School opens unisex toilets News
BOSSES HAVE ALSO CUT LUNCHTIME BREAK FROM 45 MINUTES TO 30 MINUTES
PARENTS have blasted a school after it introduced unisex toilets and shorter lunch breaks in a bid to deal with an influx of students.
Bosses at Little Lever School in Bolton have opened a new toilet block near the canteen to be shared by male and female students.
It has five stalls for boys and five for girls.
The sink area and hand dryers are shared.
Some parents have complained, saying their children feel uncomfortable sharing the space.
Others claim the facilities cannot cope with the number of students.
Little Lever chiefs have also cut lunch breaks from 45 minutes to 30 minutes and introduced a system that sees year groups eating at different times.
Youngsters in years seven and eight take their lunch break first, with years nine, 10 and 11 taking their lunch break later.
In a Facebook post, headteacher Dominic Mckeon said the measures were introduced after pupil numbers increased from 940 to 1,050.
More than 140 parents have posted angry comments. Coun Sean Hornby has also raised concerns.
Jennifer Jones, whose child is in year nine, said: “Around 500 students have just half an hour for their lunch and to go to the toilet.
“I am really concerned they have taken too many students than they can deal with.”
Another mum, who asked not to be named, said: “My son hasn’t been to the toilet. It isn’t good for his health. He doesn’t like it, he isn’t comfortable about it.”
Coun Hornby, ward councillor for Little Lever, said: “They introduced it on day one, when there was already a new intake of pupils feeling intimidated.
“I know we have got to move with the times, but for children having to share toilets it is intimidating. Going through puberty, it is embarrassing enough.”
Mr Mckeon posted on Facebook: “We have segregated the toilet area into boys and girls.
“The toilets have one entrance with communal sinks and hand dryers with boys’ toilets on one side and girls on the other. “The toilets go from the floor to the ceiling to create a private cubicle. “We now operate a split lunch. This is to ensure that as our student population grows we have the ability to feed every student and they have the opportunity to enjoy social time before their next lesson.” Mr Mckeon said the school was considering building a partition wall between the boys and girls cubicles.
“The reason we did it is because there is a toilet block at each side of the school,” he added. “At lunchtimes pupils would have to walk to the other side of the school to go to the toilet.”