School Buildings In The Shitter

According to the Western Mail a study published this morning reveals that a third of school toilets in Wales are, in a word, shit:

Poor hygiene in school toilets has long been a complaint of education and health professionals, and in 2005 then-Children’s Commissioner Peter Clarke suggested around half of all pupils felt their school toilets were “pretty awful places”, often without soap, toilet paper or hand-dryers.

The ATL survey suggests staff toilets are little better, with one in four teachers rating them in the same “poor” or “abysmal” categories. Teachers responding to the survey said there were few toilets, they were not kept clean and sometimes had to be shared with pupils.

But it´s not just the state of school toilets that are damned in the study:

Nearly a third of teachers raised concerns about a lack of adequate drinking water supplies.

Ventilation in schools was also a concern, with over 40% of teachers saying their school did not have good ventilation, and 28% said their schools and colleges suffered from damp.

More than half the respondents said the temperature in their schools and colleges was changeable, with less than one third saying it was about right.

And more than 50% felt classrooms were too small for teaching in. Smaller rooms for monitoring and tutoring also seemed in short supply, with 80% of teachers reporting insufficient rooms.

Dr Philip Dixon, director of ATL Cymru, said, ‘The state of many school buildings is nothing short of a national scandal. I was at a conference organised by the Assembly a few weeks ago and the input of some sixth formers summed it all up – ‘If we’re the future and if you really are serious about us, then give us the equipment and environment that shows it’.

“School buildings need to be safe, clean, and inspiring. Teachers are producing miracles in terrible conditions. Grotty toilets and grim buildings send out all the wrong messages about the importance of education.”

Well, school toilets may not be in tip top condition but at least the Welsh Assembly Government has managed to wash its hands of any real responsibility for the state of school buildings.