Primary school toilets look like this

[SwordToFlamethrower]

My daughter is 9. God forbid she is one of the girls who start their period young. Not sure how girls age 9 to 11 at primary school are meant to manage their first ever periods with no privacy or dignity when they have to wash their blood soaked hands. The toilet area is open plan too, so anyone walking by can see right in. I took these photos on my way to a "meet the teacher" meeting today. I don't know if the school have checked the law on single sex toilets when they implemented this. I don't even know where to begin. I've been asked to leave it because it's not worth having a row with the school, seeing as they're underfunded as it is. AIBU to say "tough!" What should I do?

I can tell you that these are accessible by the whole school because they are right next to the playgrounds.
Also they are right next door to kids age 7 to 9.

So what?

And how does that work 're safeguarding. Cos teachers alone in the loo with a student wouldn't be allowed woukd it?

2 sets of which one is used for this purpose.

Cos teachers alone in the loo with a student wouldn't be allowed woukd it?

Nonsense. Of course it’s allowed. 🙄

I mean accessible as in a couple private toilets with private washing facilities. Not necessarily just for pupils with disabilities but with any need which means they require private toileting/washing. Kids shouldn’t be having to wash blood stained hands in front of ANYONE male or female. Nor should kids have to be embarrassed if they have bowel or continence issues.

They are REALLY nice toilets, modern, clean and separated for girls and boys. They have full doors and modern cisterns, try going to a school in an old converted manor house or similar. This is a primary school for goodness sake. Children in nursery and primary schools that I have been to have all had communal toilets. Shock horror, in DD's school, they even changed for PE in the same class, although TBF they only boys up to age 7. My DD's only concession to maturity was that in year 6 they had a classroom on the top floor, with it's own toilet if you had a period and needed some privacy.

I think it’s awful. Imagine the embarrassment of needing to do a pooh or fart and feeling you couldn’t because boys were there.
Girls need some privacy. Internet a girl being bullied at school and some of the girl looking over the toilet cubicle at her. It would be a lot worse if it was boys.

I took full advantage of my company's working at home policy when I had really heavy periods, specifically to avoid coming out of the cubicle with blood soaked hands when I had to change my ultra absorbent tampon and super strength towel every hour. And that was in a women-only toilet, so I completely understand the concern.

But as long as the girls have pink doors and the boys have blue doors, it's fine...

Heaven forbid a girl should fart in earshot of boys! Why would you teach your kids that that is a huge problem. I doubt the boys will be cowering about farting in front of girls or boys. But of course girls must only silently fart glitter and certainly mustn’t do anything less than ladylike in front of boys

If you are concerned about toileting noises though. The floor to ceiling contained cubicles which are a room in themselves will be much more soundproof than traditional school toilets.

I honestly can't believe what I am reading. Honestly. What do you suggest - confining girls and women to the house in case a male person sees them, or god forbids, hears them going to the toilet?

My daughter's school went on a jungle trek in Cambodia a few years ago. They used field toilets - literally the dug a hole in the ground. Boys and girls - though they took turns in going but even so, there was no physical barrier other than some plants.

One of the reasons for the "open, communal" design is, unfortunately, to cut down "lurking" opportunities. It was one of the less joyful parts of break duty when I was teaching full-time to cast an eye over the loos, but I could see why dark corners and opportunities for bullying and the like had been designed out.
I still remember less than fondly the loos at my junior school; the doors could not be locked, although they were segregated by gender, and some little horrors delighted in running through and banging the doors open.......I developed the rather unhealthy habit of holding on until I could go home.....or, unbeknown to my working mum, used to nip home at lunchtime to use the nicer facilities there. My cover was finally blown when I was late for afternoon registration (parents baffled as I was supposed to be at school all day) having taken my best friend, who also hated the school loos, home with me, and lingered too long over a cup of tea. Playground security is much tighter these days, probably because of incidents like this.

I only ever pooh at home..... I would hazard a guess that most people prefer their home comforts in that department. If you have to go, you have to go, but believe me, the stories my girls bring home from secondary school, all girls school, there is nothing special about sharing with other girls either.

There's no one in the toilets so what's the problem with the photo? Also when did a bit of pink and blue become such a problem? I doubt the kids in primary school are upset by it.

I've never experienced blood soaked hands but I imagine it is possible. I think a pack of wipes in their bag would be a solution or wiping their hands with toilet paper and then washing in the wash basin. I too remember all school toilets being like this.

Is this your daughter OP?

Oh great so no the pooh police are on. “I only ever pooh at home” so now girls are going to feel like they can’t pooh when they need to. We don’t all have that ability. Since my third degree tear I have had to go when I have had to go. God I remember at work some of the office bullies harping on and making a fuss about about women that poohed in the work toilets. Heaven forbid.

Since when did poo have an h on the end?

If it's referring to faeces it's spelt poo.

If referring to Winnie the Pooh, it has an h. Spelt the same as 'to pooh-pooh' something.

Can I just say how the hell have we got to a place where we don’t just have girls toilets and boys toilets that are seperate and enclosed?

I second this.

As someone who was repeatedly humiliated, hurt and bullied by other girls in the girls only toilets I'd have given anything to have my male friends be in there sticking up for me.

What is the op saying she wants done?

It is unreasonable for the school to change toileting situations just because girls feel embarrassed.

Total non issue.

Why the jeff are you taking photos of the primary school toilets??

@Mrs cholly

I bet other parents have no problems and would be very uneasy with a parent taking photographs of the toilets

I think you are overthinking it.
That said, I would be unimpressed if this was at high school level.

Our infants school had communal loos (as in there were four loos and both boys and girls used them) but that was only up to year two. That was probably because they had a set of loos outside every other classroom so it made sense to keep the kids close to their class at that age. Plus they'd often need a little help from the TA or teacher to get clothes back up or wash their hands and that person couldn't split themselves in two.

When they went into juniors at year 3 they had boys and girls separate.

Can I ask a question? I don't let my year 6 go to the toilet during class. Should I change my policy because girls have their periods?