Primary school forced to U turn on mixed sex toilets decision

[MrsOvertonsWindow]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9977335/Primary-school-headteacher-makes-toilets-gender-neutral-furious-parents-force-U-turn.html

What is particularly concerning is that the Head's statement says:
The school was challenged by an external body about the toilet facilities and making sure they were inclusive for all groups of children
.
What type of organisation targets a primary school to try to force boys and girls to share toilets? What type of adult fails to understand safeguarding and children's rights to privacy and dignity? As the Head has discovered, when children are consulted, they say no to sharing toilets, changing room etc. Just as the majority of adults do.

It's time that adults and organisations with no respect for boundaries and safety were treated with great suspicion - not validated by schools and other organisations indulging their inappropriate and frankly creepy demands.

I think it's fine for any organisation to contact a school and make a case for a change.

If the headteacher can't plan a process including deciding if the change is needed, relevant, safe or feasible in the school, and then if change may be a good idea to implement a consultation process, then they aren't doing their job.

Presumably the Head (in common with so many) was petrified of a public trashing if they failed to promptly comply with the demands from this group? (I may be wrong).
Otherwise as you point out PermanentTemporary, why on earth didn't she follow the normal procedures and consult? The pastoral care, health and wellbeing of children shouldn't be influenced by random groups contacting the school - especially if they're political lobby groups involved in adult sexual politics.

The school was challenged by an external body about the toilet facilities and making sure they were inclusive for all groups of children

Are schools subject to FOI if so its worth asking the questions who is the external body, what authority did they have what impact assessments did the school undertake etc

"What is particularly concerning is that the Head's statement says:
The school was challenged by an external body about the toilet facilities and making sure they were inclusive for all groups of children"

This is very concerning. Likely Stonewall or Mermaids? But could be the many and various smaller/local organisations championing similar. It's not acceptable.

I should say, if schools have the inclination and budget to have boys toilets, girls toilets, and mixed sex toilets then I don't have a huge problem with that other than:

The issue with mixed sex toilets is they open up more opportunity for eg cameras to be hidden. Also, they must have the door etc down to the ground, but this then means another safeguarding issue around if someone gets stuck in there/no one can tell if someone has collapsed in there etc. Down to the ground are also harder to clean.

Better to just stick to sex segregation IMO.

From the article:

'It's a hard one but I understand some children are confused and don't want to go into the boys or the girls, but when they haven't got proper floor-to-ceiling walled toilets, that's my issue.

'Anybody can look on anybody going to the toilet, they are so low you don't even need to stand on a toilet to look over it.

The article also describes a girl being distressed by a male pupil watching her while she was on the toilet.

What is wrong with people who implement these stupid ideas? The facilities were clearly entirely unsuited to being converted to a mixed sex facility. Is common sense dead? I note without any irony that the headteacher is also described as the safeguarding lead!

I'm in agreement with schools having one / some mixed sex toilets (depending on numbers) Leafstamp. It allows for the maintenance of single sex resources and avoids all the drama from those expecting other children (usually girls) to provide validation for their beliefs and feelings.

I fully expect that the external body was Stonewall

I recently witnessed in a fb group for senior primary school leaders many statements by teachers (heads, deputies, assistants,) that they'd been "educated" and moved to and kept unisex during the pandemic, including one who was advised by the LA.

This should be challenged ( as a number of other group members did on the thread.)

It's good that people are challenging this with senior staff WarriorN. I understand that it's hard for them to keep on top of all issues.
But the legislation is quite clear about schools having to provide single sex toilets and Safe Schools Alliance have some excellent resources clarifying the law and offering solutions to help schools. There's a factsheet on single sex toilets:
safeschoolsallianceuk.net/resources-2/factsheets/

I have a theory: There has been a wave of retirements in the profession and now many head teachers are young, inexperienced and insufficiently worldly wise, something every head should be.

What's even crazier was that the school has mixed sex toilets as well anyway

@Jaysmith71

I have a theory: There has been a wave of retirements in the profession and now many head teachers are young, inexperienced and insufficiently worldly wise, something every head should be.

I definitely think this is a factor.

I do wonder about the role of governors or Heads of the Academy Trust in decisions like this....why was there no pushback from them?

I think it's because governors are supposed to be strategic rather than operational. However if something goes wrong operationally then there sure as hell will be strategic issue to sort out!

And this staff member (interim head?) was the safeguarding lead? Well she knew enough about safety to remove herself from playground duty once this all came out.

As a child I was very small (and started a year early - so small, small for my age and 3 years old) and timid. I just could not have gone to use to loo of there were ‘big lads’ in there. I would have preferred to pee my pants than do that.

Agreed Jaysmith71 I suspect younger inexperienced Heads find it hard to stand up to external bullying - especially from some of the aggressive lobby groups. I've seen first hand the threatening behaviour of a group trying to insist that a 15 year old teenage boy identifying as a girl must share the girl's dormitory on a school trip. The Head panicked and failed to give a lead through fear of a pile on.
In the end the trip was cancelled as the staff felt bullied and threatened by this group - who were unconnected with the school. They decided to cancel as they felt others with an agenda would be in control and there would likely be a host of other complaints to navigate.
All the kids lost out. The school had to refund all the money and it did nothing for peer relations with the individual concerned being isolated by many of their peers. The staff have since refused to take school trips (although obviously Covid has now put a stop to them).

Head teacher is a hell of a big job, and I do not see that classroom teaching is any sort of preparation for it.

'I also heard that there was a little girl with autism who was upset and scared, as a little boy went in and was watching her while she was on the toilet.' From the article.

This just makes my blood boil.

Each child is either a boy or a girl so single sex loos are 'inclusive'.

Some schools might need to do more re accessible facilities for kids with various SEN and physical conditions I suppose, there might be genuine inclusivity work to be done there.

Anything else...for little kids maybe they need to install lampposts and litter trays for those who announce they're dogs or cats.

it's worth remembering that Christine Burns talks about guiding the language from 'transsexual' to 'trans' as it was an easier sell

would anyone talk about transsexual children?

Gosh this makes my bloood boil!

It’s absolutely chilling that an “external body” (we can all guess who) have positioned themselves to be so powerful, that the HT couldn’t think for themselves and immediately think about Safeguarding of the children.

@MrsOvertonsWindow

I'm in agreement with schools having one / some mixed sex toilets (depending on numbers) Leafstamp. It allows for the maintenance of single sex resources and avoids all the drama from those expecting other children (usually girls) to provide validation for their beliefs and feelings.

Why? TRAs are fighting for female toilets to be available to anyone who declares themselves to be women. They don’t want ‘mixed sex’ toilets. The law allows for the provision of single sex toilets for a reason - male violence and female’s right to dignity and privacy. Males need to be told no - you cannot come into single sex provision facilities, no matter how dysphoric you might feel. Let’s stop pandering.

I started my periods very young and was still at primary school. I was the only one. It was absolutely mortifying. I was way to young to truly understand what was happening. I used a particular cubicle where they had put a little bin in for me. And washed my hands with all the other girls. I can't imagine the added mental pressure in my head if i had to do all that with the boys. I just find these teachers cruel that they can't imagine what this feels like for some girls. By secondary school I cared much less and it had a certain benefit that people thought i was grown up. However I still remember hating the rustle the sanitary towel package made as you opened it. And I think I went to quite a nice school with no massive bullying problem!

Soontobe60
I completely understand your point. But pragmatically numerous schools are facing these demands because children have been relentlessly targeted by adult groups with their born in the wrong body mantras.
So rather than battling with teenagers wanting access to the opposite sex facilities to validate their beliefs, being able to say "here are the mixed sex spaces for you to use" allows schools to maintain single sex spaces for the majority and to prioritise their needs.

I also think some single toilets are a good idea - they can be useful for a number of reasons and if sex dysphoria is one of them fine. But there are also kids who have problems using communal toilets for other reasons.

But why should any kind of "external body" be independently contacting a school? Can any body do this, with any agenda?

One thing about younger teachers and administrators - they grew up with groups like this being given a lot of power in schools.