New guidance issued by Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, will allow children to use pronouns of the opposite sex but only after schools have consulted with parents. It says clinical advice should be taken into account.

Primary schools are told to exercise particular caution because allowing children to change their gender can put them on an “irrevocable pathway” and have significant, lasting effects. “We would expect support for full social transition [including changing names, pronouns and uniform] to be agreed very rarely,” the new rules say.

She’s trying to sound responsible about it – and yes, at least the role of parents is emphasised – but she still believes girls can become boys and boys can become girls if they just wish hard enough.

Maya Forstater, chief executive of the campaign group 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.”…

Meanwhile, Phillipson is still delaying guidance on single-sex spaces for businesses and public services. The Equality and Human Rights Commission submitted its guidance to ministers almost five months ago but it has yet to be laid before parliament.