State schools around me are locking toilets for students

[MyopicBunny]

Has anyone else heard of this happening? The students are told that they may only use the bathrooms at set times. The rest of the time they lock them. Apparently, this is Rishi Sunak's idea to help improve attendance to lessons. I think it's an abuse of human rights. Nobody should be stopped from going to the loo. Imagine a girl who needed to go urgently because her period started or a student with IBS?

I think it's completely batshit. It doesn't affect my children because one is at nursery and the other HE.

But how can that be good for education when they lose 5 minutes every half an hour going to the toilet? I’m sure there’s a happy medium to be struck.

"I currently teach in..."

I don’t know. That wasn’t considered.

They just found out that access to water boosted learning power.

It's happening in my son independent SEN school. Graffiti was the trigger

Yes, they're great (although many on MN complain about those) but that school was recently built.

What about the schools that were already built many many years ago?? There is no money to retrofit new toilet designs.

Our girls' toilets have 4 cubicles for 600 girls ... two cubicles have been permanently locked since October because the cisterns were pulled off the wall and haven't been replaced. Three staff cubicles are locked as out of order (we get no better).

The concern about people going to the toilet - in schools where toilet rules are somewhat relaxed, like mine, there are children who won't go to the toilets at all - ever- in the school day because they are filthy, damaged, full of unpleasant children, and/or have a fug of vapour in them.

My DS went through the whole of years 9-13 without using a school toilet.

@GoodnightAdeline they don't open straight onto the corridors 🙄

Somebody here must know the kinds of toilets I'm talking about. They have become popular, lately precisely because of behaviour issues.

This particular school was very strict on discipline and my daughter got detentions occasionally for the usual things like not handing in homework on time. I never interfered with things like that - she learned to stick to the rules.

What happened in that school was that the very poorly behaved students were segregated completely in a separate block from the rest of the school. I have absolutely no problem with that at all.

We had lots of self harmers ao toileta were locked during lesson time so students has to go. Beforw or after during breaks.

It reduced bullying substantially too

Well really it's just no sanctions for their child generally! Sanctions for and ^having the job' of a teacher who dares not think the child is an amazing angel... well that's different!

What about the schools that were already built many many years ago?? There is no money to retrofit new toilet designs.

I agree. Maybe if the government started funding education again then none of this would need to happen.

They must have had a lot of money or an onsite PRU unit.

Mist schools don’t have this.

Or if parents disciplined their children, therefore toilets could be left unlocked or used at any time without the horrifying behaviour and destruction? Much cheaper

Teenager refused toilet for heavy bleeding www.mumsnet.com/Talk/feminism/5002749-teenager-refused-toilet-for-heavy-bleeding

Yep. It's a thing. I can't think why there's mental health crisis in teens......

https://cypf.berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk/blog/posts/2022/march-2022/the-importance-of-hydration/

hydration guidance.

@GoodnightAdeline clearly but I also do not think it's at all fair for well behaved children to have to be punished because some people can't parent.

My younger DD's dad wants her to go to private school for secondary. I said there's no need - I think I might let him do what he wants and scrap that view.

Yes the water bottle thing came about (I recall) because a study showed that children learn more effectively if they drink water throughout the day.

But are you happy for your child to be subjected to this as well? Or is it just everyone else's kids that are little hooligans?

Where did I say that I was happy for anyone's child to be subjected to locked toilets? Or that I think everyone else's kids are little hooligans? You appear to be trying to put words in my mouth.

Posters who get incensed about school toilet closures are very keen to blame teachers and imply teachers enjoy depriving children of toilets. Why would we? We are trying to safeguard children and give them a good education. I'm just explaining why schools close toilets, even though they really really don't want to have to. If you have a specific, workable solution to the problem, we are all ears.

My 20 year old went to an academy school where the toilets were kind of built so they they were open and anyone walking by could see what was going on in there (not the actual cubicles). They looked a bit like a cloak room. The purpose of this was to stop truanting and also bullying and other things mentioned.

That's great. Unfortunately most schools barely have enough money to afford glue sticks, books, or indeed enough staff, at the moment, so new toilet blocks might be stretching it a bit.

I think the design council did a study on school toilets.

Glass outer walls up to waist height. Cubicles inside these. This stopped nearly all the problems.

Maybe Jeremy Hunt can introduce a few more NI cuts to find it🤷🏼‍♀️

Or if parents disciplined their children, therefore toilets could be left unlocked or used at any time without the horrifying behaviour and destruction? Much cheaper

If only someone had thought of that before! Schools should just send out a letter. 'Dear parents, please stop being shit parents and start disciplining your children.' Job done.

My 12 year old has what is believed to be a faecal blockage now as a consequence of being too scared to raise his hand to ask to go to the toilet, being told no or being ignored completely. He also doesn't drink enough, so which doesn't help but school have played a role in this by not actually letting him ho when he does need to.

I had to ring last week and demand he be given a toilet pass. Unfortunately the good kids are penalised for the shitty behaviour of some and it boils my bloody piss.

@courer sorry, did you miss the bit where I said I'm a teacher??? A classroom teacher? You think I have the authority to make decisions about expulsions/ higher level sanctions? You are very, very sadly mistaken if so. Ask the heads / governors/ LEAs/ councils about why it's so hard to expel persistent poorly behaved pupils, not me. I'm simply giving a picture of what's happening. Funny how I'm immediately blamed, not the pupils or parents raising them! Delightful. I actually know not to comment on these threads and yet I never learn....forget I said anything. Yes, it's probably just one or two wrong 'uns and it's all the school's fault. Well done you! Have a gold star!

This. You can see it happen. The more draconian and pointless rules you introduce, the more pressure, the more students who typically struggle (because of difficult family backgrounds and/or SN) will react badly to them.

The rise in academies may be great for some children, but in general they are pushing more and more children out of state education, many of them with SN who display challenging behaviour when not supported adequately.

State education is becoming unfit for purpose, then it’s constantly blamed on children and parents. If children are becoming more unable to thrive or behave within a school environment perhaps it’s a sign that the way education has changed is the problem.

Treating people as non-autonomous is a recipe for disaster. Locking loos is just part of this issue. I look forward to a time where real reform takes place and those setting school policies and guidelines actually look to see what’s working and what’s not, looking at the bigger picture rather than immediately blaming vulnerable/disadvantaged students.

For the PP who said ‘theres something seriously wrong in schools’. Yes! Underfunding and cuts maybe? Breakdown of societal norms maybe? Disillusioned and bored kids? I wish we knew!

Nobody seems to know!how to deal with this! However, unless you can employ someone to Police toilets all day, then all of the above incidents happen in schools regularly! We have used CCTV to try and prove that toilets and sinks flooded and broken were by those students and parents have to pay. It's very hard to prove! We managed it once when the bin was set in fire and the whole school evacuated!

We don't lock them all, all day and all are open break and lunch when they can be staffed. All students with medical need a have a pass, we've done assemblies and letters home asking for the toilets to be respected! Still happens! I honestly thought our Head was going to resign when he was faced with a toilet strewn with vandalised sanitary bins, bottles and baguettes wedged in the toilet and then flooded and offensive words smeared on the walls in tuna mayo 😢 and yes as a teacher I've leaked my period into clothes and it's awful and I wouldn't wish it on any kids. What's the answer?

How the hell are teachers working in these conditions, some of these kids are downright feral. Their parents must be utterly useless.

My school in the 90’s never locked the doors, they didn’t need to because no-one vandalised it and if someone made the loos unusable for a few days the rest if us would have probably bitched and moaned at them for messing up the loo.

Yes, it’s the poor behaviour of a minority of students that are spoiling things for the majority. The school should write to parents explaining this.