Children being allowed to go to the toilet at school

It doesnt matter how many children act reaponsibly, one causes £8k of damage and then there are 5 fewer toilets for everyone until they are fixed. And that comes out of the school‘s budget. Parents would never be expected to pay. How could a school enforce that?

I could be wrong here, but I honestly think that if they stopped treating kids like idiots and allowed them to think for themselves and gave them some trust, most kids wouldn't let them down. I think the majority of kids are good and if you allow them some independence they act responsibly. Obviously if they break the rules or cause damage then their should be consequences but if you expect kids to let you down, they will. Nobody monitored the toilets when I was at school back in the dark ages and we managed without ripping sinks off walls etc!

Exactly this.
Every school is experiencing this.

Do you guys know anything about schools?
Let me make it simple.
Medical records are confidential.
They are kept locked away and only a couple of people will be allowed access to them.
Schools have not lost control.
Parents have.
Parents reap what they sow.
You are creating young people who will be unemployable.

Oh goody.
Another parent who thinks their child should be able to leave every single lesson to go to the toilet.
Why don’t you volunteer as a toilet monitor?
I will give you a week max, before you change your mind.

100% agree with this! If they kids are messing about in the toilets it's because the school has lost control.

I cannot tell you how angry this makes me that our young people aren't even allowed to decide when they need the toilet! We are creating a generation that will be completely unable to make decisions for themselves and it's disgraceful! They aren't even allowed to decide if they are hot enough to take their blazers off, but I guess that's a different matter.
Absolutely speak to your GP, but also I would make sure the school knew my thoughts on the matter. It probably won't change anything but maybe if enough parents complained it might help (although I doubt it) I'm so glad mine is older and no longer at school!

Get a toilet pass from pastoral person. That's what's happened in every school I've been teaching at. Never an issue letting a pupil out who needs to go. Schools don't hate kids going to the toilet. They hate when kids use toilet as an excuse to get out of class either to go for a little walk or meet their mates in said toilets.

It's fucking barbaric. Even in the time of the belt at school we were allowed to go to the toilet. Its a human right. Concentrate on teaching the kids better. Saying that i had a male teacher refuse me a toilet break in high school, being the bolshy girl i am i stood up after the third time of refusal and walked to the door, he tried to stop me and i asked him if he would like me to bleed through or go to the toilet? Git soon changed his mind.

How long are lessons ? An hour , 2 tops? I’m sorry but unless the child has a medical reason you go at break time, like the teachers.

I teach primary and never let them go to the loo in class time.

I’ve taught for a very long time.
Occasionally in the past a pupil would ask to go to the loo. It wasn’t a common occurrence and they’d be allowed to go. About 6 years ago something started to change and has got progressively worse. Our school has an ask and you can go policy. One at a time. I’m not exaggerating by saying that in some classes 10 students will go. A third of the class! Lessons are one hour long. So many children being caught short yet I as a menopausal woman with a pelvic floor that has seen much better days, has never had to leave a lesson.
Weirdly on the residential with a 12 hour coach trip to Europe nobody needed to go on the bus. They waited for the comfort breaks.
Social media has definitely played a part in this new phenomenon- parents demanding that schools allow their kid to go no matter what and peddling the narrative that school are like prisons etc.
The boys toilets on my corridor have been repeatedly vandalised to the point they can’t be used.

Take a look at Tik Tok.
Last term schools across the country were competing against each other in an activity named ‘ Fight Club’
it does not make pleasant viewing.

I am 60 - I go once at school.
How do these lads play rugby for the school etc, if they constantly need the loo?
I asked our Head of PE recently. He said no one ever asks for a toilet break in an after school match…..

They don’t need notes, a single letter will suffice.
Strange though, it’s such a problem, but they have never been to the GP. So I am assuming they have a perfectly normal life out of school, just not in school?

What’s really sad for all these thousands of students with toilet passes, it kind of rules out all school trips for them…..

I'd tell your daughter to wait in the toilet queue and go to the toilet and if she's late for the next lesson so be it, you're not going to be worried about it and if there are any consequences you complain.

Couple of thoughts. Are there any other school options? I wouldn’t want any child of mine going to a school that had that policy. Imagine how it affects concentration and learning ability even for children don’t have your daughter’s issues. And have you tried cutting out dairy for her as this is quite a common food intolerance? Just to see if it helps. It’s been a a game changer for me to discover that I had developed a dairy intolerance and start accommodating it. She should see a doctor too - even if the choice is not to try medication (there is a medication that can help overactive bladder though it might not be helpful for everyone, there are blood tests to check for conditions that should be ruled out like coeliac).

Its a fucking disgrace and probably illegal. Hate schools for this.

They can go before school, break time, lunch time and after school. That is 4 times to change their sanitary products. Normal timings. If they come on unexpectedly then they would be allowed to go. We use our discretion. The rule isn’t ridiculous when you see the scale of disruption.

Were your DC the smartphone generation? Or vape? Unless you have worked in a secondary school you won’t understand how disruptive it has become.

That said, your daughter OP has a genuine reason. If you push this with her Head of Year they could provide a pass.

This rule is ridiculous! What about girls on periods? Do the school need a doctors letter to confirm that a girl is on her period? I don’t really know what to advise but the school can’t demand medical records that’s insane. They can give their silly little ‘negatives’ if they want but they don’t mean squat in the grand scheme of things.
Ask if your doctor can write a fairly general letter maybe stating something like ‘Sarah has digestive issues and I would strongly recommend she be allowed to go to the toilet when required’. I would imagine the school would be very reluctant to go against medical advice even if they don’t have all the details.
I do have some sympathy for teachers because I imagine there are lots of kids who would take the absolute piss if the rules were too relaxed. But there has to be a more reasonable middle ground.

The thing is, several things can be true at the same time.

1. Some children do need to be able yo go whenever due to medical.issues.
2. Schools do need evidence for this as some parents WILL fake it, just like writing a note to get out of PE.
3. Many children will use toilet visits as a excuse to avoid work, disrupt lessons, do damage etc.
4. Schools do not have the resources to staff / police toilets nor the money to build better facilities.

Theyve said if you don't want to get a proper GP letter (they usually cost money), a copy of your notes will do. How else do they know who else needs help? It's not discrimination. It's how you access the pass.

That's like saying they should give out Blue Badges without checking your medical requirements. Just give one out to everyone that asks.

OP can't provide medical notes as she said she doesn't believe her daughter has a medical problem so hasn't yet even accessed a GP appointment yet, but apparently has booked one for next week now.

I’m a bit in both camps as I work in Secondary.

Firstly speak to your GP, it may seem a little over the top and I fully appreciate it. Even if the GP declines anything (doubtful), speak to SEN and discuss the issues you have mentioned. You will likely need to send two emails to ensure heard.

Sadly going to the toilet during lessons in Secondary is VERY often used as avoidance of work, vaping, smoking, drugs, hiding, eating, bullying, drinking alcohol, meet up with friends as they prearrange times with friends, self harm etc, sadly more girls than boys - actually for using the toilet is the lesser of all. So SLT will be monitoring use especially new Yr7s for Safeguarding. When they know they can be trusted and not for above reasons they maybe issued a pass - logging is good as proof of use which you can use to your advantage.

Sanctions can be a 5 minute thing to encourage use for some in breaktimes and inbetween lessons, sometimes it is just a log and not a sanction to monitor some students especially Yr7s again for safeguarding. So whilst annoying please be reassured their safety is paramount. Students maybe adamant it’s for innocent reasons and it could be.

transition from Primary to Secondary is a big adjustment for some and I think Primaries could do more before hand. Yes we are aware yr7 struggle and we do help accommodate in the first term +.

Is that not disability discrimination? They cant demand that level of personal info