School scraps gender-neutral lavatories after parents protest

A PRIMARY school has abandoned its gender-neutral lavatories after a backlash from parents amid claims some pupils were left scared and upset.

Moredon Primary School in Swindon, Wilts, introduced a policy that saw its shared bathrooms open to all pupils regardless of gender.

The lavatories were not modified, meaning urinals remained in use in the boy’s facilities despite girls being allowed in.

But the decision, which was made without warning or consultation, was met with anger by parents who have forced the school into an about-turn.

One mother said she was concerned gender-neutral facilities could “normalise” the use of lavatories with people of the other sex.

“It makes kids think it’s normal to be sharing toilets with other sexes but when you go out, you can’t do that.

“It’s not like Asda or Mcdonald’s have gender-free toilets so why does the school think it’s acceptable?” she said.

Although most parents were against the changes to the children’s facilities, the main reason behind the anger did not relate to the subject of identity but to privacy, and that no one was informed.

Another mother said: “My child is eight and the first I heard was when he came home and told us there was a little girl in the toilet while he was using the urinal.”

The school later made the decision to revert to lavatories for girls and boys.

Anna Wilcox, the head teacher, said: “We’ve listened and taken on board the feedback from some of our parents and made a further adjustment to our policy … We now have both unisex and single sex toilets in school.”