The introduction of unisex lavatories in schools across Scotland is to be officially approved in a move ministers hope will help address “gender issues”.
Guidance setting out minimum standards for school buildings, first introduced in the 1960s, is being rewritten to make it appropriate for the modern era.
Gender-neutral lavatories in primaries and secondaries, meaning an end to urinals, are among proposals by ministers. Others include allowing schools to reduce the size of playing fields if grass is replaced with synthetic sports pitches, a move critics fear will encourage councils to sell off green spaces. The proposals will apply to private schools for the first time.
Although some Scottish schools have already introduced unisex lavatories, despite opposition from some parents, rules made 50 years ago still state that equal space should be set aside for separate male and female lavatories.
There is no mention of unisex lavatories, which would have been thought of as socially unacceptable in 1960s Scotland. A consultation about new plans state that rules should be redrawn to “reflect the needs of modern schools”.
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Advocates of unisex lavatories, which usually means a communal area for handwashing and enclosed cubicles, claim they are more appropriate for transgender pupils and can also reduce bad behaviour, bullying and vandalism.
Critics fear some pupils may be too embarrassed to use unisex lavatories, or that they could encourage sexual liaisons between pupils.
The consultation states: “Regulations do not . . . refer to unisex lavatories that could address gender issues. Flexibility should be permitted to allow the provision of separate facilities for boys and girls except where they are provided for use by one pupil at a time.
“Urinals in these circumstances may no longer be necessary and therefore the provision of urinals should be optional if replaced with a lavatories.”
The document emphasises a commitment to “promoting equality and removing or minimising disadvantage” among minority groups, including those who are transgender. Ministers are planning to allow schools to reduce the sizes of playing fields. Under existing rules, pupil numbers determine the minimum playing field size.
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The largest secondaries in Scotland, which have about 2,000 pupils, must have at least 5.2 hectares within “close proximity” for the use of pupils. If grass is replaced by a synthetic surface this would reduce to 3.2 hectares.
Ross Greer, education spokesman for the Scottish Greens, described the proposal as a backwards step.
He said: “There’s bags of evidence that providing space for young people to play boosts their physical and mental health, helping them build friendships, confidence and problem-solving abilities. If anything, we should be increasing the amount of green space at our schools, not cutting it.
“Council budgets remain under pressure and if these new regulations go ahead, we could see playing fields viewed as development opportunities.”
The plan to make private schools subject to the same rules, which would require new legislation, would only apply to new buildings and refurbishments.