Secondary school introduces "girls" toilets

[Snowbeau]

Sent to me by a friend, a secondary school has refurbed their toilet block with cubicles for "girls" and "boys" and non specified. The sinks are in the communal bathroom area not in cubicles.

Comments are quoting that it's now law that these toilets are put into schools. Can anyone verify?

Our local high school only has communal toilets, open plan. There is are sink blocks running down the middle of two sets of cubicles, perpendicular to the corridors, and open to them, so anyone going into or coming out of a cubical is visible to everyone in the corridor. The cubicles themselves remind me of American toilets, with large gaps at the top, bottom and down one side of each door. All cubicles are gender neutral. There are no alternative toilets at all. They are used by both staff and pupils. From what I've heard, each of the schools within the academy trust have the same design. Is this illegal? They have been in place for about five years now.

Yes totally illegal as they do not meet the necessary standards of mixed sex toilets. There are loads if standards that must be met and the toilets at your school never met any standard. Use the resources on SSA to help you complain and always refer to them as mixed sex, no such thing as gender neutral toilets.

To have nowhere private a menstruating teenage girl can go is disgusting. I would be deeply uncomfortable & Im a not shy adult who has no experience of mixed loos (used them in bars). Girls need private sinks to wash, & to not have boys listening to them. Is it that hard to understand that?

I honestly wonder what kind of person thinks this is acceptable. How little empathy you would need & how little understanding of how some girls could be affected by this. Its cruel. I would take a child out of a school like this personally but guessing these schools are in places where parents dont have much choice.

I will look at reporting, thank you for the information on how to. I'm not a parent at the school, but have had to visit a few times. I know of a few friends whose daughters there have developed UTI's by avoiding using the toilet all day. My children won't be going there, I'll home educate them if I have to.

There are only 2 types of approved toilet;

• single occupancy which are completely self contained with floor to ceiling walls and doors and a sink, and
• single sex, which can have communal sinks.

All cubicles used by women and girls over the age of 8 must have a sanitary waste disposal bin.

It looks like The Hampshire Chronicle have picked this story up and people are able to comment. I quite like the comment by Chalk Stream.
It really annoys me that these things aren’t thought through.

The attitude of their social media person is outrageous as well- sarcastic, dismissive and rude.

Comments closed
www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/18645754.swanmore-college-sparks-outrage-gender-neutral-toilets/

The school said the children had been asking to lose their right to single sex toilets? When? Who?

An equalities impact assessment would reveal that it discriminates against Muslim girls who would need to remove their head scarves and roll up their sleeves in order to wash before prayer. Freedom of religion is a protected characteristic, so it's yet another case of playing off some rights against others in the name of trans-inclusion.

The school said the children had been asking to lose their right to single sex toilets? When? Who?

Don't they know you shouldn't give children everything they ask for - in particular if it entails taking something off other children.

[quote ListeningQuietly]Comments closed
www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/18645754.swanmore-college-sparks-outrage-gender-neutral-toilets/[/quote]
Comments still open on the Hampshire Chronicle’s website. www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/18645152.swanmore-college-sparks-outrage-gender-neutral-toilets/

The school have reposted articles about the "outrage" on their Facebook page which seems really weird.

Also how rude is their social media person!?

Equality? FFS. Not for Muslim girls. Or ASD girls. Or shy girls. Heartless cunts.

had this at my school. no pupils ever had an issue with it...

had this at my school. no pupils ever had an issue with it

How diligent and amazing of you to survey them all individually!
Well done. However since many pupils at many schools do have an issue with it, and those pupils have a legal right to single sex toilets, your comprehensive survey isn't actually relevant here. But what fab research, well done, go you.

@Kantastic well said!! Reading through the comments on their Facebook there are loads of pupils (male and female) who have issues with it.

i'm sure there's other toilets that's your precious DC can use that them pesky men and transgender people can't access

@shamelesslynameless actually that's not the case. This is the only one the 13 and 14 year olds can use. This isn't pearl clutching precious Mummy's here.

I'm not even a mummy. I have seen virtually everything happen in loos on nights out and shared loos with gay and transgender people, but as a 13 year old girl I well remember what it was like around 13 year old boys when it came to this stuff.

Even now I would not be comfortable with this setup. Even if many pupils are ok with it we need to look after the ones that aren't. Or maybe not, they are only girls after all. We all know they don't matter.

It's not one sided though and certainly not an attack on "pesky men", there are a number of young boys who are equally uncomfortable with the set up.

The only attack evident here is the one on the safe single sex spaces of pubescent children.

Shameless at your school they took the girls toilets

And changed the labels on the doors to give one to girls one to boys and one to either

?

What year was this?

Plus, it's illegal. Mixed sex toilets have specific criteria. Laws aren't made without good reason.

Can you tell me your reasoning behind taking female toilet facilities and making them mixed sex, while leaving the gents alone (as has happened in many places) even though women and girls need more facilities?

How do you think teen boys will feel about having a shit next to a cubicle with a girl in? How will the boys feel about having to queue? And having sanitary bins taking up loads of space?

And etc.

'i'm sure there's other toilets that's your precious DC can use that them pesky men and transgender people can't access'

Men shouldn't be using the toilets for the children in a school, surely?

Do you have info, where is this happening?

And yes children are precious. And vulnerable, and often very self conscious around puberty.

I'm surprised this is news.

Lot of comments from a couple of people on fb claiming that pupils have been asking for a gender neutral toilet. No-one specifies what the pupils meant by that. If pupils have been asking for gender neutral toilets, I think they were probably thinking of an additional toilet. Probably a self-contained room.

They won't have been asking for a standard toilet block in which some stalls are categorised girls, some boys, and the rest 'gender-neutral', all in the same room. But that is apparently what the provision is now?