Caulfield South Primary students refuse to use their ’smelly, disgusting’ school toilets
Kids at a Caulfield South primary school are refusing to use their school’s “repugnant” toilets because the stink is too much to handle – and that’s led to four of them having health-related problems.
Inner South
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CAULFIELD South Primary School students are refusing to use the school’s “repulsive, repugnant and squalid” toilets until they get fixed.
It’s understood at least four students have suffered health issues because they would rather “hang on” than use the smelly and dilapidated toilets.
One student reportedly got a bladder infection, while another saw a doctor suffering constipation.
The “distressing” situation has sparked an urgent need for the 500-student school’s amenities to be upgraded.
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School council president Melanie Gordon said there was a general “unhappiness” among parents as the “basic needs of children were not being met”.
“The smell alone is disgusting, you can smell the toilets from the office and no matter how much you clean them, it doesn’t go away,” Ms Gordon said.
She said it’s been a big problem for the past year.
“I don’t understand how, in 2018, a Melbourne school can’t provide usable toilets for their children,” she said.
“You can’t blame the students for not using the toilets because they are repulsive, repugnant and squalid.
Another parent, who did not wish to be named, told the Leader the issue was compounded last Friday May 18, when one of the school’s two toilet blocks was closed for much of the day.
“The boys’ and girls’ bathrooms were closed and completely off limits to all 500 children from the end of lunchtime to the end of the day,” the parent said.
“They were blocked and needed a sanitary truck for cleaning, which meant the students had to use the senior learning centre toilets, which only has two toilets and a small urinal for the boys and only two toilets for the girls.”
Ms Gordon, who still has three children at the school and is a member of the Parents’ Association, said she couldn’t recall any additional injection of cash for maintenance during her nearly seven years involved with the school.
As a result, money raised by the association for play equipment, sustainability programs and other learning aids for the students is instead spent on “patch-up” maintenance work, she said.
“Why should we volunteer countless hours and work hard only for the money to be used on maintenance,” Ms Gordon said.
The students also held a fundraiser but the money was used for a quick fix of the toilets.
The rundown toilets head a long list of urgent maintenance needs.
A broken door to one of the toilets is so heavy that smaller kids are forced to crawl through its grate, which has partly come off the door.
The school’s library is now a crammed space by a corridor because the previous library is needed for classes.
There is also a lack of shade cloths to protect students from the sun in summer and there is no covered outdoor area for students to play under while it rains.
Despite the school’s urgent needs it was not allocated any money in the 2018/19 budget.
In comparison, McKinnon High School, which is less than four km away but falls in the marginal seat of Bentleigh, will receive $4.1 million in the next budget.
Caulfield MP David Southwick called the situation “desperate”.
In parliament yesterday, he urged Education Minister James Merlino to immediately direct $50,000 to the school for maintenance.
“This situation is desperate, no student should be suffering medical issues because they can’t go to the toilet during the day,” Mr Southwick said.
“We have at least four students who have suffered medical issues due to being unable to use these toilets”
“Caulfield South has been continuously ignored by the government, which needs to stop playing political games with school funding and deliver an upgrade to the toilets at Caulfield South immediately”.
Principal Gayle Yardley was contacted for comment.
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