Parents have voiced their concerns over the decision of a Hartlepool school to build unisex toilets for its secondary school pupils. The toilet block of Dyke House Sports and Technology College was remodelled in a £12.4 million revamp and it sees both female and male pupils walking out from the toilet cubicles into the same room to use the communal sinks. Concerned parents have contacted Hartlepool Borough Council over the issue. School officials, meanwhile, have defended the facilities, stating that the toilets were “the way forward”. They claim that the block will be monitored by staff and have been designed to combat the issue of “smokers' corners”.
Andrew Jordon, the head teacher at the school, claimed that two parents had voiced their concerns over the toilets yet had felt impressed by the facilities upon being invited for a visit. He added that the toilets remained very separate and that individual cubicles with floor-to-ceiling doors had been installed inside.
Peter McIntosh, who heads school transformation with Hartlepool Borough Council, described the layout of the new facilities at Dyke House School as being an “increasingly accepted” practice. He added that during the planning stages, the team had looked into several new schools in which the design had been adopted and described the feedback received from these schools as “very positive”. He maintained the toilet block remained private and reflected the fact that Dyke House School was a modern school.
Duncan Lewis’ childcare law solicitors can provide parents who have concerns over the wellbeing of their children in schools with the advice that they require.