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Should Community Buildings Have A Nappy Changing Area?


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I run a pack away preschool in a church hall and Im exhausted by gripes from the church if ever we leave the nappy changing mat out in the disabled toilet (Im not talking messy I mean tucked up a corner out the way).

 

Ive asked the church if we can pay for a proper nappy changing unit to be installed but they said no

Under DDA are community buildings and churches supposed to provide a nappy changing area?

 

I asked the church what do they do when families with young children visit the church and need to change nappies? they said that as the services are only about 1 1/2 hours children shouldnt need changing in that time.....!!!

 

oh I wish I knew what planet they live on I'd like to visit it cus I have lost count of the times children have arrived and filled their nappies within 30 mins of arriving. we have a little boy who you can set you watch by 11 am every morning without fail, I would love to ask his mum to take him to church because he would stink out the service it would be interesting to hear the stewards explain to the parent that there's no where to change him.

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Hi Alison

 

I run a pack a way pre-school too in a church hall. We use a changing mat on the floor too as they will not allow us to have the proper facilities.

 

Sorry I dont know if they are supposed to provide a nappy changing area, I would be interested to find out.

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Our church hall removed the sanitary bins about a year ago because they werent used very often, dont know what they do when the hall is leased for functions.

We use a changing mat on the floor for nappies, they did provide a fold down table years ago but it needs two hands to put it up or down so is never used.

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I'm not sure whether hall owners are obliged to provide nappy changing facilities are included in the DDA - your Local Authority would be able to tell you.

 

The Act talks about 'reasonable adaptions' in connection with meeting the needs of people with disabilities. So for example if you have an existing building that was built before these duties were introduced then you wouldn't have to have expensive building works done to meet the Act's requirements for accessibility. However if you were constructing a new building or building an extension, then you would have to provide these facilities as part of the new build.

 

I imagine it would be up to the Church to respond to a request from a parishioner to provide nappy changing facilities, and then for the parishioner to decide how to respond if they were told their child shouldn't need changing! It doesn't seem very welcoming to me, I must say! If the parisioner were to bring a case against them under the terms of the DDA then obviously the outcomes for the church could be quite serious.

 

Maybe the next time they moan about you leaving your changing mat out you might suggest that actually you could be doing them a big favour because you could be saving them from being accused of discrimination! :o

 

Maz

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How difficult for you. My nursery is in a community centre so is also shared premises. We have one of those nappy changing things that folds down from the wall which works really well. Its in the disabled toilet and we just fold it all up at the end of the day and the toilet is back to normal. I think they cost about £150. I know they have them in the Consortium catalogue but local authority suppliers might be cheaper.

Hope you get it all sorted out.

Beehive

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Maybe the next time they moan about you leaving your changing mat out you might suggest that actually you could be doing them a big favour because you could be saving them from being accused of discrimination! :o

 

Maz

 

thats kind of what I did say and was told that "children shouldnt need changing in 1 1/2 hours" I was gob smacked and couldnt think what to say at that

 

its exhausting as im sure anyone whose in a pack away group knows and opps I think Ive left the mat and a dirty nappy in the disabled loo on friday ready for the weekend!!! Im waiting for the email from the church complaining

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