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'm so relieved my DCs are beyond primary age...blood soaked hands, rapes?! Times have changed. Seriously tho', if a primary school aged girl is having the kind of heavy periods that lead to flooding and copious amounts of blood then hopefully a reasonably competent parent would seek medical advice about that. I do agree that the pink and blue thing is annoying but I don't have an issue with shared toilets for primary school age children. At my DC's old primary they'd get changed for PE by stripping down to their underwear in front of each other and no one ever seemed bothered about that.

I assume the OP took the photos when there were no children in there/after hours.

Would walking from a cubicle with blood soaked hands be preferable in front of a group of girls? I wouldn’t have thought so.

I had my first at school, had no clue what periods were and still never got it all over my hands. This is despite me being a generally messy person.

Having re-read the op I think most of you are missing that she wasn't in the toilets.

This is the view from the main corridor.

So much for privacy eh.

I've never seen open plan toilets like this.

. Seems more private than most single sex loos I've used.

Why the fuck are other women not believing women when they're describing their periods?

I will teach my daughter that if her hands are covered in blood, she should cover one in loo roll, flush, then unwrap and give them a quick rinse in the fresh toilet bowl water, before a hot water and soap scrub down at the proper sink.

At my DC's old primary they'd get changed for PE by stripping down to their underwear in front of each other and no one ever seemed bothered about that. Even in year 5 and 6? All schools I have worked in have separately changed from year 4 or 5 upwards. Because its recognised that as children become older and more aware of their bodies, they value privacy from the opposite sex who have different bodies to them when getting changed.

We have just had toilets like these put in at my secondary school .they are much nicer than the old grim ones and don't smell being open plan also easier to walk by and notice bullying or graffiti. It's also helpful to have unisex toilets for students who are transgender

Teachers are usually made aware by the parents or child themselves that they have started their periods (so they can allow them tothe toilet in lesson/understand why a usually placid girl may suddenly be very emotional etc) and allow girls to use the adult toilets which have sanitary bins (or at least the schools i have worked in have). Blood is easily wiped off on loo roll so soaked is a bit of an exaggeratio op.

I agree that most girls probably would be more embarrassed about boys seeing blood on their hands and that’s because we are conditioned to pretend periods don’t exist like they’re something shameful. Immaterial anyway since as most people have said there would be absolutely no reason to be heading to the sinks with visible blood on your hands for anyone to see.

Sorry posted too soon. And if you're not happy with this set up then you are free to choose another school.

I’m not a fan of these mixed sex toilets in upper KS2. Bad enough to be the one girl in the year who has shot up and got boobs ahead of everyone else (and there is always one) but then the mortifying situation of trying to unwrap a sanitary towel (noisiest thing every) with an immature 11yr old boy in the cubicle next to you who is likely to either wonder what you’re eating in there (naive) or whisper to others when they get back to the classroom. In KS1 it’s not such a big deal I think. Apologies for the lack of paragraphs my return key is not working .

Apparently more school toilets are being designed like this - either mixed or opening directly onto the corridor to stop bullying, bunking off, general bad behaviour that students hope to conduct away from adults.

I am finding it rather bizarre that women are mocking other women who get blood on their hands.

And no wiping them off with tissue paper doesn't always work.

Are the people saying that these toilets lack privacy not seeing the doors on each cubicle? I'm not sure I understand the problem. Child enters cubicle, shuts door. Goes to toilet, wipes blood soaked hands with toilet tissue, in the rare event that is necessary. Pulls up pants, readjusts clothes, opens door, walks to sink, washes hands. Does hand washing require privacy? Or is it usual for girls to exit the cubicle with their pants around their ankles?

Lots of secondary schools have toilets like this, it's to cut down on antisocial behaviour ie bullying and skiving. I don't see what the problem is. Asked my children, they are so used to it, they weren't sure why I was asking.

the bins are presumably in the cubicles, or there are other toilet facilities for children that have started periods? To be honest those look a lot nicer than the toilets in the school I work in and open plan probably means staff waste a lot less time dealing with deliberately blocked sinks and silliness in the toilets - which I waste an incredible amount of time dealing with most days because the kids know there are no staff in the toilets.

Would walking from a cubicle with blood soaked hands be preferable in front of a group of girls? I wouldn’t have thought so. I think it would be preferable to in front of boys! But then I think 'blood soaked hands' is hyperbole. But I can't understand why people think toilets should be mixed sex? And yes the UN says that all girls should have access to single sex toilets, so I don't know why it's different for girls in the UK.

Theres absolutely no reason to have blood on your hands unless you have a medical condition which makes affects your periods.

Blood soaked hands was the norm for years for me, thank god I never had to wash my hands in full view of a main corridor or met anyone rude or stupid enough to suggest I should flush my hands in the loo to wash them

LMAO at blood soaked hands It's a period, not Carandiru

Medical conditions wouldn't become apparent til you had started. Which shock horror could happen at 9 and at school....

The sinks should be in the cubicles, not in a public corridor, if the toilets are open to a corridor as it seems from the picture.

The toilets aren’t mixed sex. The sinks are. The fact that the whole area apart from the actual toilets is visible from the corridor probably makes it a lot safer than some designs.