GETTY Year Six kids are being asked about their gender indentity

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Parents have been told the survey will help healthcare workers and teachers develop "better ways to understand and support" children who may be struggling with their identity. But critics fear the form is intrusive and could confuse children. The form given to Year Six children asks: "Do you feel the same inside as the gender you were born with? (feeling male or female)".

GETTY Critics warn questioning youngsters on their ender could be damaging

Forcing children to question whether they are the right gender so early on can be deeply destabilising Tim Loughton

They are also asked to tick a box to confirm their true gender, with options including "boy", "girl" and "other". Tim Loughton, the former Conservative children’s minister warned youngsters could be unsettled by the questionnaire, which was sent to schools across Lancashire by the county’s NHS foundation trust. He told the Daily Telegraph: “At a time when children are growing up and having to deal with all sorts of challenges of the modern world, now they are being asked to confront their gender. “Clearly we need to be sensitive about the issue of gender and sexual orientation but forcing children to question whether they are the right gender so early on can be deeply destabilising.”

GETTY Charities have reported a huge increase in inquiries

The NHS does not offer gender reassignment therapy to people under the age of 18, but children can have hormone treatment. Lyndsey Simpson, whose ten-year-old daughter was given the survey at her Church of England school, said: “I don’t want someone putting into my daughter’s head that she might not be happy with her own gender.” Children’s gender identity has become a big issue in recent years with access to online information thought to be fuelling the debate. Mermaids, a charity for transgender and “gender diverse” children, has experienced an astonioshing 700 per cent rise in calls and emails in three years.