Is it legal for a teacher to deny a child access to a toilet?

[NotTheMrMenAgain]

I have a friend whose DC, age 13, recently soiled themselves in class because the teacher repeatedly refused to allow them to go to the toilet (and were fairly dismissive about it, by the sound of it). It wasn't a small mishap - the rest of the class were dismissed and my friend called to collect DC.
Understandably, DC is mortified and horrified and my friend very upset and angry. There's been a verbal apology from the head of year to my friend, who said how upset the teacher involved was - but no apology from the teacher to the DC - the teacher had since ignored the child/incident.
AIBU to think this simply isn't good enough? My heart goes out to the poor kid, who knows what kind of mark it will leave and what sort of bullying/mockery it will set them up for.
Is it against a child's basic rights to deny them access to a toilet? It seems like cruelty to me. It this a common policy at secondary school? Apparently they aren't allowed to pop to the loo in between classes, only at break/lunch. When I was a teenager my periods were heavy and I wouldn't have made it til break without an accident!

My secondary school had the same policy, if a teacher let you go during lessons you had to get the key for the toilets from the office. So leaving it until you were busting was a bad idea.

But if you needed to go, just walk out. Getting in trouble for walking out isn't as bad as having an accident in front of you peers (remember, they aren't even all your friends)

There were passes for medical conditions but don't know if anyone got one for periods.

I've never stopped a student going to the loo and - shock horror - sometimes (albeit rarely) I have been known to go myself.

Wow velvetspoon I reckon you and your 'respect' would last about five minutes in the school I work at..... what a ridiculous comment to make.

I never let students go to the toilet during lessons. Teachers are not allowed to leave students alone. the longest a child has to hold it is for 1 hour 40 minutes (a double lesson) they are old enough to manage their toilet needs by secondary school.

If a child asks i simply say no and that they must wait until the end of class. Never had any complaints or accidents.

What tech if they do have an urgency, if they have a stomach ache, or period.

This happened to my son but it was sickness not needing the toilet. There was no sign at home so he went to school as usual. At the end of one lesson he felt unwell so went to the medical room. They sent him to the next lesson saying come back at the end of the lesson if you still feel sick. He was sick during the lesson.
The teacher phoned me saying he looked so bad, he was sick on his way back to medical half way through the lesson . If the teacher noticed it surely the medical people could too. He's not the type of child to go to them, he's only been once and that's when he fainted at school.

Sometimes I think the rules lack some common sense. There's a difference between kids trying to get out of a lesson and those that genuinely need to leave

Medical conditions often take weeks/months to be diagnosed, or come on suddenly. I'll def tell my children to ignore the teacher & go if they need to.

Yogimummy123

So if when your children walk out of the class and claim that this is the reason what will you do then?

Mega lols (!) at Velvet. That made my year.

Get a grip.

If a child came to me before the lesson began and said they were running late, or there was queue i might make an exception. (the toilets are just opposite my classroom) or if a girl indicates she has or period i would let her go on that basis. However once the door is shut and lesson about to begin its a no.

They should have a doctors note if they have a toileting problem.

Pupils have before and after school, break and dinner times, not to mention between lessons in most schools to nip to the toilet. I find that a lot don't bother going then and wait until they're in the classroom to ask. Teachers can't keep rushing out to go to the loo and unfortunately in this day and age many pupils do use it as an excuse to get out of lesson and waste valuable learning time. I agree that it is awful for this child and it must have been really upsetting, never mind embarrassing but surely they would have had chance to go to the loo at many other points during the day???

So because some children dislike school and don't want to engage with lessons or vandalise areas of the school no children should be allowed free access to the toilets?

Has anybody heard of gastroenteritis or crohns or ulcerative colitis or cystitis or irregular or heavy periods?
I would not want my child not to have access to the toilet.
If it was an ongoing problem without any medical issues I'd address it with the school - wouldn't anyone?
But I wouldn't expect them to be treated as a liar & not allowed free access to the toilet for no reason.
You'd need to be clairvoyant to preempt lots of reasons for needing the loo!
It's demeaning & no way to encourage responsibility or respect in children.

Suppose if they're not being listened to & physically aren't allowed to leave the room to poo I'd advise them to do it in a bin? Is that preferable?

Wow techfull of compassion. What is a student has a sudden stomach ache and needs to go asap, not before or after the lesson. As these things do happen. When i was younger I sometimes had a nervous stomach i would need to go asap! Even if i been 10 mins before.

Exactly lolalola19

When i first began teaching i allowed children to visit the toilet, but soon realised they were taking advantage.

Within 5 minutes of lunchtime during a lesson this week, a girl requested the loo, i said no as she had just had lunch (40 minutes) she asked 3 times over the course of the afternoon and despite insisting she was desperate for a wee, she managed to hang on till home time.

Something seems to happen to people when they train as teachers. I've known several socially (other than at school of course!) and they are all a little, shall we say, strange. It must be something to do with being with children all day long. And how easy for any bullying tendencies to come to the fore.

Apologies to any teachers reading!

If after a refusal i noticed a child looking ill, worried, or desperate i would quietly give them permission. if during a lesson a child explained they were feeling poorly or had a stomach i would send them to the medical room

What happened was awful. The teacher should apologise.
I'm a teacher and the official line is that children should not go during lessons. I do use my discretion; if a child looks absolutely desperate to go a note is written in the child's diary so you can see if they're just bunking off for a bit every lesson.
You simply cannot have hundreds of children coming and going randomly all day.The vast majority of teenagers should be able to control their bladders and bowels. Those who cannot have toilet passes.
I'm 50 years old, have given birth twice, have IBS and can limit myself to break and lunch time. Nobody thinks about the teachers who cannot just clear off leaving a class of kids unsupervised!

Forgot to say the girl i refused has been known for leaving lessons and not returning, and she still kept drinking for her water bottle all lesson, so couldn't have been that bursting.

for someone in the position you Aeroflotgirl i would make an exception, and if asking to leave class became a regular occurance i would contact parents and advise them to get a doctors note.

This reminds me of primary school about 30 years ago, headmaster would make everyone go outside at lunch whatever the weather, then he'd promptly lock all the doors. I have this clear vision of a boy in my class standing at the door begging him to let him in, he was desperate for the toilet. Headmaster was a bastard and refused. He ended up soiling himself of course. How awful for him, I think of it every time I see him! And he's now a priest!

Children with medical conditions should have toilet passes for immediate access

Sometimes we get emails asking that child x gets access if requested due to 'girl issues'

The pupil diaries have toilet trip pages. They get 5 passes a half term. Staff will sign in/out with time.

This should allow for any mishaps or period based incidents.

However there are many who use all their allowances in a week then want to go out 10 minutes into lesson after break as they "didn't need it" at break

Any child complains of feeling sick, sit them by the door with free pass to go outside if need be. Often you can tell if they're genuinely ill.

Common sense. That's all it requires. However, many teens take the mickey and use toilet breaks to do their make up/hair or sneaknoff for a chat in the big Ruth their mates.

I'm a teacher and my school has a policy that pupils can't go to the toilet in lesson times. I have let pupils in the past but recently senior management have started standing by the toilets during lessons, sending pupils back to class and following them to find out the teachers who let them out. We have then been given formal warnings afterwards for breaking school policy.