It’s hard to believe this could happen but the Telegraph has seen the documents which support that it did. A toddler at an unnamed nursery school was suspended for transphobia. The toddler in question isn’t identified either but, at most, this was a 4-year-old child. Other kids no older than seven were suspended for the same reason.
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Department for Education (DfE) data show the child, aged either three or four, was suspended from a state school in the 2022-23 academic year for “abuse against sexual orientation and gender identity”.
The school and further details of the case were not disclosed.
But statistics show that 94 pupils at state primary schools were suspended or permanently excluded for transphobia and homophobia in 2022-23.
These included 10 pupils from year one and three from year two, where the maximum age is seven.
The leader of a gender critical organization suggested the story was almost too crazy to believe.
“Every once in a while, the extremes of gender ideology throw up a story that seems too crazy to believe, and a toddler being suspended from nursery for so-called transphobia or homophobia is one such example,” Helen Joyce, director of advocacy at Sex Matters, told the newspaper.
“Teachers and school leaders involved in this insanity should be ashamed of themselves for projecting adult concepts and beliefs onto such young children,” she added.
Author JK Rowling also called the story “totalitarian insanity.”
This is totalitarian insanity. If you think small children should be punished for being able to recognise sex, you are a dangerous zealot who should be nowhere near kids or in any position of authority over them. https://t.co/IZI0sP58ss
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 31, 2025
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Elon Musk agreed.
Utter madness! https://t.co/NoywkcaGlU
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 31, 2025
And Ted Cruz.
Absolutely true 👇 https://t.co/STlwdqJS1e
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 31, 2025
Riley Gaines said “Even the youngest are punished for being honest.”
Toddlers as young as three years old have reportedly been suspended from nursery for “transphobia”—in other words, for trusting their instincts and recognizing reality.
Even the youngest are punished for being honest.
https://t.co/i91Unkac4w— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) March 31, 2025
So what actually happened here? Again, we don’t have any details but a spokesman for the Education Department seemed to be defending this.
“All pupils and staff should feel safe and protected at school and should never face violence or abuse,” a Department for Education spokesperson told The Independent.
It makes no sense at all. How can a child this age be held accountable for transphobia? Here’s Helen Joyce speculating on what most likely happened in this case.
“Children shouldn’t be taught any nonsense about gender identities…”@HJoyceGender on the toddler suspended from nursery for “transphobia” with @TalkTV pic.twitter.com/9TilQL1Q2c
— Sex Matters (@SexMattersOrg) March 31, 2025
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office was asked about this and said he did not agree with it, sort of.
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Asked about the suspension of the nursery pupil, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “I’ve seen these reports. Obviously the Prime Minister would not support those sorts of measures. But equally, I don’t know the specific incident in the case.
“I think the data around this is all pretty significantly analysed, so I think it’s quite hard to provide any comment on any specific cases.
“Pupils and staff should never be subject to abuse, but any action taken to tackle behaviour should also be proportionate.”
The spokesman didn’t actually say this treatment was insane, he suggested it was disproportionate, which is not the same at all. Starmer’s take seems to be that the toddler shouldn’t have been suspended just given a different corrective. Maybe we could just leave the little kids out of it? That doesn’t seem to occur to any of these people.
