Primary school children in Brighton are to be taught that boys can have periods too in a bid to avoid upsetting transgender pupils.
Advice on menstruation will be offered to boys and girls after the local authority offered new guidelines to minimise the risk of offending transgender pupils.
Brighton and Hove Council, which has a Labour majority, stated teachers should teach about periods in a way that is inclusive of all genders, the Times reported.
The council has faced criticism, however, about the new guidelines not prioritising girls in favour of political correctness.
New guidelines stated: “Trans boys and men and non-binary people may have periods.”
The guidelines also stated bins for tampons and other period products should be provided in male and female school toilets.
Stephanie Davies-Arai, from the campaign group Transgender Trend, told the newspaper: “This is deliberately misleading children about biological facts.
“The wider agenda here is the indoctrination of children into the belief that personal identity overrides biology, and we must ask why certain adults wish to confuse children by pretending that there is no distinction between the sexes.”
In a statement, Brighton and Hove Council said: “By encouraging effective education on menstruation and puberty, we hope to reduce stigma and ensure that no child or young person feels shame in asking for period products inside or outside of school if they need them.
“We believe that it’s important for all genders to be able to learn and talk about menstruation together.
“Our approach recognises the fact that some people who have periods are trans or non-binary.”
