Bathroom issues in local school disappear with €250k upgrade

A SECONDARY school has eradicated “perennial” anti-social problems in traditional bathrooms by transforming its facilities into contained, individual gender-neutral bathrooms in a €250k upgrade.

St Aidan’s Community School has transformed its bathroom facilities, making them a safer, cleaner space for students.

“When you’re going to the toilet at home, you don’t go into the boys’ bathroom or the girls’ bathroom, you just go to the bathroom,” Principal Kevin Shortall tells The Echo.

“That’s the idea behind this. They’re gender-neutral bathrooms yes, but it’s not about gender.

“It’s about creating individual bathrooms of safety, hygiene and cleanliness while making sure we are catering for students’ needs and feelings.”

Traditional boys’ and girls’ school bathrooms are closed-off rooms, containing a communal space for handwashing, and cubicles with toilets.

Anti-social behaviour in communal bathrooms have plagued secondary schools for generations.

Secondary school can be daunting for some students, and when the rumours of “first year beatings” or students getting their heads “flushed down the toilet” come about, it can only add to the anxiety.

“If you ask any principal in the country, their hearts are broken with anti-social issues, vaping or mobile phones,” Mr Shortall explains.

“It’s a perennial problem in every school bathroom which has nothing to do with demographics or the area where the school is.

“From a supervision point of view, teachers can’t really go into these spaces, we can only really shout from the door if there’s messing going on in there.

“Even the talk of first year beatings, putting first year’s heads down the toilet, which is largely untrue but it’s the thought of going to the bathrooms by yourself, and there’s all this messing going on in the communal spaces, that can be quite a daunting experience.”

Design guidance for gender neutral toilets was published by the Department of Education in 2021.

The department at the time said it was up to schools whether these facilities would be designed as mixed-sex or categorised as male or female use.

However, St Aidan’s took an extra step. All bathrooms are independent contained units, with a toilet and sink.

“There are no more cubicles or communal areas where students can gather unsupervised,” Mr Shortall explains.

“There is no situation where students can gather without supervision in bathrooms now.

“The bathrooms are locked, if a student needs to go to the bathroom they can.

“The bathroom doors open out into the corridor and all our corridors are fully supervised.

“There is no mixing. It is one bathroom per person. The mystique of the bathrooms is gone now.

“We opened these new bathrooms a month ago, and we have not had one report of any issues since.

“It’s clean, safe, hygienic, there’s sanitary products available if a student needs them.

“There’s no vandalism. Students have actually come up to me saying ‘thank you sir’, they love it and it’s because they feel safer.

“Bathrooms issues in St Aidan’s have totally disappeared for the first time in 40 years.”