JK Rowling has blasted a nursery that kicked out a toddler for “being transphobic”.
The Harry Potter author waded into the debate after the youngster was suspended, branding it “totalitarian insanity”.
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Data from the Department for Education revealed a child, aged either three or four, had been suspended from a state school for “abuse against sexual orientation and gender identity”.
Details of the specific school or the case were not disclosed but the incident took place around three years ago.
Posting on X, formerly Twitter, JK Rowling said: “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.”
However, the toddler was not alone in their suspension.
It comes after 94 students at state primary schools were suspended, or in some cases permanently excluded, for transphobia and homophobia during the academic year 2022-23, the Telegraph revealed.
Of these, ten were from Year 1 while three were in Year 2 – where the maximum possible age of students is just seven.
The data, however, also revealed the staggering case of the toddler being kicked out of their nursery.
Helen Joyce, director of advocacy at Sex Matters, said: “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.”
She also took aim at how this did not appear to be an isolated case, adding that 13 children, aged four and five, had also been suspended or permanently excluded from school for the exact same reason.
Helen continued: “Teachers and school leaders involved in this insanity should be ashamed of themselves for projecting adult concepts and beliefs on to such young children.
“It’s unforgivable for children’s vital education to be so traumatically disrupted by school leaders who prioritise activists’ demands over their charges’ well-being.”
The number of pupils suspended or expelled for homophobic or transphobic behaviour increased between 2021-22 and 2022-23, moving up from 164 cases to 178.
Essex saw the highest number of suspensions and exclusions, with 16 in the academic year 2022-23.
Birmingham followed in a very close second with 15, while Bradford took third place with 11.
This data has only been tracked since the 2020-21 academic year, and students can face exclusions for multiple reasons.
A Department for Education spokesperson previously told The Sun: “All pupils and staff should feel safe and protected at school and should never face violence or abuse.
“The Education Secretary has been clear that she expects school leaders to enforce good behaviour and we are committed to a comprehensive programme of behaviour support for schools.
“Our Plan for Change sets out our relentless focus on making sure every child gets the best life chances, no matter their background, including establishing free breakfast clubs in every primary school, providing access to mental health support and making attendance one of the four core priorities of our school improvement teams.”
Lord Young, director of the Free Speech Union, said the suspensions “beggar belief”.
He told The Telegraph: “If your ideology is so rigid it justifies you punishing toddlers for not complying with it, that’s a powerful argument for discarding it in favour of something less dogmatic.”
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