Emma

@gerrintaethum @BirdyBooky We as parents were misled by this BOM and no one is owning up to why. Your lack of curiosity about why the school did this is troubling. So is telling a woman to shut up when she’s asking about the safeguarding of children and their rights .

@BirdyBooky Parents just need you to give it a rest and let the children enjoy their new fabulous building.

Parents everywhere need the answer to who, when and, most crucially, why? If you tolerate this, then your children will be next.

Someone made the decision. And that is a signature somewhere. Building designs get signed off. They don’t just appear.

Parents at the Educate Together in Harold’s Cross want to know who changed the plans from single sex toilets to unisex and when. Our coverage today.

Thanks to you both for writing this and to @irishdailymail for publishing. It’s much broader than @HCETSS , and it’s not just a few parents who aren’t ok with it. Other ETs, ETBs, and Community Colleges have done the same with unisex toilets. @HCETTS is not an isolated story, it’s just one of the few that have made it in to the public domain. Why were the plans granted permission by the council changed? Who decided to do that? Who approved it? Why? Based on what evidence? Why weren’t students and parents consulted? Where does the buck stop here? What usually happens, whether concerns are raised privately or make it in the public domain, is that the few that speak can get framed by as random outliers who don’t have all the information. That’s just convenient optics, inaccurate and unfair, simply not true, and is how narratives are maintained while discouraging others from speaking out, and allows schools and @Education_Ire to avoid answering for their actions.

@dommyjonny11 @justme13866752 @BirdyBooky Jon! Ye big eejit. You aren’t even smart enough to go and look at the publicly available teacher list. Could have picked any one of those to try your gotcha moment. Keep going, this is actually entertaining. Thanks Jon.

@loreto7 @justme13866752 @BirdyBooky I do know that, except for Miss Brady. Who most of the kids call her that. So did you get the circular and read what was in it

dailymail.com/news/article-1… ‘One mother, whose son goes to the Harold’s Cross school, and who asked to remain anonymous, compared the new setup to the dystopian novel 1984, saying: ‘We are teaching young people that their innate privacy and dignity can be removed and that no one will listen to them. My son is a lovely guy but he’s six feet tall. Is some 12-year-old girl going to want to queue for the toilets next to big 18-year-old blokes? ‘It’s a free-for-all that was imposed on them without any say. My son thinks it’s disgusting. If there was evidence that this prevented bullying, at least there would be a reason but they have to use a big wide open space with no privacy based on an assumption. ‘Good luck trying to pop a pimple without privacy or adjust your bra or even have a cry because you are a teenager full of hormones,’ she added.’ Thank you to @irishdailymail and @JamieMcCarron5 for covering this story and a special thank you to this mother of a son for speaking out so candidly and having such understanding the needs of young people.

@dommyjonny11 @Quinnobi2 @justme13866752 @BirdyBooky Is it interesting? What’s wrong with you Jon? You know very well I’m not and you know very well you’re just trolling. I won’t be explaining myself or my follow choices to you. As I said before, bugger off, you’re boring the arse off me.

@loreto7 @Quinnobi2 @justme13866752 @BirdyBooky So very interesting how all of a sudden you decide to post a comment. So very interesting how you dont follow Irish accounts, but mainly American and some British. Bot alert

@dommyjonny11 @justme13866752 @BirdyBooky No it isn’t and you’re acting the bollocks. Anyone who has a child in an ETS knows very well that the teachers including the principal of the schools are not referred to by their surname. If you actually have an opinion on the actual issue let’s have it. Otherwise bugger off.

@loreto7 @justme13866752 @BirdyBooky Erm. Miss Brady is -FACT. Did you get the circular or not?

@dommyjonny11 @justme13866752 @BirdyBooky Who me? I can tell you that none of the teachers are referred to by their surname if that’s a help to you.

@loreto7 @justme13866752 @BirdyBooky Can you tell us about the school. What did Miss Brady (economics teacher) say about this? You i presume got the circular?

@Quinnobi2 @justme13866752 @BirdyBooky Cop yourself on would you . Have an opinion if you like but running to that old chestnut has a serious bang of laziness. Very much a parent from the school. I won’t be arsed proving that to you though. Jog on.

@loreto7 @justme13866752 @BirdyBooky No you’re not. Your account is 17 years old and you’ve only ever tweeted about this. You are a bot.

@SelenaMcGas32z @ali_allon @BirdyBooky @justme13866752 So are you actually saying that one of the reasons for this was to tackle period shame? Or that this is just another fantastic and unexpected benefit of this decision. Were all the girls told that they should be delighted cos they were tackling this problem? Grasping here Selena

@SelenaMcGas32z @ali_allon @BirdyBooky @justme13866752 Why did they avoid them exactly ? how has this change in facilities solved the problems? I know of girls who were happy to use them and now they aren’t so here we go again. Some people’s happiness has come at the expense of others.

@SelenaMcGas32z @ali_allon @BirdyBooky @justme13866752 Again, not legitimate to you . They are legitimate to others. Why is this so hard to understand? You’re dismissing real worries and concerns. Good for you that you and your mates are fine. Try empathy for those who are not instead of this dismissive tone.

@dianamolloyxx @ali_allon @justme13866752 @BirdyBooky sexual harassment and violence against females isn’t something we can get over . In fact there are a few Andrew Tates in the school. One told a girl to ‘know her place’ I’ve seen another one posting Andrew Tate wannabe posts. Look up the CNN report on the ‘how to rape’ site.

@loreto7 @ali_allon @justme13866752 @BirdyBooky Of course not but I think that feeling uncomfortable around the other gender is an extremely unnatural thing that has been instilled in us after years of religious persecution and I think this is a great way to move forward as a society not so divided by genders.

@dianamolloyxx @ali_allon @justme13866752 @BirdyBooky That’s good that you are fine. It really is and there are of course plenty who are just grand about it. However , there are plenty that are not and their unease and unhappiness must not be dismissed. That is not fair.

@ali_allon @justme13866752 @loreto7 @BirdyBooky we’re fine actually thank you!

@Running_inHeels @WomensSpaceIre @justme13866752 @BirdyBooky Agreed. It’s totally bizarre. The ‘be grand’ attitude is insane. Toddling off and ignoring others rights cos it suits what you want is horrendous arrogance. Living in a bubble thinking everyone agrees with you ? You should really not be in a position of authority.

@loreto7 @WomensSpaceIre @justme13866752 @BirdyBooky Even if the majority of kids vote in favour, so what? Why should a feeling of “oh it’s fine” negate the actual need for privacy and dignity of those that don’t think it’s acceptable?

@mothwings12 @BirdyBooky It isn’t nonsense. It’s very serious.The school showed plans of these toilets to the students that did not materialise.They railroaded everyone in to this. Maybe they should take some responsibility for this themselves instead of attacking the person who has shone a light on it.

@loreto7 @BirdyBooky The school is using a layout that's worked elsewhere, but if our kids don't like it, we can ask them to change. There is nothing constructive about taking to Twitter and the Daily Mail and stirring up a hornet's nest of culture wars nonsense.

These are the toilets in Harold’s Cross Educate Together Secondary School. Fully open to the corridor and with male and female symbols on every single door. The school has, helpfully, laminate a couple of pieces of paper with arrows written on them saying ‘Male’ and ‘Female’. The only sinks are in the middle of the floor with no wall between them. I suppose the laminated signs are the school’s attempt at a compromise as there was uproar from the students a couple of months ago when plans revealed that every single toilet block and cubicle is mixed sex. Only people who are completely oblivious to the needs and desires of teenage girls especially, for privacy and dignity would make teenage girls share toilet facilities with teenage boys like this. It’s either ignorance or something more sinister - a complete disregard for the rights of half of the population. Educate Together my arse. What about girls and boys from countries, cultures and religious backgrounds for whom these shared facilities will be entirely unacceptable? They will self-exclude from schools like this. Everywhere where mixed sex facilities have been imposed on teenagers like this, girls have ended up physically ill because they will stop drinking water during the day because they won’t use these facilities. @hcetss @Education_Ire @1Hildegarde Why have exclusionary toilet facilities been adopted in this publicly funded school?

@pamarch16 @justme13866752 @BirdyBooky Very true. It should be left to the parents. My question remains. Who made this decision and why was this decision made. It’s one of two things, the rights of the girls were not considered or they were and someone decided they did not matter. Either way it’s gross incompetence.

@loreto7 @justme13866752 @BirdyBooky If it's going to STUDENT vote, that's a cop out. There should be enough adults in the room to stand up for common sense here, & leave the kids to just get on with learning. DEI needs reining in across all institutions. It's an exhausting drain on resources & human energy.

@richmondie @justme13866752 @BirdyBooky Oh!! I see sorry, didn’t cop to that at all.

@loreto7 @justme13866752 @BirdyBooky The argument for unisex toilets used to be "to accommodate trans people (kids)". I haven't heard that frequently. So why are unisex toilets being imposed - I'm as baffled as you are!

@richmondie @justme13866752 @BirdyBooky I’m sorry? I don’t know what you mean ?

@loreto7 @justme13866752 @BirdyBooky It used to be "trans kids". But that argument has gone quiet recently. so what IS the point?