A charity called in police to deal with a teacher who ‘misgendered’ a pupil.

Mermaids, which supports children who believe they were born in the wrong body, said the teacher had committed a ‘hate crime’ because he did not address the child using his new gender.

The youngster, who had switched from female to male, wanted staff and pupils at his school to accept his new identity.

Under the Equality Act, schools have a duty to accommodate transgender pupils and make sure they do not suffer upset or bullying. According to Mermaids the teacher often failed to use the correct gender pronouns for the boy – he, him and his. The charity said the reminders of his past as a girl had caused the boy to become depressed.

Volunteers from Mermaids intervened on behalf of the boy, and when the teacher refused to accept their point of view, they called police. Susie Green, who heads the charity, told the Times Educational Supplement the tough action was necessary to protect the boy’s mental health. She said: ‘We had to get the police involved because a young student was being regularly misgendered by his tutor. The tutor dismissed it until he was informed that it counted as a hate crime.

Under the Equality Act, schools have a duty to accommodate transgender pupils and make sure they do not suffer upset or bullying (stock picture)

‘The matter has now been resolved by the police, but in the meantime, the student was off school with anxiety and depression for two weeks. This damage to their mental health was unnecessary and completely avoidable. This is why the law exists and why we must stick to it.’

The charity did not say how old the child was, or whether the police took any further action against the teacher or the school.

Mrs Green said schools had a legal duty to respect the wishes of children who want to identify with the opposite gender to that with which they were born.

But Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said: ‘The general population are unlikely to support the use of police to enforce a language code in schools.

‘Mermaids are well-intentioned but in this instance they are doing more damage than good. We all want tolerance, and pupils should be taught to treat each other how they should wish to be treated themselves.

‘But enforcing language using the police will antagonise. It could even make transgender children the focus of resentment.’