Angry parents hit out at Knox Academy in Haddington as school pupils 'locked out of toilets'

Angry parents say children are being locked out of school toilets, leaving them too scared to drink during the day, while girls are unable to take care of basic needs in East Lothian.

Knox Academy, in Haddington, has been accused of shutting pupils out of toilets during the day by parents who say it is a breach of their human rights.

The school insists only its main block of communal toilets is locked outside of break times with other facilities available, however it says some loos have been temporarily closed because of vandalism.

And it has been claimed cleaners sent in to toilets at the end of the school day have been confronted with ‘revolting’ scenes with bins on fire, dirty period products strewn across floors and overflowing toilets blocked with food and litter.

Recent talks with the school parent council saw an agreement to close one block next to a social area outside break times with assurances there are enough individual toilet facilities available throughout the school, although they can be closed if damaged.

Parents on social media claimed their children had reported finding alternative toilets often locked throughout the day.

One mum said her children restrict how much they drink during the day to avoid being caught short. She took to social media to urge other parents to sign a national petition demanding schools allow pupils toilet access at all times, saying “they shouldn’t need to dehydrate themselves because they can’t fulfil their basic human rights of using welfare facilities”.

Another mum whose child was affected said: “It seems to be mostly the girls bathrooms, one of my kids never takes a drink to school for this very reason.”

Concern about female pupils being unable to access the toilets during their periods were raised by parents on the Facebook comments.

East Lothian is the home of social enterprise Hey Girls which spearheaded a campaign to provide free sanitary products for families and the council was an early partner, with the company providing free products in schools as early as 2019.

Parents and carers are being urged to sign a national petition which already has nearly 18,000 signatures and calls on the UK government to force schools to keep toilets open and accessible throughout the school day on the Haddington Facebookers social media page.

However some former school cleaners and others who had seen vandalism in the toilets defended the problems in the East Lothian school and say they faced stomach-churning conditions when they tried to carry out their job.

One said: “If you have seen the bathrooms first hand you’d be horrified, I am as a parent when I was shown period products, dirty ones, littered everywhere, bathroom bins set on fire, toilets clogged with crisp packets among other s****.

“I agree they shouldn’t be locked, using the toilets is a basic human right but something needs to be done because they can’t be locked but they also can’t be constantly destroyed like that. It’s utterly revolting.”

A spokesperson for East Lothian Council said: “Our schools all recognise the importance of access to toilet facilities and work with young people, staff, facilities teams and parent councils to have arrangements in place.

“They are also mindful that there are a range of reasons why a young person may need access to a toilet between classes or outwith breaktimes.

“Unfortunately, many schools do experience vandalism and damage to the toilets which makes the area unpleasant for pupils to use, reduces capacity and is time-consuming, and potentially costly, to rectify.

“While all schools emphasise the importance of respectful behaviours there are a minority of students who cause disruption which impacts on the whole school community. Parents can discuss these matters at any time with their Parent Council or directly with the school who will be able to confirm arrangements in place.”