Less than two years after issues with the toilets at Armidale Secondary College triggered a massive outpouring of anguish and pain from students, parents, and teachers alike, the beleaguered highschool has returned to the failed approach of locking toilets and denying students basic dignity.
In New England Times report on the policy of locking bathrooms in August 2023, the policy was described as humiliating and potentially a violation of human rights. The policy of locking toilets and denying students reasonable access during classes was blamed for a significant decline in student morale and extremely high absenteeism.
Girls trying to manage their period were most vocal in describing feeling humiliated and bullied as a result of the policy, opting to stay home or wearing multiple pads and tampons at once to try and get through the day. Male students were also affected, with one reporting his own distress at watching a class mate be belittled by a teacher for asking to go to the bathroom while her menstrual blood dripped down her crossed legs.
Yesterday morning, a letter was emailed to all parents of ASC students saying that they were implementing a plan to prevent damage to the “remaining usable toilets” following “a significant amount of damage” to other toilets that would be repaired in the school holidays.
The plan sees the toilets in I block and D block open before school, in recess and lunch, and locked during class time. To access the bathroom in periods 2 and 4, students must request a “transit pass” from their teacher, present that pass to another member of staff in the relevant location, then sign in to the bathroom, use the facilities, sign out of the bathroom, collect their transit pass and return to school.
If a student needs to use the facilities in periods 1, 3 and 5, they are not permitted to do so.
The letter indicates the only exception to these restrictions is if a parent rings and discusses their child’s additional need to access the bathroom with the child’s year advisor or deputy principal.
“This toilet saga is ridiculous,” said one parent.
“I’m bringing my girls home for a longer holiday,” said another. “Why they can’t start repair work on the toilets immediately rather than subjecting kids to this kind of humiliation I don’t know.”
“I had really hoped we had turned a corner with the new Principal, but it appears not,” said a third.
The Department of Education was asked a series of questions about the decision, the alleged damage that warranted the decision, and the apparent return to unacceptable levels of violence and anti social behaviour. They did not respond by our deadline of 4pm yesterday, nor did they provide a response by their own given timeline of this morning.
Faulty locks on the stall doors in the newly constructed school’s toilets was blamed as being a significant factor in the violence and bullying occurring in the bathrooms in 2023. The cheap locks were able to be easily popped open, enabling students at their most vulnerable to targeted with a quick kick of the door. The central theme of the allegations was that the bathroom humiliations were an attempt to spark a fight, so that it could be filmed and put on YouTube.
The Department of Education has also not responded to a direct question as to whether those locks have been replaced.
New England Times has also been told that builders have been seen at the school making assessments of repairs and renovations that would be required to make the near-brand-new school fit for purpose as a learning space, including reducing the amount of glass panelling and other design choices that have contributed to the school’s troubles, and that these renovations are expected to cost millions.
The Department of Education has also been asked about this report of planned renovations, and whether re-opening Duval High is being considered at all.
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