General Chat

The school I'm asscociated with has been rehoused in a 'new build'. Although the tiolets are all cubicled, they have decided to allocate male/female blocks. However, there is no place to hide; You can see from one end out to the other as if it were a corridor, with cubical doors one on side, and basins on the other.

There are no Adult Only toilets, although many staff members prefer to use the disabled facilities (staff/disabled swipe card access)

The thinking behind it is that the students won't be able to hide to bunk off lessons, or to smoke. Being in effect open plan, there isn't any incentive to hang around, and staff can easily check if there is a suspicion of wrong doing, without placing themselves at risk of unfounded accusations.

OMG no! I think teen years for both sexes can be fraught with embarrassment and insecurity. Things I laugh at now were cringeworthy years ago. Toilet facilities should be as private as possible and not mixed.

A few quotes from the article

'The toilets are very separate - they all have individual cubicles which have floor-to-ceiling doors.
'There will be a set of toilets for each individual year group that have three individual cubicles for boys and three for girls.'
*********** said the school had spent 18 months working on the design with contractors ***** and that the open-plan format was a 'stock-design' for the national construction firm.
He added that the toilets are supervised by a member of staff - either by a progress leader during lessons, whose office is beside the toilets, or by a member of supervisory staff during breaks and lunchtimes.

He also added that the design was already in use elsewhere.

thanks Muffy was away from the computer having lunch. Yes, I saw it in that mail on line article. I can't believe they were able to get away with it. :-S

I bet the one who thought this one up came out of Tony Blairs "Blue Sky Thinking Quango" :-S and got an end of year Bonus for it.

My daughters school has been completely rebuilt and is now considered "21st Century" and "State of the Art"...and it's toilets are definitely NOT unisex !!!! x

Well said Barry - surely "Every Child Matters" etc, would not allow this?

tsk what about when you want to have a sob in the wash room with your girlfriends when you've been dumped by Mr Cool? :-(
that's not going to be possible when Mr Cool is in the next cubicle , what about the girly chats...or the laddish chats come to that, all those hormones :-S.."here's an idea, you distract the supervisor while me and the girlfriend have a 'canoodle' " ;-)

Barry, they,ve been running it for ages, its just that we,ve just recently decided to out them and hopefully get rid.**M**.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2086007/Parents-anger-Hartlepool-school-builds-unisex-toilets-pupils.html

Just found the article online. x

What a load of old dewdrops, for want of another word. Anyone who has suggested this, wants firing, and not just from their job.
I've heard it all now.

Julia in Derbyshire

The mind boggles. No doubt someone is trying to save money as usual - obviously no serious thought has gone into this.

Who has suggested this? And what was their reasoning?.

I can categorically state that I would move my daughter out of any school that did this...without hesitation x

Gosh!!

I think it's outragous!

I can't actually believe it!!

not for it at all NO NO NO

I think the person who thought this one up has forgotten what it is like to be a teenager :-P, there are so many potential pitfalls to this one !

Which Born Again Nutter thought that one up? :-S,no doubt some jobsworth trying to justify their salary. :-S :-S

A really bad idea.

definitly NOT a good idea x

No, No, NO.