Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an estimate of the number of schools in England which only provide gender neutral toilets.

The advice on Standards for School Premises (2015) is clear that suitable toilet and washing facilities must be provided for the sole use of pupils, and that separate toilets for boys and girls aged 8 years or over are provided, except where the toilet facility is provided in a room that can be secured from the inside and that is intended for use by one pupil at a time. The advice on Standards for School Premises is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/410294/Advice_on_standards_for_school_premises.pdf#:~:text=The%20Education%20Act%201996%20places%20a%20duty%20on,and%20new%20schools%20maintained%20by%20a%20local%20authority3.

It is for schools to find reasonable ways, in accordance with the law, to balance every child’s right to access clean and safe toilet facilities when they need them.

The Department does not collect data on the number of schools that only provide gender-neutral toilets.