Whitehall vetoes unisex school toilets

Open ends allow supervision by teachers

By BBC education correspondent Sue Littlemore

An unusual way of trying to reduce bullying has been blocked by the Department for Education.

The head teacher at a secondary school in Stockport, Greater Manchester, believes he can tackle bullies by letting the boys and the girls use the same toilets.

But civil servants at the Department for Education have ruled that "the time is not right for the introduction of unisex toilets in our schools ".

John Peckham, head teacher at Bramhall High School, says his years of experience have led him to at least one certainty: most toilets in most secondary schools are disgusting.

He took me into the girls' in his own school, which involves walking through two doors, like an airlock.

Supervision problem

"The place has been vandalised, you can see that. There's graffiti on the walls," he points out.

John Peckham: "We're hung up in this country"

The first thing that strikes you is the smell of smoke.

"And it's very difficult for teachers to supervise it," Mr Peckham said.

"These days my colleagues are very reluctant to step behind two closed doors because if they were here alone with a student they open themselves to allegations of - whatever."

One boy told me that in the boys' toilets he had seen other boys forcing people to smoke, locking them in, putting their heads under the taps.

"There's people sat there kicking your doors in while you're on the toilet and it's just not nice," he said.

So with both teachers and pupils afraid to enter the toilets, John Peckham came up with a plan.

Moderating influence

So that his students could spend a penny in safety, he spent £35,000 on some brand new, modern toilets - so modern, in fact, that the boys are supposed to share them with the girls.

"Youngsters look on traditional toilets in schools as places where they can go and be 'gang-y' - sociable together," Mr Peckham said.

"Where you've got a mixed space there's not the opportunity to do that.

"The intention with this was for youngsters to come in, do their toilet business, and go. The boys and girls together would have a moderating influence."

But "moderation" might be the last thing on a teenagers' mind. John Peckham admits that, at first, some parents worried their youngsters might use the new toilets for having sex.

But the head teacher had thought of that. There are two video cameras at either end of the room.

What the students think

So are students ready for unisex toilets? Some are.

"I prefer these toilets than the old ones. These are nice and bright where the old ones were dead dull and boring and vandalised," said one student.

"Now there's cameras in here you can see if anyone is getting bullied so I think I would stop in here," said another.

Some are not - one girl worried about boys' hygiene standards. Another had had a bad experience in the past.

"I really, really don't like it. I went to go to the toilet once and then a group of lads walked in, you could hear them. And I just didn't go, I just walked out of the toilets," she said.

Breach of regulations

The controversy reached the Department for Education, which has ruled that the unisex toilets are technically illegal.

In a letter to John Peckham, the department said: "The time is not right for the introduction of unisex toilets in schools ... concerns have been raised on religious grounds ... also many children welcome privacy when using toilets and washing facilities."

John Peckham is not too pleased with the department's decision. He has told the officials that single sex toilets are still available in the school and all he wants is the chance to experiment with the mixed ones for six months.

He is waiting for a reply.

"A situation like this would be very common in a French high school. Nobody would bat an eyelid," he said.

"We are very hung up about toilets in this country, I think."