Are lunchtime unisex toilets in a primary school legally compliant?

Also, although the judgement was in Scotland, there were aspects that mentioned the Equality Act (2010) which covers England too.

Hi just seen you have updated. I will come back to this tomorrow.

But when the wording says ‘facilities’ it implies sinks too.

When the wording says ‘conveniences’ it normally means toilets.

For instance, in Document T:
Toilet facilities
Sanitary accommodation that contains water-closets (WCs) and/or urinals, along with washbasins and hand-drying facilities.

Final post from me (sorry) - the regulations prior to the School Premises Regulations 2012 - which are the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999 - are very clear that washrooms have to be separated by sex (over the age of 8) and washrooms have to contain washbasins.

So prior to 2012, your arrangement would not be legal. Post 2012, it is.

Going on a bit further, that document I linked to for England and Wales quotes the regulations as follows:

a) suitable toilet and washing facilities are provided for the sole use of pupils;
b) separate toilet facilities for boys and girls aged 8 years or over are provided ...

Since washing facilities are described distinctly from toilet facilities in (a) and in (b) only the toilet facilities have to be separated by sex, I think it would be hard for a court to rule that the regulations required separated wash basins, as they did in Scotland.

But that's just my uneducated opinion, that shared wash basins in English schools are legal.

In Scotland that was made clear very recently, but that was because of the specific wording used in the Scottish regulations.

I don't think the position of the handwashing facilities in English schools has been ever been argued in court. (I want to say justiciated, but google tells me that's not a word.)

This document
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a800013ed915d74e622be2b/Advice_on_standards_for_school_premises.pdf
provides that:

"Hand washing facilities are provided within or in the immediate vicinity of every toilet;"

That is very different from the Scottish rule where the court found that “sanitary accommodation” in Regulation 15 comprises not only water closets and urinals, but also wash basins near them, and that the "sanitary accomodation" had to separate for boys and girls - hence separate wash basins too.

Then they are not single sex.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/sep/29/scottish-government-rules-schools-must-provide-single-sex-toilets-for-children

😅I tap notifications to see if more posts have been added to threads I’m on and it brings up if someone mentions me!
I think it must look like I am on here constantly searching for toilet threads 😬

Did someone mention toilet design?
Aaaand here she is, as if by magic - KTS!

It was one of these mysterious fairy calls from out the void that suddenly reached Mole KTS in the darkness, making him her tingle through and through with its very familiar appeal, even while yet [s]he could not clearly remember what it was. [S]He stopped dead in his tracks, his her nose searching hither and thither in its efforts to recapture the fine filament, the telegraphic current, that had so strongly moved him her. A moment, and [s]he had caught it again - someone on Mumsnet had brought up the subject of toilet design!

with Apologies to Wind in the Willows😁

Hello. Which country are you in OP and when was the school built or current toilets refurbished?

Is this useful?
Toilets in schools - childlawadvice.org.uk

I believe the shared sink space is not enough, there needs to be cubicles & handwashing facilities for each sex to be compliant.

I'm sure @Keeptoiletssafe could advise

Ah, well I can tell you now - they are not even a bit compliant.

@TheFeministGovernor - I'd send something like:

Dear [Headteacher],

Further to our previous conversation about toilet provision, I am writing to put my concerns in writing and to ask for a clear response.

When I raised this previously, I did not feel the concern was taken seriously. I appreciate that the school has practical supervision issues to manage at lunchtime, but I do not think those practical issues answer the underlying question about whether pupils continue to have access to compliant toilet provision throughout the school day.

As I understand it, some of the school’s toilet facilities were originally built as unisex provision, and some have since been designated for boys or girls. I also understand that, during normal lesson time, pupils may have access to a wider range of toilet facilities, including some separate provision for boys and girls.

My concern is specifically about lunchtime, when access is restricted to a smaller number of toilets. If, at lunchtime, pupils aged 8 and over do not have access to separate boys’ and girls’ toilets, and the available toilets are not individual lockable single-user toilet rooms, then I would like the school to explain how that arrangement complies with the School Premises (England) Regulations 2012.

My understanding is that the regulations require suitable toilet and washing facilities to be provided for pupils, and that separate toilet facilities must be provided for boys and girls aged 8 or over, except where the toilet is in a room that can be secured from the inside and is intended for use by one pupil at a time.

In practical terms, that exception is not simply an ordinary mixed-sex cubicle arrangement. It refers to a genuinely self-contained single-user toilet room, commonly described in current toilet design terminology as a universal toilet. Such provision should provide proper privacy and enclosure, including a full-height or floor-to-ceiling door, and the wash basin should be inside the room/cubicle, not in a shared communal area outside.

On that basis, I do not think it is enough that single-sex toilets exist somewhere on the school site if pupils are not actually permitted to use them at lunchtime. Lunchtime is part of the school day. The question is what provision is actually available to children when they need to use the toilet.

I would therefore be grateful if you could answer the following questions directly:

1. Which toilet facilities are pupils permitted to use during lunchtime?
2. Are separate boys’ and girls’ toilets available to pupils aged 8 and over during lunchtime?
3. If separate boys’ and girls’ toilets are not available during lunchtime, are all the available toilets genuinely self-contained single-user toilet rooms, lockable from the inside, and intended for use by one pupil at a time?
4. Do those single-user toilet rooms have full-height or floor-to-ceiling doors, proper enclosure, and a wash basin inside each individual room/cubicle?
5. If the lunchtime provision includes mixed-sex multi-cubicle toilets, or toilets with shared communal wash basins outside the cubicles, how does the school consider that compliant with the School Premises (England) Regulations 2012?
6. Has the school carried out a written safeguarding risk assessment in relation to restricting access to single-sex toilets during lunchtime?
7. If such a risk assessment exists, please could you confirm when it was completed and whether governors have reviewed it?
8. If the school relies on self-contained universal toilets as the alternative to separate boys’ and girls’ toilets, has the school carried out a written safeguarding risk assessment specifically for that arrangement?
9. In particular, has the school assessed the risk that a pupil could enter a fully enclosed, lockable toilet room, become unwell, pass out, self-harm, or otherwise need assistance, and not be found promptly because the room is designed to be private and fully enclosed?

I am not asking the school to allow children to wander around the site unsupervised. I understand the supervision concern. However, supervision arrangements need to be organised in a way that still allows pupils access to toilet facilities that are lawful, private, safe and suitable.

Given that this has already been raised and dismissed verbally, I would appreciate a written response explaining the school’s position and the basis on which it considers the current lunchtime arrangement compliant.

Yours sincerely,

[Name]

I would be careful not to overstate it without knowing the exact layout, but I don’t think the school can simply say “there are single-sex toilets somewhere on site” if those toilets are not actually available when children are allowed to use the toilet.

The relevant rule is the School Premises (England) Regulations 2012. For pupils aged 8 or over, schools must provide separate toilet facilities for boys and girls, unless the toilet is in a room that can be secured from the inside and is intended for use by one pupil at a time.

So the question is really: what toilets are actually available to the children at lunchtime?

If the lunchtime toilets are individual lockable rooms, used by one child at a time, then that may fit the exception. But if they are mixed-sex multi-cubicle toilet blocks, with boys and girls using the same block/shared area, and no accessible single-sex alternative at lunchtime, then I would be asking the headteacher to explain exactly how that complies.

I also think there is a practical point here. In a primary school, once some children are 8 or over, it makes sense for the toilet provision generally to comply with the over-8 rules. Otherwise the school is left trying to operate different legal standards for different year groups within the same toilet arrangements, which sounds like a safeguarding and supervision mess.

I would ask:

• Which toilets are available at lunchtime?
• Are separate boys’ and girls’ toilets available to pupils aged 8 and over at lunchtime?
• If not, are the available toilets genuinely single-user rooms lockable from the inside?
• Has the school carried out a written safeguarding risk assessment for restricting access to single-sex toilets at lunchtime?
• How does the arrangement comply with the School Premises Regulations?

I wouldn’t necessarily say “this is definitely unlawful” without seeing the layout, but if children aged 8+ only have access to mixed-sex multi-user toilets at lunchtime, I would say the school has a serious compliance question to answer. Supervision convenience does not override the requirement to provide suitable toilet facilities.