Parents And Students Not Happy With Toilet Hygiene At Schools.

Parents And Students Not Happy With Toilet Hygiene At Schools.

The hygiene leaves much to be desired in many schools. This appears from research commissioned by Essity. 67% of the teachers receive complaints from pupils about hygiene at school. Half are also approached by the parents about this. Most complaints are about smells and dirty toilet seats. The problem is especially present in old buildings.

Delaying

Research shows that children avoid the toilets at school, causing concentration problems. Half of the primary school pupils prefer not to use the toilet at school. For secondary school pupils, this is even 59%. Especially the big call is postponed until after school time.

Parents

More than six in ten parents believe that schools should pay more attention to hygiene and that the government should have a bigger role, for example by stricter supervision.

Lessons on hygiene

Teachers say many children do not know well how to keep the facilities at school clean and hygienic. For a quarter of the teachers, (toilet) hygiene is a topic in the curriculum.

How should it be?

Each school is responsible for a healthy environment for pupils and staff. A cleaning plan should describe how cleaning is arranged. The school governing body receives lump sum funding to cover maintenance of the school building. There are no specific rules for cleaning a school. How schools manage this and how much money they spend can differ per school.
The cleaning plan is part of the school’s health policy. The school participation council, and the parents within it, have a say about the cleaning plan and have a right of agreement.

Questions, concerns, or doubts?

If you have doubts about the hygiene at your child’s school, you can of course discuss this with the class teacher or the school principal. We also advise you to raise your concerns with the parent members of the school participation council. Here you can read more about cleaning and indoor environment.
Please contact us if you have more questions or if you cannot resolve the matter with the school. We are available daily at 0800-5010 between 10 am and 3 pm. You can also email your question to vraag@oudersonderwijs.nl.