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Holistically enhancing hierachy of needs for pupils and staff

“I hadn’t appreciated what a difference it would make for children & staff.”

That is the view of estates manager of Kingsweston School in Bristol, Clive Farmer, and the reasoning behind his specification of fixtures, including a Closomat Palma Vita shower (wash & dry) toilet, for the school’s new hygiene room.

Kingsweston School has evolved over its history as a special school to focus on the needs of pupils with profound disabilities, partnering with other special schools in the area so that specialist environments for all children with special educational needs in the area are met. Its ethos is based round the Maslow theory, which specifically itemises excretion as a basic physiological element of the hierarchy of needs.

In line with that approach, the school is updating its facilities to provide appropriate support- including the creation of a hygiene room complete with a ceiling track hoist, height adjustable washbasin, height adjustable changing bench, and Palma Vita shower (wash & dry) toilet, all supplied by Closomat and installed by Aztech Building Services.

The Closomat looks like- and can be used as- a conventional WC; its integrated douching and drying functions ensure the child is efficiently and consistently cleaned after toileting without the need for care staff intervention.

The new hygiene room replicates that already installed in the school a couple of years ago, and ensures compliance with the criteria laid down in Building Bulletin 104. Explained estates manager Clive Farmer, “It was important to mirror the facilities we already have, as the children are familiar with that. It makes it easier for them to adjust to being in a different section of the school as they move from primary to secondary.

“When I chose the Closomat shower toilet for the first room, I hadn’t appreciated what a difference it would make to pupils and staff in terms of hygiene: it works really well; it is better for the staff as they don’t have to wipe the children clean. It also means when other special schools with which we partner use our facilities, they have appropriate toilets for their pupils. I therefore requested that not only was a Closomat fitted into the new room, but that Closomat provided all the equipment, as it had previously.”

Closomat is the ‘go to’ provider for accessible toilet provision, and is fully Construction (Design & Management) 2015 compliant. The expertise within the company represents the combined wealth of knowledge amassed from over 55 years’ helping disabled people optimise their dignity and independence in the bathroom, at home and away.

Its website www.clos-o-mat.com is acknowledged as a key resource to help take the first steps towards efficient accessibility provision, including design guidance, white papers, CAD blocks, NBS specification clauses and case studies

For further information visit www.clos-o-mat.com

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School toilet guidelines updated – new summary document published

Guidelines on school toilet provision have been updated for new build and refurbishment/conversion projects.

Closomat, Britain’s leading provider of accessible toilets in and out of the home, has addressed changes to Department for Education/ Education Funding Agency guidelines and the latest British Standard, in one, easy reference document.

The white paper- Considerations & Specification of Assisted Accessible Toilet Facilities in Educational Buildings- in one place covers the key elements of the revised Building Bulletin 104, and BS8300:2018. It enables specifiers to easily cross-reference their specifications and designs to ensure appropriate compliance on accessibility and special needs.

“School toilets really matter,” says Robin Tuffley, Closomat marketing manager. “Above and beyond the growing number of pupils with special needs who attend mainstream schools, there is an increase in the number of children who start school not toilet trained, with a correlating increase in the number of toiletary mishaps that require intervention. Figures also indicate at least 10% of pupils have a continence issue. And what about hygiene, not just for the child, but the member of staff helping them? What about privacy? Independence? Learning personal care skills?

“As all the key criteria are now in one document, school estates managers can use the white paper to put in place the groundwork for a compliant, appropriate scheme, ready to be installed during term recesses, depending on the amount of time required to effect the upgrade or refurbishment.”

The white paper covers the requirements and recommendations for toilets in educational buildings, including the importance of properly sized and specified hygiene rooms. It also covers the relevant changes to BS8300, which now specifically itemises educational establishments as buildings covered by its ‘best practice’ remit, particularly with regard to a Changing Places assisted accessible toilet facility.

Closomat has 55 years’ experience in delivering personal hygiene solutions for domestic and non-domestic environments. The company has developed a range of equipment and support services that today meets every need, at home and away, from adapting a domestic bathroom through to a full specification hygiene room with a changing bench and ceiling track hoist in educational buildings, or similar (Changing Places) facility in commercial and public venues.

Uniquely, the products are backed up by in-house support, that is fully Construction (Design & Management) compliant, from assessment of requirements, design of an accessible bathroom or washroom to legislative and budgetary requirements, installation and commissioning of equipment, and lifetime maintenance.

Full details of equipment are available on the company’s website, www.clos-o-mat.com.
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Inclusive education is more than disability

School buildings need to be equipped to address more than disability to be inclusive, advises the UK’s leading provider of accessible toileting solutions Closomat.

The advice comes as new figures reveal the country’s changing social make-up:

–           One in 12 pupils are officially classed as Muslim, prompting consideration to be given to the faith’s toileting etiquette (Qadaa’ al-Haajah and istinja) where washing with water is required.

–           A tenth of pupils have a continence issue.

–           The number of disabled children has increased by more than 60% in 25 years.

–           Some 60% of statemented children are in mainstream schooling.

–           Almost 10% of FE students have a disability.

The simple solution is the installation of a shower (wash and dry) toilet in place of a conventional WC, such as the brand leader, the Closomat Palma Vita. Looking like, and capable of being used as a conventional toilet, the version has integrated douching and drying. It ensures the user is effectively and consistently cleaned after toileting.

It ensures compliance with Islamic toilet considerations. It also helps address accessibility needs where relevant out of school hours when the building is open to community use. It ensures children with continence problems, or who have had a toilet accident, are enabled to be thoroughly clean after an incident.

It means children with disabilities can develop personal care skills without relying of support staff to assist.

“Even the new British Standard for accessible and inclusive buildings- which particularly references educational establishments, BS8300:2018, recognises that a shower/ wash & dry toilet in place of a conventional WC gives greater dignity and independence,” observes Robin Tuffley, Closomat marketing manager.

“Accessibility and inclusion tends to be taken as enabling disabled people to use a building. But full inclusion covers racial, religious, cultural and gender considerations. Education is about equipping pupils for life; that includes addressing and teaching them independence, personal skills. Schools need to adapt to address this- and that includes the fixtures and fittings, through to the toilets.”

Closomat is the biggest manufacturer of wash & dry toilets in the UK, with its equipment having the most effective wash available. Its brand-leading Palma Vita can be fitted initially or retrospectively with a raft of accessories to help children, able or with special needs, including paediatric support systems. The Lima Lifter offers the performance benefits of the Palma Vita, but is fully height-adjustable, enabling it to be lowered for small infants or raised for adolescents and adults.

Closomat has 55 years’ experience in delivering personal hygiene solutions. The company has developed a range of equipment and support services that today meets every need, at home and away, from adapting an individual WC through to a full specification hygiene room with a changing bench and ceiling track hoist in educational buildings, or similar (Changing Places) facility.

Uniquely, the products are backed up by in-house support, from assessment of requirements, design of an accessible bathroom or washroom to legislative and budgetary requirements, installation and commissioning of equipment, and lifetime maintenance.

Full details of equipment are available on the company’s website, www.clos-o-mat.com, which is the ‘go to’ resource for relevant white papers, ‘how it works’ videos and fly-throughs, typical layouts, NBS specifications, and CAD blocks.

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‘Best Practice’ guidelines update accommodate disabled students

New ‘best practice’ guidelines have been published that, for the first time, specifically address disabled student accommodation.

Simultaneously, Britain’s leading provider of disabled toileting solutions, Closomat, is announcing new developments that enable providers to comply, stylishly, with a unique package from specification, through fitting to future service & maintenance.

The options help enable providers to meet the growing number of disabled students, which now represents almost 10% of the student population in the UK!

BS8300:2018 Design of an accessible and inclusive built environment extends the remit of compliance covered under its predecessor BS8300:2009. The latest version is not specific to new build projects, and applies to all building types that require permanent sleeping accommodation for disabled people.

It also, for the first time, incorporates a specific set of criteria for student accommodation bedrooms. Under the new guidelines, up to 4% of bedrooms should be wheelchair accessible, up to 1% of rooms should include a fixed track hoist system, and up to 5% should be easily adaptable for independent wheelchair use. If only one accessible bedroom is provided, it should include an accessible shower room, with the preferred solution being a level access shower with shower seat if required, and include a WC. The adaptable rooms should have the space and design features to allow for addition of grab rails, shower seats, with ceiling height to allow for a track hoist (2.4m).

Closomat offers a range of contemporary ceiling track hoist systems that can be tailored to individual needs, enabling movement and transfer within a room, through to an en-suite, or beyond.

In the bathroom, it can provide a stylish wall track system, that integrates with a range of fixtures such as grab rails, height-adjustable or fixed washbasins, shower seats, enabling quick and easy adaptation to individual occupant needs.

Its range of wash & dry toilets take accessibility into higher realms of inclusion and intimate hygiene, with contemporary styled floor- standing, wall-mounted and height adjustable variants. Wash and dry toilets have the added benefit of satisfying cultural and religious considerations, regardless of the enhanced hygiene they provide against conventional wiping.

“Accessibility is a growing consideration in building design,” explains Robin Tuffley, Closomat marketing manager. “Disabled student numbers have increased by 56% in less than a decade, so it’s a sector that accommodation providers need to consider, and address.

“As the new British Standard points out, because such accommodation is booked or reserved in advance, there is greater scope for it to be adapted correctly, as required, to suit an individual student. It goes so far as to advise that in effect a ‘show flat/ bedroom’ should be provided on build completion so people can asses how their requirement may be met!”

Closomat’s website www.clos-o-mat.com is the ‘go to’ resource to help take the first steps towards efficient accessibility provision, including design guidance, white papers, CAD blocks, NBS specification clauses and case studies.

The information represents the combined wealth of knowledge amassed from over 55 years’ helping disabled people optimise their dignity and independence in the bathroom, at home and away.

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