School Toilets - Pupils and Staff

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This might be quite outing, as I've muttered about this to a number of colleagues today who shrugged because it's really not the biggest fight on our hands at the moment, but it's still annoying me.

I work in a secondary school and when it's too wet to go out at break all classes stay in with their last teacher supervising. The kids are taken to and from toilets in groups, and staff might be relieved for a minute or two if there's time and someone spare.

Due to the set up, girls' toilets are in certain areas (with only one separate cubicle for a boy at a time) and vice versa. This created today a problem where the boys were queuing down the corridor in a 'girls' zone.

A female member of staff on corridor duty made the executive decision to let a group of them use the nearest staff toilets, because they weren't busy. So as a female teacher, I rushed in there on the changeover bell (because I had two more classes til lunch) to be faced with a mess and a load of lads telling me to chill and they were allowed in there, when I said it wasn't their space.

Am I out of order for expecting an adult space to be just that and not wanting to physically share or use the facilities after them, or is it just common sense to avoid them complaining they had to wait, roaming around school unaccounted for and probably being a bit late to next lesson?

I can't imagine this happening. No they should not use the staff toilets.

adult space - no children - except in genuine medical emergency.

I have come across similar a couple of times, - an excluded girl who was being educated in a room off the reception being allowed to use the staff toilets - absolute no!

and a muslim girl being allowed in the staff toilet to adjust her hijab - no - do it in your own toilet

It is a total violation of staff privacy

Thanks for the replies. Felt like I was going a bit mad because it was just decided that it was fine.

On one hand I can't blame them being unbothered and bemused by my reaction, as they'd been given permission from someone else (and love to play you off against each other) and didn't mean any harm, but I wonder when or where they'll feel entitled to do what's convenient again in spite of it not being right and someone else being made uncomfortable.

At my daughters old Secondary the toilets were locked at all break times and out of bounds to all unless they had a disability. At lunch time they were a free for all with lengthy queues my daughter had the choice eat or queue for the toilet their wasn’t time to do both so girls on their periods had to go all day without changing a tampon or miss out on lunch and spend lunch time queuing. It was awful.

They were never allowed to use the staff toilets ever.

No student and staff toilets need to be separate for safeguarding reasons. You need to flag this up with someone senior. What happens if it rains at lunch? You shouldn't lose your break every time the weather's bad

This is actually a safeguarding issue which all teachers should be totally aware of

No, pupils shouldn't be using staff facilities.

But why on earth are secondary school pupils being infantilised so much at your school? Not allowed outside because of rain? Escorted to the bathroom?

Massive safeguarding failure.

I think some of these comments are right, but most of the issues have largely been accepted.

In a big school, we don't let then all out of class and on the corridors at the same time, as it would be chaos, hence the escorting. Since Covid bubbles, we were told to expect to be on duty every break as it's directed time. We went back to just 1 each a week, but with the hangover of this proviso that everyone is on duty if it's wet, so your break is just at lunch on a day like this.

They're normally outside, so only use the toilets if they need to. Today, it seemed a good excuse to be let out of the room (and I do sympathise, as I was pretty much stuck in there from half 8 til 1 as well!)

That is a safeguarding concern; the policy is there to protect both students and staff.
I would ask your DSL whether they know about this, and what steps can be put in place to avoid it happening again. I'd copy in the Head, who also has a duty of care to protect you all.

Secondary school children don’t go out in the rain, for goodness sake !

Defo a safeguarding issue and NO member of staff should be expected to use their break time to babysit kids of this age.
I’d be having a strong words with SLT.

Honestly sounds like you have a lot of issues there. I'd not be happy losing my break every time it rains. There's a shortage of teachers you know. Find somewhere that treats staff better

As above. This is really dodgy. Massive safeguarding issue. Im concerned about being alone with students in the classroom never mind in the toilets.
The school is asking for false allegations by allowing this to go on.
Im hoping the teacher that allowed this is inexperienced and didn't realise.

That's not really a sustainable response to 'wet play'.

But regardless, no students in the staff toilets. Totally a safeguarding issue.

I don’t think the children should ever be allowed in staff toilets except in exceptional circumstances. You were quite right to throw the children out.
However, as my children have grown up, Imam literally stunned with another poster on this forum who said that the pupils toilets were locked in break time because they didn’t have staff to monitor them.

Serious safeguarding problem. Needs reporting to your designated safeguarding lead unless they're the problem, in which case report to HT, unless they're the problem, in which case you need to report immediately to governors. If Ofsted saw this, they'd screw.

No, they absolutely should not be using the staff toilets. As a side note, I can't believe your school makes all teaching staff miss their break every time it's too wet for the mids to go out! Wtf?! At my school kids are allowed in their form rooms at morning break whether it's wet or dry, and they are checked up on just by the people who are on duty.

The staff toilets should be exclusively for the staff. As other have said, it's surely a safeguarding issue to have pupils and staff using the same facilities?

@Flossflower - The toilets at my son's secondary school are locked at break times too as they don't have the staff to monitor them and the older pupils vape in them if they're left unlocked, but they definitely aren't allowed to use the staff ones.

Staff designated toilets should remain as such. I’d be really pissed off at a colleague who allowed students to use them. I’m miles from the staff loos with an ‘inclusive’ toilet opposite and am sick of wading through the piss on the floor/wiping the seat so rarely use it, it’s disgusting.

They shouldn’t be in there. It’s a safe guarding issue

Do you have a union rep? If so, raise it with them. You shouldn’t be losing your break, for one thing. I’m not sure about union guidelines re: pupils using staff toilets (it’s such a strange scenario that there may be be specific guidance about it!), but your rep could definitely investigate.

If you don’t have a union rep, you can contact your union yourself. They have helplines for queries and they’re usually really helpful (their numbers are on their websites).