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The TikTok videos show pupils throwing bins, tables and even urine. Across England and Wales, a handful of schools have been hit by protests against rules such as banning trips to the toilet during lessons or regulations against rolled up skirts.
Schools admit they are extremely worried about the copycat protests that have erupted in the last two weeks, typically sparked by videos shared on TikTok with many thousands of views. But what has shocked many leaders most is the number of parents on social media applauding pupils taking part.
Headteachers told the Observer this weekend that parents were wrong to praise students who “stampeded” through schools, insisting school leaders have every right to use unpopular new rules to deal with behaviour such as vaping and bullying in toilets.
Sam Strickland, principal of Duston school, an academy in Northampton that teaches children aged four to 19, told the Observer: “Some parents have been arguing that it is an infringement of human rights for schools to restrict toilet use during lessons. That’s ludicrous.”
He argues that parents are “legitimising” demonstrations that could quickly get out of hand and become a serious risk to young people’s safety, by openly questioning the fairness of school rules and the authority of teachers.
He had a tipoff last weekend that some of his pupils were planning a protest, in part about the school telling pupils they could only use the toilet at break time. He said he decided “to take the bull by the horns”, confronting each of the secondary school year groups as they lined up in the playground first thing on Monday morning.
“I looked at them and said: ‘I know about this. Don’t do this.’ I said we would either suspend or potentially permanently exclude anyone who took part in a protest,” he said.
He reminded them that there were better channels through which to address their concerns, such as the student council or talking to their form teacher.
The protest never materialised, but he thinks all schools are worried about the social media trend catching on. “It is a fundamental safeguarding risk,” he said. “There is nothing healthy about 200 kids stampeding through a school protesting. If it all goes wrong you also risk a safeguarding inspection visit from Ofsted. It’s serious.”
However, he is unapologetic about toilet regulations, pointing out that it is hugely disruptive if teachers are interrupted “every two minutes” by someone asking to go to the loo, and that schools are trying to rein in problems with bullying, vaping and drug use in unsupervised toilets.
“When I was a kid you worried about getting your head flushed down the toilet at school. Now vaping is the big problem,” he said. “The difference is that schools are now taking control of these issues.”
Chris Stokes, principal of Farnley Academy in Leeds, wrote to parents on 24 February condemning a protest at his school that morning over locked toilets during lessons. A parent told the local newspaper the school was infringing young people’s human rights. Others backed her up on social media.
But Stokes said in his letter that the decision to lock toilets had followed “two very serious safeguarding events”. He wrote: “It was a necessary decision to keep all pupils safe.”
A school leader in the north of England told the Observer many schools are focusing on preventing bullying in toilets. “We are looking at classic places like stairwells and toilets and PE changing rooms and putting things in place to make children safer.”
To this end, the school, like a number of others, has taken the entry doors off its toilet blocks, which were being used for bullying and vaping.
The school had heard rumours about a protest a week ago, but managed to head it off. The school leader insists they are not trying to suppress young people’s views.
“Our job is to keep students safe. Some parents have been praising children on social media for protesting, but they aren’t appreciating the risks and how quickly these situations can escalate.”
Many schools have found themselves at the sharp end of such escalation. At Neale-Wade Academy in Fenland, reports on social media of a protest on 27 February referred to pupils throwing urine and bins. Principal Graham Horn had tried to prevent the protest about toilet restrictions by emailing parents asking them to encourage their children to have “sensible conversations”, but this didn’t work.
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Penrice Academy in St Austell, Cornwall, confirmed last week it would expel some pupils after reports of protesters flipping tables and climbing fences. Meanwhile, Kent’s largest secondary school, Homewood school in Tenterden, had to call in the police to control a protest last Monday. In the local media, some parents were praising students for making their voices heard, but one said her daughter had told her some pupils were being sick because they were so anxious.
A mother whose teenage daughter attends a large secondary school in the east of England told the Observer her daughter had opted out of a protest about locked toilets after they discussed it at home. Her daughter sheltered in a classroom for two hours with a few others while the protest was under way, but said more than half the school took part.
The mother, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “Frankly, they’re kids, and these aren’t organised protests, but impulsive ones. Thanks to group psychology, they can turn real quick.” She said she understood why the school was taking action, after an expensive new block had been “totally trashed”, but she disagreed with banning their use outside break time. “It’s really irresponsible to deny toilets to girls who are just starting their periods,” she said.
Charlotte Haines Lyon, senior lecturer in education at York St John University, said: “Schools are on their knees with no resources, so I absolutely understand why teachers would go and lock toilets to tackle problems.”
But she recently surveyed nearly 200 parents about the school toilets debate and more than half of them reported that their child had avoided drinking so they would not need the toilet at school. “One respondent said that if her child needed to use the toilet in lesson time, she had to get toilet paper from the office. Can you imagine how humiliating that would be?” she said. “And what about girls trying to get their heads around periods? Restricting toilets is just adding more pressure.”
Thomas Michael, deputy safeguarding lead at a school in the West Midlands, said schools needed to make sure they explained the reasons behind changes to rules like these. But he said: “In some schools, toilets are a dangerous place. Bullying, fighting, buying and selling drugs – it all takes place there and staff can’t really monitor it, so you can understand their actions.”
He added: “When you see people outside of education labelling this child abuse, it really hits those staff in tough schools who are trying to do right by all their pupils.”
Will Teece, head of Brookvale Groby Learning Campus, a secondary academy in Leicester, said no one should be lauding students for rioting and damaging property: “Yes, it’s really important to listen to students’ concerns, but adults are the ones in charge.”
There has been talk of a protest at Teece’s school, but nothing has happened yet. He has written to parents, and planned an assembly to discuss concerns, but said even doing that felt risky. “If something is posted and shared and liked on TikTok, does that mean it’s real?” he said. “There is a fear that by communicating about it you might fuel something that might never have taken off.”
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