Single sex toilets at secondary (not a trans thread)

[UncleMatthewsEntrenchingTool]

We have had an email from school detailing all of the Covid arrangements for next term. DD will be year 7 so new school, not familiar with layout.

In an attempt to keep the years from mixing we have been told that the toilets near the year 7 classrooms will be converted to unisex.

I instinctively do not like this (lack of privacy and dignity for girls) and I have a feeling it may not be legal. Does anyone have the rules on this? I’m sure I’ve seen them on here before. It’s an academy if that makes a difference. I don’t know if there will be a basin in each cubicle, but I think not.

Can anyone help? I would like my facts straight before I mention an objection.

I raised the problem of embarrassment around periods in a conversation with a young, woke, feminist teacher at the school where I work. Her response was that boys have to get over being immature about it, and that will never happen if we let girls continue to be silly and try to hide it. Great. Fortunately, it's a girl's school.

girls' - wretched autocorrect!

that's terrible!

Is that their considered advice for, say, a child who is being verbally bullied (the 'sticks and stones' defence) or physically bullied ('man up' girl) or sexually abused (well he knows its wrong but he will just have to learn...).

I used to be mortified opening my sanitary towel wrapper in the toilets at school (why have they got to be so damn loud?!) and that was at an all girls school!

It’s because of zones and bubbles. Year groups are being allocated areas of the school that they will have all their lessons in, instead of moving around the school to different blocks. There aren’t enough sets of toilets in a school for each year group to have male and female facilities for their own bubble.

Genuinely don’t know how to solve this problem. Splitting breaktime so that girls can go the first half, and boys the second would mean hurrying up kids who haven’t finished, or denying entry to those who are desperate.

@Thisismytimetoshine

The local authority claimed it was temporary and as a response to covid 19. Maybe I'm being a bit thick here, but can anyone explain why everyone using the same toilets is a defence against the spread of Covid?

I already have earlier in the thread. But @noblegiraffe makes the point above, too.

To my mind, this is an entirely different issue from the general one about unisex toilets. Schools are desperately trying to keep a lid on the virus in September. It's massive issue with huge ramifications for every element of the school day.
As a temporary measure, I think it's going to be necessary in order to create zones in some school. It's not great, but I don't see an alternative right now.

Sorry, I've read back now Thanks!

Lifeafter50 - what type of school do you work in that has a full time school nurse on the premises? Is it a private school?

I use sanitary towels which are not a large brand. Therefore the packaging is a little... ‘robust’ and it’s like trying to open a bag of crinkly crisps that have been superglued closed. Not at all possibly to do subtlety. And the paper strip on the back is similarly attached to the pad so much rustling, crackling and ripping.

Just looking at the updated government guidance for reopening schools it says

“toilets will need to be cleaned regularly and pupils must be encouraged to clean their hands thoroughly after using the toilet - different groups being allocated their own toilet blocks could be considered but is not a requirement if the site does not allow for it”

I guess in this case you could argue that it as it is not a requirement and the site doesn’t allow for it, single sex provision is more important.

@redskittleorangeskittle my ds have been to a large state junior school (700 dc) and are now at a large state secondary school (1700 dc) and they both have a full time matron in school. Many of the other schools locally similarly have a school matron. When I queried it with the junior school HT when eldest dc first ent there, she said that it made sense as there were more than 800 kids and staff on site, there are forever accidents as kids fall over etc (so they call the matron down to deal with it rather than take the teacher away from the rest of the class) as well as managing all the medicines that get sent in, keeping track of absense of people off sick, send out reminders about nits and vaccines etc, go as another responsible adult on school trips, all sorts of things to keep them busy that makes them a sensible member of staff to have on the team even when margins are so tight!

@noblegiraffe

Just looking at the updated government guidance for reopening schools it says

“toilets will need to be cleaned regularly and pupils must be encouraged to clean their hands thoroughly after using the toilet - different groups being allocated their own toilet blocks could be considered but is not a requirement if the site does not allow for it”

I guess in this case you could argue that it as it is not a requirement and the site doesn’t allow for it, single sex provision is more important.

The site clearly does allow for it. And I'm not convinced that single sex provision does trump Covid precautions in the short term. That said, I would hope that the school would try to manage the one toilet block so that where possible, only one sex uses it at any one time.

I would read ‘toilet block’ as male and female provision.