Parents claim school ‘forcing kids to choose between eating lunch or going to loo’
Pupils at a Merseyside school are reportedly having to queue to use the last remaining toilets.
Frustrated parents claim their children face having ‘basic human rights being taken away’ following a controversial new rule at school.
They say their children do not have easy access to the toilets after a vandalism incident saw the facilities ‘locked’ at Woodchurch High School, Wirral.
The schoolchildren are reportedly having to choose between eating lunch and using the bathroom as only one toilet has been left open.
Lunchtime can see them waiting in long queues for their turn, parents claim.
A mum of one of one child says she has contacted the academy school about the issue but is yet to hear back.
The move is causing the kids to suffer, particularly those with health problems, and is putting undue stress on them.
Emma McGinness told the LiverpoolEcho: ‘They’ve closed pretty much all of the student toilets with only one open, so at lunch people are choosing between eating or going to the toilet.
‘There are a lot of angry parents about this. Some children suffer heavy periods or end up with a UTI because they are holding it in.
‘One woman’s son is picky over what he eats of an evening because he doesn’t want to need the toilet in school.
‘Their basic human rights are being taken away.’
Emma says her daughter spent 20 minutes looking for a bathroom that was open and was then told off by the teacher for returning to the classroom late.
Because of this incident, the schoolgirl often chose to use the facilities on her lunchbreak, which cut into her leisure time as ‘there was not enough time to do both.’
She added: ‘My daughter has ADHD and autism and already struggles with concentration but when her attention is on trying not to need the toilet, she can’t focus on work.
‘I’m angry and disappointed, the fact there’s no explanation as to what is being put in place. They are taking away their rights.’
Woodchurch High School faced criticism last month after it announced children who did not have money on their lunch cards would not be able to buy food from the canteen.
It argued the regrettable rule was being introduced as a considerable amount of time was being spent chasing payments alongside growing debt.
The rule – which did not impact students who received free school lunches – was slammed by parents who argued children ‘shouldn’t have to suffer because of lack of funds’.
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