A HEAD teacher has tried to reassure parents about plans to refurbish a toilet area at a Gwent school.

Development work is currently taking place at St Julians Comprehensive School in Newport which will create a new ‘Student Reception and open plan toilets’.

According to the plans on the school’s website ‘This area will be open plan, boys will be on the left hand side and girls on the right. Separating them will be several sinks and hand dryers down the centre.’

It goes on to say that toilet cubicles will have floor to ceiling doors and that ‘the design of the cubicles provides complete privacy for students while an open hand wash area offers open supervision.’

Some parents have expressed their concern about plans for a new toilet block which is to be installed at St Julians Comprehensive School.

Mark Athay from Shaftesbury in Newport has an 11-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old son at the school.

He said: “I have told both of my children that they’re not to go in there.

“They will have to go from one school to the other to use the toilet owing to this hazardous place, because I see it as a disaster waiting to happen.

“I am worried about my children’s safety. There is the potential for nearly 18-year-old boys using the same toilets as my daughter who is 11. As a parent I’m frightened.”

Head teacher Rhys Evans said he was aware of the concerns raised by parents but said the new development would be an improvement on existing facilities.

“We are having some development work done on the site and they are no unisex toilets but it’s an open-plan area that we are developing that will contain floor to ceiling. The toilets are colour coded and clearly marked.

“We are moving our student reception to that area so there will be a member staff on duty on that area, so we are actually making improvements to the current facilities and we are increasing the capacity at the same time.”

He added: “We have worked with the student voice on this and the governing body before putting these in place, and we understand that initially there have been concerns and there are toilet facilities available in the school in another block and so if students prefer them then they are available and will always be available to them.”

“I do appreciate the news of the toilets hasn’t filtered through and people have a slightly different interpretation, and I do believe that there have been conversations on social media. We have said to parents to come into the school or to call us with any concerns.”

Some parents are in favour of the new toilets saying they will be safer for pupils and better policed that other toilet areas.