All schools have toilet access policies but Hellesdon High School is under fire for requiring pupils to be accompanied by a staff member as they make their way to the loo.
The school also previously made the controversial decision to install CCTV cameras in communal areas, including by the washbasins in toilets.
These moves are said to have caused significant embarrassment and discomfort for menstruating pupils.
Ruby Harvey, 12, took to social media recently to describe her anger at being denied use of the toilets due to vandalism.
While I understand how intrusive this feels, it’s a lose-lose situation for the school.
READ MORE: High school defends decision to put cameras in student toilets
If they didn’t take significant measures to combat poor behaviour – which may have worsened due to the TikTok ‘devious lick’ trend, that encouraged students to steal and destroy school property – then parents would be on their backs and learning time would be lost.
It’s also worth remembering that schools rightly provide menstrual products for free through a government scheme and that Norwich resident Aneeta Prem has been instrumental in making the national PSHE curriculum more focused on women’s rights.
Toilets are often hotspots for bullying, vaping, mobile phone usage and graffiti. I was at school between 2014 and 2019 when certain students were well-known for coordinating their toilet breaks so they could meet up with their friends during lesson time.
READ MORE: 'Human rights' questioned as pupils wait up to an hour to use school's loos
Schools must manage this alongside post-pandemic exam preparation, high levels of stress, striking teachers and Ofsted rows.
Part of schools’ roles is preparing students for adulthood, not manning toilets. It’s appalling that pupils could be denied the toilet when they genuinely need it, but this case points to a bigger issue.
Schools need funding to build more and better quality toilet facilities and parents must encourage their children to respect them.
Every school is different, and parents, students and staff should come together to discuss important policy changes at Hellesdon.
- Eleanor Luxton is an aspiring journalist from the Norwich area currently studying at Mansfield College at the University of Oxford
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