Furious father launches legal fight against school after daughter ‘forced to share changing rooms with boys’

Campaigners say the case could become a test of whether schools will be forced to follow the law - or whether parents will have to keep going to court to protect single-sex spaces for girls.

The father, who has two children at the same secondary school - which is not named for legal reasons - said he was never informed that a male pupil could be using female facilities - and only learned about it after his daughter spoke up.

Lawyers acting for him say the situation reflects a wider trend in which schools quietly operate “case-by-case” policies that allow boys into girls’ spaces while keeping parents and pupils in the dark.

Paul Conrathe, partner at Conrathe Gardner LLP, said: “This is a clear breach of the school’s safeguarding duties, but beyond that, it discriminates against female pupils and is unlawful,” he said.

“Surveys consistently show that significant percentages of girls have personally experienced some form of sexual harassment at school; this approach affects them far more than boys.

“The school admits they are operating a case-by-case approach, and there are no published policies for parents to see. They are in flagrant breach of their duties under public law.”

The father, who is also not named for legal reasons, said the issue goes beyond one school. “Girls deserve dignity, privacy and safety through genuinely single-sex spaces,” he said.

“Making these spaces mixed-sex without even telling pupils or parents is a betrayal of the trust we place in schools to safeguard our children.”

Campaigners say similar disputes have erupted across England, with parents complaining schools are allowing boys who self-identify as girls to access female toilets, changing rooms, showers, sports teams and residential accommodation - often without any written policy or consultation.

The case lands just months after the Supreme Court ruled in April 2025 that references to “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 mean biological sex, not self-declared gender identity.

The ruling was hailed by women’s rights groups as finally restoring legal clarity - but critics say many schools and companies have continued with business as usual, claiming they are “waiting for guidance” from the Equality and Human Rights Commission or the Department for Education.

The father’s legal team argues that waiting is no excuse.

Statutory guidance known as Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) requires schools to provide over-11s with toilets, washing and changing facilities that are either separated by sex or fully private. The same requirement appears in the School Premises (England) Regulations 2012.

Campaigners say these rules are routinely ignored.

The legal action also cites Department for Education evidence showing that girls face far higher risks of sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools than boys - making privacy breaches particularly serious.

A major 2021 DfE report found that more than a third of girls at mixed-sex schools had experienced sexual harassment, compared with just six per cent of boys. Nearly a quarter of girls reported unwanted sexual touching.

The pre-action letter argues that requiring girls to undress in front of boys - or even risk it unknowingly - amounts to harassment and breaches their rights to privacy, dignity and religious freedom.

It also raises concerns about residential school trips, where parents say they have struggled to obtain clear answers about whether accommodation is allocated by sex or gender identity.

Campaigners claim schools increasingly speak directly to children instead of parents, leaving families locked out of decisions affecting their daughters’ safety.

Tanya Carter, of Safe Schools Alliance, said the Brighton case reflects a much bigger national failure.

“This legal action against a school in Brighton is overdue. Brighton has long been the epicentre of incredibly poor safeguarding practice,” she said.

“We have repeatedly heard of children being denied the single sex spaces that they are entitled to by law.”

She warned that standard safeguarding protections often disappear once gender identity enters the picture.

“We have also heard of numerous cases of children being removed from standard safeguarding practices the minute the school or an outside agency identifies them as LGBTQI+,” she said.

Ms Carter accused Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson of failing to act.

“The Secretary of State, Bridget Phillipson is in complete dereliction of duty in that she has failed to ensure all schools provide children with the necessary single sex facilities,” she said.

“She has also failed to ensure that all schools are adequately safeguarding their pupils and exercising appropriate professional curiosity when children announce a desire to identify out of their sex.”

She added: “We are grateful to this dad for taking this much needed legal action to protect children. We hope many more parents follow suit. All adults failing to prioritise the welfare of the children in their care over the nefarious ideology of gender identity must be held to account.”

The father’s legal team has given the school until 7 January 2026 to respond before launching judicial review proceedings.

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