In December 2021 my 5 year old daughter told me that an older boy had shown her his penis while she was washing up. She was washing her hands after using the toilet and the boy opened his door and exposed himself to her.

She explained that they all share toilets and have different coloured cubicle doors for boys and girls but all within the same room. My husband couldn't believe it but after reading stories of this happening within other schools I knew straight away there was no mistake.

Now, my daughter was only in primary 1 so had only been sharing the facilities for a few months but at no point were we made aware that the toilets were mixed sex and based on what's happening across other schools, we would've chosen a different school to send her to if we had known. We did not consent to our daughters right to privacy and dignity being taken away and neither did she. 

I have sent freedom of information requests to the local council and even emailed the local SNP Councillor, Christina Larsen about the lack of safe guarding for these children. They have told me that the decision to make the toilets mixed sex was based on reducing bullying and vandalism and to improve inclusion but I've also been advised by the Councillor that my daughter (my 5 year old daughter) might want to exclude herself from her classes toilets to use "private accessible toilets" instead. Whether this means the disabled facilities or a private single sex toilet she hasn't said but what about the other boys and girls that don't feel comfortable sharing with the other sex, Do they need to wait until an incident similar to what happened to my child happens? My daughter only had to wait 4 months for this to happen again so the head teacher solution of speaking to all the children about privacy, made no difference. 

There is no provisions in the 1967 Scottish school regulations that include mixed sex facilities. North Ayrshire Council are breaking the law by not providing single sex spaces for our children! 

 

Please share this to give all children in Dreghorn Primary School the right to privacy, dignity and safety.