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Designers and Architects - Suggestions
for good school toilet design
These have been developed in consultation
with students, teachers, health professionals and architects. When
planning pupils' toilets, staff and pupils should be involved as
much as possible. Of course, a range of opinions will be offered,
but there will always be areas where a practical compromise is viable.
• General environment
• Design
and layout
• Fixtures
and fittings
• Pupils with special
needs
General environment
- Pupils should feel comfortable and safe
when using the toilet.
- Bright, colourful toilets boost morale.
Inviting pupils to design a mural for toilets encourages ownership
and pride.
- Toilets should be adequately lit. Sensor
lighting could be used, or switches could be placed out of reach
of pranksters.
- Toilets need to be warm enough to be
comfortable in winter.
- Consider ease of cleaning when designing
toilets. Most pupils' toilets need cleaning at least twice a day.
An extended day may increase this to three or more times. Soap
dispensers that leak, awkward corners and cracked surfaces all
contribute to a dirty environment. Self-cleaning toilets can be
considered. A floor gulley is highly recommended for cleaning
up after accidents.
- Smells can be a problem. Consider ways
of addressing this, such as ventilation, air fresheners and automatically
flushing toilets. Mechanical ventilation systems are now required
by building regulations.
- Music systems could be wired in; this not only creates a more
relaxed, calmer environment, but also helps conceal embarrassing
noises.
Design and layout
- Cubicles to have walls and doors that
cannot be peered over or under wherever possible. There shouldn’t
be gaps where the hinges are either.
- Urinals should be positioned so they
can’t be seen from outside the toilets when the door is
open.
- Mirrors should be positioned so they
don't enable people to see urinals or cubicles from the outer
door.
- People at washbasins should not be facing
those at urinals, or facing a mirror which shows urinals.
- All windows should have frosted glass
if urinals or the inside of a cubicle can be seen from them.
- Urinals should be individually screened.
- The number of cubicles should be at
least equal to the number of urinals in the boys’ toilets.
- Adequate ventilation must be provided,
eg air extractors. An open window is not always adequate or practical.
- If windows need to be opened for ventilation,
they should not be placed in view of urinals or the inside of
a cubicle.
- The layout should be simple and shouldn’t
have hidden corners or spaces that cannot be easily monitored
by staff.
- Special attention needs to be paid to
the specification of false ceilings. These need to be robust and
easy to clean and maintain. Access panels should be visible and
lockable.
An example of a layout that offers boys
privacy can be seen
here. Thanks to the Paruresis Association for permission
to use these images.
Fixtures and fittings
- Doors need to be fixed sturdily to the
walls or partitions, so that a door cannot be lifted off its hinges.
Door closures should be robust and close gently against the frame
to avoid trapped fingers.
- Cubicles need to be robust enough to
withstand normal wear and tear (which in a school can mean wilful
or accidental damage).
- Sanitary fittings and fixtures need
to be of good quality and of robust design. Maintenance and replacement
costs need to be considered.
- Each cubicle for girls aged eight and
over should contain a sanitary disposal unit and each set of group
toilets for girls should have a sanitary dispenser.
- If possible, an Integrated Plumbing
System (IPS), where panels conceal cisterns and pipes, should
be used. Access panels should be lockable and not able to be opened
by pupils.
- Toilets need to be of sound construction
so they don’t crack and leak. They also need to cope with
a high volume of users. Toilets which have a ‘light flush’
and a ‘full flush’ may be considered, or toilets which
have an automatic flush.
- The flush needs to be easy to use, even
for very small children.
- All toilets should have seats. Ones
with an opening at the front may be most hygienic.
- Toilets and fittings should be the right
size for the pupils expected to use them.
- All toilets should have lids. It is
preferable to have a lid which needs to be closed in order for
the pupil to flush the toilet, to minimise the spread of water
droplets when flushing.
- All doors need locks which are easy
to operate from inside the cubicle. Pupils should not be able
to easily unlock doors from the outside. However, a special tool
or key must be available to open doors from the outside, for teachers
and/or prefects to use in an emergency. Schools need to consider
the storage location of the key if the toilets are not located
close to where staff are sited.
- Toilet paper dispensers should be sturdy.
If they are bolted back to back between cubicles, it is harder
to vandalise them.
- Toilet paper dispensers should be big
enough to hold commercial size rolls. A lockable cupboard for
spares should be sited close by.
- Soap dispensers should not be topped
up, due to hygiene concerns, but should be cleaned between refills.
Cartridge, liquid, disposable dispensers are most appropriate.
Dispensers should ideally be non-drip. There should be a minimum
of one dispenser between 2 sinks.
- If push taps are used, they need to
stay on long enough for pupils to wash their hands properly.
- Washbasins should provide warm water,
ideally from mixer taps. A safe maximum temperature should be
set.
- Cold water is a good way for pupils
to cool down in Summer, but warm water should also be available.
- Taps in washrooms should be labelled
as non-drinking water
- Hand-drying provision needs to enable
large volumes of users to dry their hands in a limited time frame.
Paper towels are generally recommended from a hygiene point of
view, but effective hand dryers are a possible alternative.
To see some pupils’ design ideas look at our competition
feedback
Pupils with disabilities pupils and pupils
with other special needs
- Pupils with disabilities must have fully accessible toilets,
which can be accessed quickly and easily from wherever they are
in the school. This is not restricted to special schools, as there
are disabled pupils in mainstream schools.
- Access to disabled toilets can be with an electronic key, to
prevent other pupils using the toilets.
- BS8300 and Part M of the Building Regulations refer to disabled
toilets, and require any toilet room with more than 4 cubicles
to have an accessible cubicle.
- There must be no steps or other obstacles that would cause
difficulties for a wheelchair user or person with limited mobility.
- Provision should also be made for users with hearing, vision
or other sensory impairment. For users with vision impairment,
it is important that lighting should be even and uniform to avoid
pools of dark and light; there should be colour and tone contrast
between critical surfaces such as floors, walls and ceilings to
help navigate and orient around a room; fixtures and fittings
such as WCs, toilet roll holders, soap dispensers and dryers should
be highlighted in a contrasting colour.
- Cubicles must be big enough to manoeuvre a wheelchair. They
need to have handrails fitted at appropriate heights. They must
also be able to accommodate a hoist and a member of staff (as
some users will need assistance).
- Some users will have poor grip, co-ordination problems and/or
limited mobility. Taps and soap dispensers need to take account
of this.
- The requirements of pupils with other special needs should
also be considered e.g. those with continence problems may require
private and appropriate disposal facilities for incontinence products
and some pupils with learning difficulties may find it hard to
locate toilets that are far from classrooms.
- Further information is available at www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/sen/schools/accessibility/dda/
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