Primary school introduces unisex toilets to 'prevent transphobia'
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A primary school in Newhaven, East Sussex is requiring children aged 3-11 to share ‘gender-neutral’ toilets in a bid to ‘prevent transphobia’.
Harbour Primary School, which has around 500 pupils, unexpectedly introduced unisex toilets at the beginning of the academic year without prior consultation with parents.
Anger
The move, which has been backed by East Sussex County Council, has sparked anger from parents, who say their children feel “uncomfortable” sharing facilities with the opposite sex.
Parents have now been invited by Headteacher Christine Terrey to a meeting on 'transphobia', which will include a discussion about the toilets.
One letter to parents said: "We want all the children in our school to feel safe and be happy.
"We also want our families to feel informed about how to effectively support transgender and gender questioning by their children, preventing any transphobia at the school."
Complaints
Commenting on the move, one mother said: "I know of several parents who have raised complaints and they have now invited us to a meeting about transgender equality.
"This was just introduced from the start of term and no one told us before. There are seven-year-old girls using the same toilets as 11-year-old boys.
"My daughter has said she doesn't feel comfortable about it.
"A lot of our children don't want to use toilets of the opposite sex."
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