horrid school loos

[LetThereBeCake]

DS1 is in reception. He tries to use the school loos as little as possible, as there is only one cubicle in the boys' loo, the lock has been broken all year and he says other children don't flush when they've been so it's disgusting.

This is a problem because he attempts to hold on until he gets home. He will use the urinals but still dislikes it in there.

Who do I talk to about this? Would it be right to raise it with DS1's teacher? It's not as if she's going to be able to do anything about it. Do I raise it with the school administrator?? Is it normal for loos in a primary school not to lock? DS1 says anyone who uses the cubicle has to hold the door shut with their legs and his aren't long enough. Is it even worth raising? I guess the school can't do anything about kids not flushing.

DS2 starts in September, and he has had soiling problems since he was a baby, so he needs to be able to use the loos at school, and they need to be a non-threatening place for him. What should I do?

I would speak to the Headteacher . Or write a letter

When I was in the juniors, I managed to hold on all day because I hated the loos so much. I know it was 40 years ago, but the school itself was only 5 years old

I would have a word with the teacher and see what she says about who to talk to about it - might be a straight to the head job.

Is this a state school? I'm surprised (as a teacher) there are still schools with loos like this. Do they have a 'Healthy Schools' Award? If so, you could ask the committee to look into it. Otherwise, make the governors aware of the problem. I'd want to know as a governor, certainly. You've brought back memories of two different schools I've worked in where we teachers redecorated the loos in our holidays because we thought they were so bad. Something can be done, poor children.

It is a state school, 65 pupils so only 40 or so boys.

I remember when I was being shown round the school the December before DS1 started, the school council board was up on the wall and children had written things they wanted to change about school and one was "lock in the boys' toilet".

New head since then so she may not know about it. I'm guessing the teachers wouldn't ever go in there.

I would raise it with the class teacher and explain impact on your son. He won't be the only one and she should want to know. Plus ask if this is something the school facilities/premises committee is aware of and if so when it will be fixed etc.

They can regularly check toilets to ensure that loos are flushed and clean, and tell children who they need to tell if there is a problem that needs fixing.

No, skip class teacher and go straight to head

Class teachers get told stuff by parents all the time , pass it on and it doesnt get changed

Go straight to Organ grinder

There's no excuse for this.

The lock should be fixed, and it's easy to have the playground monitor finish their duty by going in to all the loos and flushing.

And it's important - when "Child of Our Time" sent the children in to their schools with a disposable camera and the instruction to take pictures of what mattered at school, the interpretation of what was important varied enormously. The one thing that was snapped by every child was the loos.

Raise it again with the teacher, and if there's no progress, escalate.

Am more worried about the loos not being flushed and dirty...! For now, could he maybe prop the door shut with his school bag?? (assuming the floor is not wet and soiled too!!!) Sounds gross. Definitely complain to class teacher or headteacher to get it sorted out.

headteacher. say it is affecting his concentration because he is worried about going.

teacher to encourage children to flush the loos

I think in the infants it's fairly standard to not have locks on the toilets. Ours have a sign they turn round to show there's someone in. It may be the lock has been deliberately put out of action.

I still have nightmares about the loos in my primary school, [redacted] years later. The ones at my secondary school were unspeakable.

When choosing a school for dd I will check the loos first.

Go straight to the head about it. It's not acceptable for little children to have to use horrible toilets: it's not acceptable for anyone tbh.

You could write an online review about this school including details about the toilets. Do not include info about your child not to be spotted (write as a guest). As far as I know almost every parent wants to read some informal review about their chosen school. The HT will certainly think about the reputation and improve the situation. Have you ever watched the Hotel Inspector? The owners often read the on line reviews.