Girls not allowed to use toilet during lessons - what to do?

I could flood out in an hour

I'm a teacher at a girls school (it could even be your school!). We have a similar policy and I told my form yesterday they should be going to the toilet at break and lunchtime.. however, I also said that if it's an emergency and you really need to go just ask the teacher. The policy is there but teachers, especially in a girls school, will understand and won't ever stop a child from going to the toilet. I've had pupils tell me discretly in the lesson they think they have leaked on their period and need to go to the toilet, it's honestly not an issue, and I was glad they felt they could tell me.
The policy is there more for the very small number of girls who will go to the toilet every lesson for 10 minutes just to get out of class. I've had lessons where every 5 minutes someone is asking to go to the toilet and it's disruptive. They could have gone at lunchtime but didn't want to miss social time - simple as.
On the other hand, teacher's have to hold it in as we can't leave the classroom!

If they didn't have these rules the kids wouldn't go in break and would instead deliberately miss class.

My mum used to say to me just leave the classroom and use it, but they were locked up anyway. Do schools still lock the toilets up?

How long is the gap between school starting and break, the break to lunch, then lunch to home time? If each are no more than 2 hours then there's no reason why they should need the toilet except in exceptional circumstances eg period starting. It was the same when I was at school.

I rarely use the toilet at work between starting at 9.30 and lunch at 1pm, that's 3.5 hours.

This makes me SO angry that this is still the case in schools.

I suffered bladder issues at school and I was given a bright yellow card which I had to show, with much humiliation, in classes if I needed to go.... because toilet visits were otherwise banned.

Since when did we have to justify a simple human right such as needing the toilet? Particularly at an age where these young people are learning to navigate periods. Not to mention the health dangers from "holding it in"

I think it's disgusting and you are absolutely well within your right to complain to the school.

Not to mention the risk of UTIs from holding in and not drinking enough water to avoid the loo

Shit like this is part of the reason we won’t be opting into the school system. It’s just unnecessary policing designed to control, not help.

I distinctly remember having the surprise arrival of my period in the early days, leaking and not being able to leave class. It was awful. Personally I’d be challenging the school and teaching your daughter if she needs to leave to just leave and you will back her up.

Unless this is the first year that girls have been at the school it will be something they have come across before. You might find that there are exceptions for periods so it it worth asking for clarification rather than challenging as a first step.

I still can't believe in this day and age that kids are being denied access to the toilet. Two opportunities in a day is not enough, what if they forget to use, what if the queues are so long there is no time.

In secondary school they toilets were locked so even if you were allowed to leave the lesson you couldn't use them anyway. I remember at break time going to use the toilet and teacher forgot to unlock them 🥴

Challenge the school.
My parents did and the rules are more relaxed now.
If she needs to go she needs to go.

Bad policy by the school, I’d be challenging that.

Yeah it’s wrong, even as an adult I can’t just regulate my need to pee to set times someone gives me.