Children as young as FOUR are asked to choose what gender they are BEFORE they start school

 Parents have been left furious after receiving a letter instructing them to help their four-year-olds choose a gender before they start primary school.

Brighton and Hove City Council sent a letter to hundreds of families telling them which school their child would attend in September but asked them to respond with which gender their child preferred.

Along with the main text in the letter, there was also a note next to the tickbox for male/female explaining that the national recording system only gives two options for gender but to help their child choose a gender they most identified with.

It read: ‘We recognise that not all children and young people identify with the gender they were assigned at birth or may identify as a gender other than male or female, however the current systems (set nationally) only record gender as male or female.

‘Please support your child to choose the gender they most identify with. Or if they have another gender identity please leave this blank and discuss with your child’s school.’

Parents have criticised the move claiming children should be allowed to ‘enjoy their innocence’.

They also described it as a ‘dangerous approach’ since four-year-olds do not yet have an adult view of the world or fully understand gender roles.

One mother said: ‘Children do not have access to an adult view of the world – they don’t fully understand permanence, social structures, what is possible and what is not possible.

‘Four-year-olds do not generally have fixed views and often don’t fully understand that their sex, colour or even species is fixed.

‘Treating children as though they are adults is a dangerous approach from a safeguarding point of view. They are not adults – let them enjoy the innocence and creativity of their childhood.’

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen also criticised the note, telling The Sun: ‘Schools should be teaching kids to read and write, not prompting them to consider gender swaps.’

Brighton and Hove City Council’s lead member for equalities, Councillor Emma Daniel, said the change to the form was a response to families’ and schools requests to be more inclusive.

She said: ‘Our pupil registration form asks for a range of information from parents and carers for children and young people of all ages who are entering a new school community.

‘Parents and carers are asked to state their child’s gender as male or female. For the vast majority of families this is very straightforward.

‘We have inserted the additional text about gender identity in response to calls from families, young people and schools to show an inclusive approach to gender.

‘There are increasing numbers of children and young people nationally identifying as trans. Many trans people nationally report having been bullied when they were at school.

‘By acknowledging the range of gender identities in our school communities we are helping ensure schools are safe spaces for everyone.’

The controversy comes just three months after the council sent a ‘profoundly confusing’ gender survey to pupils at Blatchington Mill School, in Hove, with 25 options to choose from.

As well as traditional options of ‘girl’ and ‘boy’, children aged 13 to 18 were also invited to select from a list that included ‘genderqueer’, ‘tri-gender’, ‘gender fluid’ and ‘intersex’.