‘Cages’ have been installed at Foxford Community School, Coventry, to stop students from going to the toilet. Pupils are now unable to use the toilet during lessons and can only make a bathroom trip if supervised.
Children aged 10-16 years old have to ask permission to go to the bathroom and go supervised. We all know that there are never enough staff in schools a without staff taking pupils to the toilet all the time. This may mean that students are denied going to the toilet due to understaffing. And what of the appropriateness of staff following a child to the bathroom!?
Going through a cage to go to the bathroom must be horrifying and not very dignified. What if you struggle with holding it in (my young IBS self would have hated this and it would have stopped me from eating at school). I’m sure many of the students will now think about how much they drink and eat and when. This is not a healthy relationship to have with fuelling your boys.
Also, having an adult hang around outside whilst you do your business is not very dignified. What if the student needs to take their time; what if they have a poorly tummy; or are on their period?
Moving toilet breaks to lunch time takes away the students autonomy and their downtime. This would be illegal in work places in the UK, why is this okay in a school?
The papers are sharing that students and families are “outraged” and “upset” – I would be too if this was my child’s school. How awful that these children will have less say over going to the toilet than those who are incarcerated (I’m not saying those in the prison system should have that right taken away from them either – I’m simply suggesting it shouldn’t be emulated in schools).
A spokesperson from Foxford Community School has said that the doors aren’t cages and they’re opened at regular intervals throughout the day (if they’re open that regularly then why have them in the first place!?).
A Grandad to six students at Foxford said: “I understand they have problems with kids in toilets, but to put metal doors on them is just going too far…School is supposed to be a safe place for kids and it is supposed to be a relaxed environment, but how it is a relaxed environment when they are locked up?”
This flagrant breaking of children’s rights to go to the bathroom started on the 6th of March due to their “being problems in the toilets” at the school.I don’t know what these ‘problems’ are but stopping young people from going to the toilet by putting the facilities under lock and key is not the answer. I wonder what OfSted would think of these changes?