Author JK Rowling has described the decision to kick a toddler out of nursery after they were accused of transphobia or homophobia as “totalitarian insanity”.
The child, aged either three or four, was suspended from a state school three years ago for “abuse against sexual orientation and gender identity,” Department for Education data revealed this week.
Details of the specific school or the case during the 2022/23 academic term were not disclosed by the DfE. However, it appears that this is not an isolated case.
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
Retweeting a MailOnline article about the case, the Harry Potter author wrote: “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.”
The Telegraph reported on Monday that 94 students at state primary schools in England were suspended, or in some cases permanently excluded, for transphobia and homophobia during the same period.
Of these, ten were from Year 1 and three were in Year 2 — where the maximum possible age of pupils is seven.
The data also shows the number of suspensions and expulsions has hiked since the coronavirus pandemic.
At least 787,221 pupils were suspended across English schools in 2022/23, more than double the number in 2016/17.
Of these, some 84,339 were primary school students, a rise of 31 per cent from 64,337.
Meanwhile, pupils facing exclusions rose by 21 per cent to 9,377 in 2022/23, although the number of excluded primary school pupils fell by four per cent over that period.
Helen Joyce, director of advocacy at Sex Matters, a human rights charity that campaigns for clarity on sex in law, policy and language, 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.
“It’s unforgivable for children’s vital early education to be so traumatically disrupted by school leaders who prioritise activists’ demands over their charges’ wellbeing.”
Lord Young, of the Free Speech Union, added: “I would have thought that 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.”
A DfE spokesman said: “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.”
Transphobia rows in education came to a head in 2021 when feminist philosopher Kathleen Stock was “cancelled” and forced to leave her job at the University of Sussex over her gender-critical views.
Last week, the university was charged £585,000 by the Office for Students — the largest fine ever given to a university — for “perpetuating the culture wars” and failing to uphold freedom of speech following the case of Ms Stock, who required a bodyguard on campus and CCTV cameras at home.
:: Do you know the nursery or family in this case? Contact Bill.Bowkett@standard.co.uk
