The NSPCC has quietly dropped its long-standing guidance that adults supervising children while they change should be the same sex as those children, meaning male teachers could now oversee girls changing for swimming or sports. The child protection charity's move has provoked anger from MPs and women's rights campaigners, who accuse it of caving to pressure from transgender activists rather than following the Supreme Court's April 2025 ruling on sex-based rights, which they say should have prompted a switch to "biological sex" wording rather than deletion of the safeguard altogether.

The NSPCC initially claimed the change mirrored an update to Department for Education statutory guidance this summer, but the DfE denied removing any such recommendation, prompting the charity to instead say its decision was based on a "variety of sources". Tory equalities spokesman Joy Morrissey called the move "completely unacceptable" and urged the Government to review the guidance, while Sex Matters chief executive Maya Forstater accused the NSPCC of being "cowardly, weak and hypocritical" and prioritising avoiding offence to trans activists over children's safety and dignity. The NSPCC denies acting under lobbying pressure and says it may revisit the guidance once the Equality and Human Rights Commission provides further direction.