We'll fight new tougher trans rules for pupils, say teachers as Britain's largest teaching union campaigns to scrap new guidance

Britain's largest teaching union has declared war on ministers' new transgender guidance for schools.

The National Education Union (NEU) passed a motion vowing to 'campaign and lobby the Government' to scrap the guidance.

Activists said they had taught pupils who had transitioned at age eight, and no one 'had any issue with it'.

In particular, the union opposes the part which says parents should almost always be told if a child wants to socially transition to the opposite gender at school.

It said this is akin to 'compulsory "outing" of students to parents/carers'.

And it also opposes a guideline which states schools can decline a request to change a child's pronouns.

During a debate on the motion, Midge Lowe, a teacher from Doncaster, said the guidance was 'regressive trash'.

She added: 'Refusing to allow a cautious, but early transition is harmful.'

Kathryn Barton, a teacher from Birmingham, said: 'I have taught a pupil who had transitioned in the summer holidays between year two and year three.

'Not a single pupil in the community had any issue with it or were affected with it in any way. They very easily changed his pronouns that they used to referred to him.'

She said the guidance was 'absurd' and would cause problems for such children in future.

The Government's long-awaited draft guidance for gender-questioning children was published in December.

It was issued in response to schools' complaints that they often had no idea how to respond to requests by children to change gender.

Many schools said they were bound by equality laws to facilitate changes, but the guidance says this is not the case.

However, yesterday's declaration by the NEU suggests ordinary teachers will be encouraged by union reps to disregard the guidance.

A Department for Education spokesman said: 'We're clear about the importance of biological sex and the role parents must play.'