broken or disabled by students seeking to avoid detection. Drug-taking is also a problem in the washrooms of many senior schools, with the washrooms again being the private space where most students choose to do it.
So, it seems that washrooms at many schools are proving difficult to use – but all too easy to abuse. How can the authorities address this situation?
Drug use in washrooms requires a flat surface as well as a few nooks and crannies where drug paraphernalia can be stored. Toilet cubicles should therefore be designed to eliminate these features and all dispensers should be enclosed. The Tork SmartOne toilet tissue dispenser works well in school washrooms because it is lockable and contains no flat surfaces or crevices that might facilitate drug-taking.
It is tempting for cash-strapped schools to equip their washrooms with low-cost systems such as cheap dispensers, loose toilet rolls and bar soaps. However, unruly or rebellious students might see these as easy targets for vandalism. Poor quality dispensers could easily be dented or ripped off the wall, for example, while toilet rolls and soap bars could be thrown around where they will cause a mess and create a great deal of waste.
The provision of robust, sturdy dispensers such as Tork Elevation units will help to frustrate the more destructive tendencies of pupils. The fact that these are lockable helps to prevent students from tampering with the paper inside.
Again, the Tork SmartOne works well because the unit is lockable and totally enclosed so that the toilet paper supply cannot be tampered with before use.
C-fold hand towels are often supplied in school toilets, either in a dispenser or left lying loose on the units. However, it can be hard to take out only one towel from a C-fold dispenser at a time, which means each user will remove a clump of towels and the unwanted ones will be discarded. If the towels are supplied loose on the sink, children will take more than they need and drip their wet hands on to the rest, rendering them unusable.
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A high-capacity unit such as the Tork PeakServe Continuous Hand Towel Dispenser is a good alternative because it caters for more than 1,000 washroom visitors between refills – 600 more than most other dispensers. The towels are divided into bundles and a new bundle may be inserted into the unit at any time. Plus, the dispenser has been designed to give out sheets of paper singly to avoid excess use and keep down costs.
A poor soap system can add to the mess in a public washroom. Soap bars will quickly become grimy and cracked while bulk fill systems – which need to be manually refilled – will lead to slimy residues on the sink surface.
Tork Foam Soap comes in a non-drip cartridge containing 2,500 shots of soap, compared with around 1,000 in most liquid soap systems. It's quick to lather and comes in a dispenser that has been purpose-designed to be easy to use even by people with low hand strength.
Other steps can be taken to improve the ambiance of school washrooms and encourage children to use them. Clean, fresh paint and good lighting will make the facilities appear more sanitary and welcoming. Children should be educated on hand hygiene and its role in controlling infections. Max’s Handwashing School from Tork includes workbooks, activity cards and posters to help promote hand washing in schools.
Many schools are currently closing their washrooms between breaks in a bid to prevent vandalism and abuse. However, the ERIC charity finds this policy highly concerning as it prevents vulnerable children from having access to a toilet when they need one.
Schools should therefore do all they can to equip their washrooms with systems that deter vandals and drug- takers while also minimising mess and clutter. This will make the facilities more appealing to pupils – while also helping to keep the facilities open.
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