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An Auckland high school has installed a glass door, CCTV cameras and a vape detection alarm in its bathroom, sparking concerns from students about their privacy.
But Green Bay High School principal Fiona Barker says her school is following others across the country by moving towards designs that “allow for greater passive supervision in bathroom areas”.
Photos posted online by students show a glass entrance door to the refurbished bathrooms, while there is also a large glass window on the opposite wall.
Some Green Bay students took to social media to share their perceived lack of privacy, saying students do not just gather in toilets for nefarious reasons.
“What if I need to have a breakdown,” one student wrote.
They said the new bathroom was “completely devoid of privacy”.
The school’s website detailed the reasoning behind the bathroom redesign and explained a makeover was not the only reason for the upgrade.
“These older-style toilet blocks often become a place where students gather to socialise, and sometimes to vape or to vandalise the premises,” the post read.
“Modern bathroom facilities are designed to help discourage this.”
The post said the school had followed Ministry of Education guidelines when designing the space to ensure students were given appropriate privacy.
The glass door is only one measure to ensure students are not using the bathroom for anything other than its intended purpose, the post read.
Big glass doors have been installed in the new Green Bay High School bathroom for "passive surveillance".
Green Bay High School has also installed vape detection alarms and CCTV cameras, which record the communal and hand-washing areas and not the cubicles.
“For many years, Green Bay High School has had a system of CCTV cameras throughout the school, designed to support staff in keeping students and property safe and to help resolve incidents when they occur,” the post read.
Ministry of Education head of property Sam Fowler said as a school-led project, the final design detail of the bathroom, sits with the school and its designer.
A spokesperson for the Privacy Commissioner said everyone was entitled to privacy regardless of age.
“Students and school children should be able to expect a reasonable level of privacy in bathrooms.”
The spokesperson noted the act of watching students through glass doors was not covered by the Privacy Act.
A general view of the new Green Bay High School bathroom.
Students were also concerned after seeing images of the cubicles without doors but Barker confirmed the doors had not yet been installed.
“Our systems and policies protect privacy for students, and in practice the footage is only reviewed on an as-needed basis, for example, to assist an investigation if something has happened in the area,” Barker said.
Fowler confirmed the ministry advised schools to “provide a degree of passive surveillance into bathroom lobbies, without compromising cubicle privacy”.
“We require that cubicles are fully enclosed and private.
“We also promote the distribution of toilets into small groupings so that students have choices that suit their needs.”
Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.
