The UK Government has confirmed that its final statutory guidance for schools on handling gender identity, issued by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, will retain a provision allowing children as young as five to "socially transition" to the opposite gender at school. The guidance was left unchanged from the draft published in February, prompting campaigners to warn that it could embolden "activist parents" seeking to have their children treated as exceptions to school-wide safeguarding rules.

The guidance also keeps advice stating there is "no reason" to inform parents about a pupil experiencing feelings around gender, unless the child asks to formally transition at school or there is a "safeguarding risk". The sex-based rights group Sex Matters criticised ministers for refusing to change their position, with chief executive Maya Forstater arguing that trans identification should always be treated as a safeguarding concern, citing risks such as breast-binding and unregulated hormones sourced online.