A mother has claimed that she was banned from the playground by her daughter’s primary school after complaining that children as young as nine were having their ‘transgender identity’ affirmed by teachers.

Karina Conway, 42, was ordered to stay away from the playground after she complained about the way gender issues were being taught to pupils at Sunnyside Spencer Academy in Beeston, Nottingham.

She was then told eight months later she could come back if she agreed not to post anything negative about the school online.

The Mail Online reports: The mother-of-two claimed the school was teaching 11-year-olds that ‘transgender identity’ was a protected characteristic, when the Equality Act makes no mention of it.

She was ordered to stay away from the playground for eight months in September 2024 and then told she could only return if she didn’t criticise the school online, The Telegraph reported.

Teachers had previously called the police in 2023 when Ms Conway and women’s rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen staged a protest outside the school.

Ms Conway told The Telegraph: ‘This trust is silencing the voices of parents who know sex is real and when it matters, it really matters.’

She was said to have first raised a complaint when she learnt the school had allegedly taught pupils that transgender identity was a protected characteristic.

The Equality Act does not reference the disputed idea of gender identity, instead stating that a person must not be discriminated against because of ‘gender reassignment’.

The mother claimed the school had accepted some shortcomings in the teaching of the subject in correspondence to her, which recognised the factual errors relating to the Equality Act.

She said the school thanked her for highlighting the matter, but then informed her its lawyers would get involved if she continued to make contact about it.

‘I cannot understand why they think they can attempt to intimidate parents in this way,’ she told the newspaper.

In June 2023, the year before the ban, an Ofsted inspection took place and Ms Conway used the opportunity to express her concerns to an inspector.

She was advised to make a complaint, but alleged that nothing happened.

Ms Conway consequently made a subject access request to Ofsted asking for all correspondence relating to her family between the inspectorate, the school and Spencer Academies Trust, which runs the school.

It forced Ofsted to disclose a document revealing a call had taken place with the head teacher prior to the inspection in which the school described Ms Conway as a ‘parent expressing [she] does not want her child to be exposed to gender identity and has transphobic views’.

It added: ‘A child in the school is now non binary and has become a target. She is trying to work with other parents to drum up support. She has got a petition going.’

Ms Conway said this month she received a letter from the director of primary education at the Spencer Academies Trust, telling her the ban would be lifted if she informed the school in advance of any event she planned to attend so ‘staff can feel prepared’.

She was also told she would have to agree she would ‘refrain from posting negative posts about the school, trust or its staff’.