Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that a teacher should not tell the children to go and have a wee in the churchyard?

161 replies

ThoughtsPlease · 19/06/2013 16:46

After lunch the children were rehearsing a play in the church a two minute walk from the school. They did the whole play once, and DD who is 7 waited until they finished to say that she needed the loo. The teacher asked the other children, about 15 in total, if any also needed the loo, about 7 children said they did, and the teacher told them all to go outside in to the churchyard and find a bush to have a wee behind!

DD is not familiar with outdoor weeing, and the result was that she managed to wee on her pants, socks and most importantly to me as they are now in the bin all in her school shoes!

AIBU to think that a member of staff should have taken the children back to school to go to the loo, there were two members of staff in the church.

OP posts:
Eyesunderarock · 19/06/2013 19:11

Grin That sounds very familliar Fanny.
I too have never left the classroom with children for a session elsewhere without telling everyone to go to the loo. It is a habit that I need to control when not in school.

SummersHere · 19/06/2013 19:11

Nothing wrong with weeing outside, did it myself last week and I'm 40 Grin.
A lot worse goes on in my local graveyard than kids having a wee.

SugarPasteGreyhound · 19/06/2013 19:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

exoticfruits · 19/06/2013 19:13

Last week I was pond dipping with a coach full of DCs. They had a stop at toilets first and were all told to go. If they then needed to go they would have had to go behind a bush. There were no toilets. They were yr 2- they all managed not to go for the hour. They knew in advance it would have been a bush.
That is very silly Eyesunderarock- the adult could go alone-and not worry about ratios.

exoticfruits · 19/06/2013 19:15

You are all lucky if you never have to go behind a tree! You obviously never walk all day in the middle of nowhere.

valiumredhead · 19/06/2013 19:16

Sugar-I would presume that they were desperate. If a child was weeing where my gran is buried I know she'd just be pleased no one had wet knickers.

boardingschoolbaby · 19/06/2013 19:17

Unless they had all gone one staff member could not take them and one stay with the rest. Sadly you have the law to thank for that rule you can't blame the teacher.

CajaDeLaMemoria · 19/06/2013 19:18

There would be ratio and child protection queries should one teacher remain alone with 7 children. It may not break rules, but it will almost certainly break guidelines.

The teacher probably weighed up the time used walking everyone home and back and then decided that they should go outside instead.

It absolutely should not have been in a church, but that isn't what you were asking.

Footface · 19/06/2013 19:18

Yanbu, good job it was at the end of the day rather than the morning, who wants to be in piss soaked shoes.

Would the teacher have taken a piss outside! I think the answer is no

Original poster
ThoughtsPlease · 19/06/2013 19:19

Fanny I have 2 children involved in this, they were not told to go the the loo, other children also told their parents, who I have asked said that they were not told to go to the loo.

The children range from 6-10/11 years, and some of the older ones needed the loo too.

I believe that the account of what happened is correct.

I know where the church and the school are, and the children have said that they were called to go to the church when they were sat on the carpet straight after lunch, and when they came back to school it was time to go home.

OP posts:
JamieandtheMagicTorch · 19/06/2013 19:20

YANBU

I used to allow my DCs to wee in bushes, but not at 7 and not in churchyards.

A teacher should not be encouraging this.

TwinkleSparkleBling · 19/06/2013 19:22

I took a group of pupils to a church today and feared this was about me......then I remembered I didn't let any piss outside because it is DISGUSTING.

I cannot believe the amount of people who think it's ok for a group of children to be told to go for a wee outside when there's a loo really nearby.

What does this tell them? Just go for a wee wherever you like?

I am no prude. If you're caught short and there is no alternative, then ok as a one off. However there was a clear alternative and provision in place.

There were 2 adults for the very reason that if there was an emergency/ one had to to go elsewhere, the remaining adult would still be in ratio.

I would also be so annoyed at my child being allowed to go for a wee with a group of other children. Would you do that as an adult? Again the message of what's ok is totally wrong.

I'd be telephoning the school and asking to speak to the teacher about this.

As for the shoes etc, I'd have washed them and kept them!

NotSoNervous · 19/06/2013 19:27

Only read the first few posts but I wouldn't be happy either. They should have been taken back to school.

FannyMcNally · 19/06/2013 19:35

They wouldn't be within the ratios if one group had more than 6 children under 8.

pianodoodle · 19/06/2013 19:42

Were the children upset? That would be my first thought if I was wondering how annoyed I should be about something.

The wee will make leather shoes last for ages, so I've heard - don't throw them out!

DoJo · 19/06/2013 19:48

YANBU - really surprised that everyone seems to think that children pissing outside and having to go back to school with wet knickers, socks and shoes is acceptable. Peeing outside isn't a 'life skill' unless you make a habit of spending time where there are no facilities - it certainly isn't something I would expect everyone to teach their children as I would far rather they were taught to use facilities when they are available. I think that for girls especially, it's a big ask at that age!

Original poster
ThoughtsPlease · 19/06/2013 19:51

Yes my DD was upset, she spent from what I can gather about 1-1 1/2 hours in wet pants, the back of her dress was then wet too, wet socks and shoes.

She said she didn't want to tell anyone at school what had happened.

We were going to a swimming lesson for my other DD straight after school so I had to send her back in to school to get her PE kit and trainers to put on.

OP posts:
quoteunquote · 19/06/2013 19:51

this is hysterical, thanks OP

How does a child get to seven without knowing how to have a wee, without a loo?

throwing shoes out because they have wee on them, Grin but if you really did shame on you for wasting the earths resources Sad

and worrying about weeing outside because there is no loo,GrinGrinGrin, so funny.

Thanks
Wheresmycaffeinedrip · 19/06/2013 19:54

Well I think it's disrespectful to go weeing in church yards. Don't see why they couldnt have gone back to the school.

Curleyhazel · 19/06/2013 19:55

YNBU. The teacher should have anticipated the need for a loo break and planned the lesson / rehearsal session accordingly. Fwiw, I have decades worth of outdoors nature trail weeing experience Grin and still occasionally manage to wee on my shoes, trousers or whatever (I know classy) so am not surprised that a 7 year old girl would find this tricky.

Also it's not exactly nice to walk around with wee on your clothes and shoes during a hot summer day, is it? Was loo paper provided? If not then i guess all the girls would have had a bit of a yucky experience and if yes, did they leave the used loo paper in the churchyard?

On a different note, it's not exactly respectful to wee in a churchyard. It sets a bad example. I would request that the teacher plans in a proper toilet break for the next rehearsal. Ynbu at all.

JamieandtheMagicTorch · 19/06/2013 19:56

I really doubt the Head Teacher would have been OK with this

shinyrobot · 19/06/2013 20:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

merrymouse · 19/06/2013 20:07

I think weeing outside is ok for the odd desperate child, however weeing en mass is a bit disrespectful.

On the other hand if they were all doing it maybe it was less embarrassing for each of them?

Curleyhazel · 19/06/2013 20:08

I really don't understand why so many find your op unreasonable. I am definitely no prude, have nothing against an emergency alfresco wee but don't agree with sending seven pupils to wee behind the bushes in a churchyard. That's just poor planning on behalf of the teacher.

pianodoodle · 19/06/2013 20:12

Aw I do feel bad if she was wet all day.

I think it's probably a once off though I wouldn't go down the route of phoning the school.

In these sorts of circumstances a sense of humour goes a long way.

I understand people saying that they might have offended the vicar. I agree - it was a missed opportunity but maybe next time ;)