Parents have reacted with outrage after discovering that CCTV had been installed in a school's toilets.
The cameras were installed in the toilets at Seahaven Academy in East Sussex during the summer holidays.
The academy’s staff have insisted they set up the cameras because students wanted the bathrooms to be a safe space.
School bosses have said that parents were consulted.
Parents at Seahaven School have labelled the cameras as 'wrong'
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A spokesperson from the school wrote a letter to parents, saying: “Our lovely new toilet facilities are being installed for our students.”
“The cubicles will be full height to offer maximum privacy for the students. We want all students and parents to be aware that there will be CCTV in the communal/hand washing areas only.”
Parents have labelled the cameras as “wrong”, and one enraged parent took to social media to share the letter.
One commenter said: “It's disgusting, I would be pulling my child out.”
Another said the move by the school was “wrong and illegal”.
The Information Commissioner's Office, the UK's data protection regulator, said that CCTV equipment should not typically be set up in bathrooms.
It said: “CCTV shouldn't be running in areas considered private - such as in toilets and changing rooms.
“Using CCTV here wouldn't usually be fair or proportionate, meaning it wouldn't be compliant with data protection law.”
It said that it would only be permitted in exceptional circumstances which involved antisocial behaviour.
A spokesman for the school said: “Like many schools across the country, there is some use of CCTV in communal areas only, to reflect students' wishes for the cubicles to be a protected space and to discourage socialising in the blocks.
“A set of these toilets will remain open during lesson time so that all students will have access to them in the school day. We will still be encouraging students to use these facilities during their breaks and lunch times.”
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The Information Commissioner's Office, the UK's data protection regulator, said that CCTV equipment should not typically be set up in bathrooms
PAOne parent supported the change. She said: “Unfortunately some children have caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to school property.
“Children hide in the toilets too, instead of going to lessons. We should all support their efforts.”
This comes after a teenage boy was arrested over four claims of “serious sexual assault” - three of which allegedly took place in the toilets used by both boys and girls.
The school, which has not been named to protect the identity of the victims, did not conduct an impact assessment on the gender-neutral lavatories.
“Gender-neutral facilities are a threat to the safety of women and girls because they create a private space hidden from the public view where assaults cannot be witnessed," Miriam Cates, Tory MP and former teacher told The Telegraph.
