They have turned the toilets at my daughter's school mixed sex

[dumpling23]

Yup - that's it really. On a local women's rights group I'm on, I've heard that another school in our town has also done just the same thing. I'll be writing to complain. I imagine others who look at this forum might hear that the the same change has been introduced at their children's school over the next few days, so here is a copy of my letter. If anybody else is in this situation, feel free to use/adapt this template. Corrections also welcome.

I am writing to register my concerns about the changes to the ** School toilets that have been reported to me by my child. I have been informed that the single sex provision at the English Block and the Canteen Corridor have been converted into mixed sex provision, with further conversions underway. In this letter I am requesting further information in order to better understand the situation, as the only information I have received at present comes from a child.

I will state at the outset that I consider removing single-sex toilet provision and replacing it with mixed-sex provision, as appears to be the case here, to be detrimental to female pupils. It also risks breaking the law. The guidance in the Schools Premises Regulations (2012) is very clear. It states that schools must provide separate sex provision for children over eight. In June 2018, the Department of Education reissued guidance from the Department of Education on the responsibilities of school in relation to ‘gender separation’. Paragraph 13 clearly states:

It is permissible for toilet and boarding accommodation facilities to be separate as they are captured under existing statutory exceptions. Separate toilet and washing facilities must be provided for boys and girls aged 8 years and over pursuant to Regulation 4 of the School Premises (England) Regulations 2012, which falls within the exemption provided for in Schedule 22 of the Equality Act 2010.

Furthermore, as you will no doubt have noticed, the Attorney General, Suella Braverman provided further guidance to schools about toilets in her speech of 10 August 2022. She said: ‘Further, in law, there is a duty to provide separate single sex toilets, a breach of which would be unlawful under the School premises (England) Regulations 2012 and the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

In order that I can better understand the School’s actions and assess how it fits within the UK’s legal framework, I would be grateful if you could provide answers to the following questions:

1. What is the toilet provision in the school and is it in line with the School Premises Regulations (2012) as outlined in the Department of Education guidance?
2. Did the school consult with students, staff and parents about the proposed change?
3. Did the school carry out an impact assessment (especially in relation to the protected characteristics of sex and religion) on the change as is required under the Equality Act?

If the school did carry out a consultation exercise and Impact Assessment, I would be grateful if you could share the documentation around these processes.

I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

It's also part of using the girls to modify the boys' behaviour, I think. I was taught as a trainee to manage restless boys by sandwiching them between calm girls.

But it's ineffective, and at the girls' expense.

@picklemewalnuts wow! I'd have thought that would be a safeguarding issue. As a teacher I'd have hated sharing toilets with students.
I really wouldn't want kids I was teaching hearing me go to the loo or unwrapping sanpro.

Brilliant letter OP. Hope it does the trick.

There was no privacy, so no safeguarding issue.

But yes, it felt very exposed. How long you are in there, whether it smelled, if you found it dirty, and didn't want people to think it was you...

Absolute nightmare.

Punishing all individuals for the behaviour of others.

Wonderful girls will see boys waving their wiliue about
Insane
State schools and Teachers are desperate to show how woke they are

My son goes to a boys state school. In the sixth form girls can join. I will be complaining if I hear that they have turned the girls toilets into mixed. It would be so wrong, 1400 boys and 50 girls. The abuse would be appalling. This is why we must all complain even if it protects one girl.

Excellent letter, do keep us updated. I would recommended copying in Safe Schools Alliance and Sex Matters in future correspondence. SSA were great in helping me write to our school about single sex toilets.

The problem is that they don't seem to have told the parents - and if any of the parents/guardians are religious Muslims, for example, they will need to know where the single-sex washing facilities are going to be so their children can pray.

Awesome letter OP. I reckon we are in the same WhatsApp group!! It’s bloody great isn’t it.

I second this.

Excellent letter op. You might want to arm yourself with further info if you get pushback.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-sexual-abuse-in-schools-and-colleges/review-of-sexual-abuse-in-schools-and-colleges#conclusion

www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/life-style/women/sexual-assault-unisex-changing-rooms-sunday-times-women-risk-a8519086.html%3famp

Bloody excellent letter.

Placemarking - excellent letter

In almost every school I have worked in they are unisex

Please go and have a look at the set up before making a complaint.

Excellent letter OP - following with interest!

Really excellent letter. Well done OP.

Unless you work with very unusual boys, many of them will leave piss on the seats and floor.

Girls then have the unenviable options of wiping it up themselves, or getting it on their clothes and bums. Gee thanks.

It is a disgrace that any school is still trying this 😡

I would also mention the need to spend the school’s very limited budget responsibly and not to negligently waste money on projects that contravene the law.

Does anyone know the process by which spending decisions are justified and held to account? They might fear this more than waiting for a girl to try to take them to court for discrimination or the gov being bothered to act?

Neither my teen boy or teen girl would use unisex toilets at school. It's bad enough that they are used for vaping and general antisocial behaviour anyway.

Then, if in the UK, almost every school you have worked in has probably left themselves open to legal action, from parents of all children, as they have not provided the necessary, and obligatory, single sex facilities.

At this point I consider the removal single sex spaces to be an act of aggression against the female population. I won't say anything else for fear of being banned

Same.

Excellent letter. I have boys but if the school they go to ever change to mixed toilets I will be using your letter to complain.

As others have said this is also a mental health and disability issue. Bathrooms can be tricky places for kids at the best of times, if you do a poll of kids at school they will cite using the bathroom and it being dirty or a bit scary as one of their main issues.

My child is a boy, but constipation is a big issue because of his disability and this is not uncommon. It’s taken some time to work with the school to get him used to the toilets.

So not only is the school railroading equality rights and single sex needs, it is also making a whole host of disability issues worse. Foolish!

Thank you for that letter. I'm marking my place here in case I need to find it to copy and paste

Such decisions by school show an incredible lack of understanding of the pressures girls feel going through puberty, especially concerning periods.
These decisions also fail to recognise the increase in verbal/physical sexual assaults teenage girls are subjected to.
I hope more parents write and complain where it has happened. Please also write to MPs to make them more aware of this issue.

Here we go again I’m appalled yet again girls safety and privacy is eroded. Doesn’t matter if your daughter is 3 or leaving school next summer she needs privacy.

I was wondering about the cost element too Dino

How much did it cost?
which budget did it come from and who signs off on such things? LEA?