Doncaster school hits back at "false accusations" of bullying of transgender pupil

Upset dad Danny Spillane revealed yesterday that he has removed his eight-year-old daughter Saorla – who was born a boy but now identifies as a girl – from Kirk Sandall Junior School after claiming that she was kicked, punched and slapped and called a “dirty tranny.”

But the school has stormed back against the allegations, with CEO Helen Redford Hernandez rejecting the claims.

In a statement, she said: “We strongly refute the claims made in this article which are totally unfounded.

"Kirk Sandall Junior School has a robust antibullying policy and always responds promptly to any concerns raised by parents or children.

"We take our responsibilities for safeguarding seriously and will always liaise with our local safeguarding team to make referrals if we are worried about children.

"Sometimes parents make false accusations against schools when they are at the centre of an investigation or when they are unhappy with a school policy.

"We cannot comment on individuals but please be advised we are currently taking legal advice in terms of how we formally respond to the article published on 5 March 2024 which is malicious and not based on fact.

"This is very disappointing especially as we consider the article to be defamatory.”

Saorla was born a boy but told her parents several years ago that she preferred to don dresses and has socially transitioned, wearing long hair and female clothes to classes.

Dad Danny pulled his daughter out of the school in Magnolia Close over the allegations to home school her.

He said: “My daughter has been kicked, punched, slapped, pushed over and had her shoes violently taken from her feet and thrown in a bin that couldn't be retrieved until the end of the day.”

Added Mr Spillane: “She was born male but has socially transitioned to be a female.

"That was three and a half years ago when she came to us and said she'd rather wear a dress to Christmas dinner and over a matter of weeks she had decided she was more comfortable in female clothing and being referred to as a girl. So she now wears female clothes and long hair.”