Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson takes part in LBC’s Call the Cabinet hosted by Nick Ferrari from the Millbank studios in central London. Picture date: Tuesday February 24, 2026.
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Primary schools should “not come down too hard” on students questioning their gender and let young people “experiment” and “consider who they are,” the Education Secretary has told LBC.
Appearing on LBC’s Call the Cabinet, Bridget Phillipson was pressed on whether primary schools should allow young boys to wear dresses to school or go by traditionally “feminine names.”
Pointing to recent guidance published by the Government, as well as the Cass review, Ms Phillipson said schools must take a “watchful approach” and work alongside parents but should allow “children just to consider who they are to behave in ways that might not be aligned with their sex or their gender.”
“So if a boy wants to wear dresses, we should just, if we allow that to work, children will experiment at different points, they will consider who they are,” she added.
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“Taking a watchful approach, not coming down too hard on that actually reduces what we see in terms of children moving towards a more medicalised model.”
Noting that the number of primary school children who actually consider transitioning is astronomically low, the minister added: “I think it would be exceptionally rare for primary schools to be operating that.
“But I’ve also been clear that in anything in that space, unless there are very strong safeguarding reasons where a child is at risk of harm, parents should be involved in those important decisions.”
Her comments come after fresh Department of Education guidance said students should be able to socially transition, but single-sex spaces, such as girls’ toilets, should remain protected.
In proposed updates to statutory safeguarding guidance, the DfE said that if a child does not want to use toilets or changing rooms for their designated biological sex, schools should consider whether they can provide an alternative.
After the Cass Review and last year’s Supreme Court ruling on biological sex, the Government has set out how schools should support children who are questioning their gender.
Schools must maintain single-sex spaces and some sports, the Government has said, including separate toilet facilities for boys and girls over the age of eight – even if they allow students to “socially” gender transition.”
“In recent years, we have seen a significant increase in the number of children who are questioning the way they feel about being a boy or a girl, including the physical attributes of their sex and the related ways in which they fit into society,” the draft Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance reads.
“It is not for schools and colleges to initiate any action in this area; this guidance is focused on circumstances where a child or their parent has raised a request relating to social transition to which a school or college is responding.”
Schools should consider avoiding “rigid rules based on gender stereotypes”, the draft guidance says.
Schools and colleges should take time to understand the feelings of children questioning their gender, and be aware of “potential vulnerabilities” such as them facing bullying or needing mental health support.