Soapbox,
by Kathleen Lane
As
I reported in the April Issue, as a trustee of SET I attended an
All Party Parliamentary Group Seminar which looked at the case for
a Children’s Commissioner for England.
Among
the many interesting things which were said on the day one has troubled
me greatly. Peter Clarke, the Children’s Commissioner for
Wales commented on the complaints he had received from some children
in Wales about the condition of school toilets. In some cases they
were so bad that children simply did not go all day. A further worry
was that some children also claimed that they did not drink all
day in order not to add more pressure to their bladders.
IS
THIS A SCANDAL ? I THINK SO – WHAT ABOUT YOU ?
In
the last few weeks I have done some informal research by dropping
a question or two into conversations with the limited number of
school children known to me these days. The answers were all pretty
much the same. “The toilets are horrible.” “You
don’t go in there if you can possibly manage not to.”
“ I just don’t go in there.” ‘Horrible’
was variously defined as dirty, smelly, vandalised and un-safe,
although I never got a clear definition of un-safe. In some cases
the children I asked were with their parents, who I regard as intelligent,
articulate and concerned people. They seemed to know about the unsavoury
facilities, but did not seem to feel able to do anything about them.
When
another member of the family asked a similar question he was told
of one place where access to the school’s toilets was actually
limited and another where the availability of drinks was limited
to one at lunch time, - if you ate in school, that is.
WHY
NOT ASK YOUR OWN CHILDREN AND THE CHILDREN YOU WORK WITH WHAT IT’S
LIKE AT THEIR SCHOOLS ?
I
think there are issues here which are more important than SATS and
League Tables and Specialist status. We could be piling up some
severe medical problems if our young people are being deprived of
proper facilities and regularly retaining fluid and other bodily
waste.
We
also know about the damaging effects of dehydration and its impact
on mental functioning. I was recently at a meeting in deepest Norfolk,
where the looming childhood epidemic of obesity was being discussed.
There local health care workers were reporting the positive initiatives
taken by some schools to encourage the drinking of water throughout
the day, as part of a healthier living scheme. I was reminded of
something I had read about how, in our advanced society, we mistake
feelings of thirst for hunger and reach for a deadly snack, when
what our bodies really need is a drink of water. Behaviour and concentration
had improved noticeably in the water drinking schools. Unfortunately
I did not have the opportunity to ask about the toilets !
IF
THE EXPERIENCES OF YOUR CHILDREN IN ANY WAY ACCORD WITH MY CONCERNS
WHY NOT APPROACH THE SCHOOLS CONCERNED ? ASK THE PARENT GOVERNORS
TO DO CHECKS. AGITATE THE NEWLY ELECTED COUNCIL MEMBERS.
REMEMBER
IT CAN’T BE LONG UNTIL YOU GET CANVASSED FOR THE NEXT GENERAL
ELECTION. SURELY IT IS BETTER FOR OUR CHILDREN TO BE IN SCHOOLS
WHERE THEIR BASIC HEALTH SAFETY RIGHTS ARE MET THAN IN ONES DRIVEN
BY MEASURABLE PERFORMANCE OUTPUTS OF A DIFFERENT KIND?
Then
of course other questions about pupil behaviour and staff control
spring to mind. In the old days, when I was a pupil and then a teacher,
schools not only taught useful things like reading and the fluent
use of our mother tongue, but they also taught socialised behaviour,
self control, respect for other people and a recognition of the
difference between ‘mine’ and ‘yours’.
In
such environments vandalism and rendering facilities unfit for those
using them later, were unthinkable. But then in those days we also
kept books in desks and coats in cloakrooms. If some schools can
no longer prepare their pupils for civilised functioning in groups,
what will the future hold ?
SO
WHAT ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT OUR CHILDREN ARE IN SAFE AND CONTROLLED
LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS, WHERE THEY CAN EACH ACHIEVE THEIR OWN UNIQUE
POTENTIAL, RATHER THAN MEET POINTLESS TARGETS SET AND CHANGED BY
SUCCESSIVE POLITICIANS ?
