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!

13, wow poor kid must have been mortified.

I do understand the restriction, but exceptions must be made, if a child asks several times, there must be a reason, and it is pretty short sighted of the teacher not to realise.

It is actually great that the head of year apologised so quickly, and shows that the school knows it was wrong. I would think it will be mentioned to staff. Not sure what else the school can do now, but the teahcer should not be ignoring her, that is rubbish.

reminds me of my French teacher, hopelessly un child friendly woman. One girl in our class had epilepsy. We all knew what to do if she had a fit, when it happened in French one day the French teacher was dragging her off her chair and trying to drag her to the school nurse. It is one of the few times when we were brave enough to go against the teacher (very strict school) and we all sort of surrounded friend and blocked teacher out and got her into the recovery position, and sent someone for the nurse.

Now I cannot imagine why the girl's teachers hadn't been told what to do if she had a fit.

For those saying children should be able to hold it - what about periods? As a teenager they can be very irregular and if it starts just into a lesson are the girls supposed to just bleed onto or through their clothes? It's not something they can hold in, is it? And it's cruel to not allow them to deal with it.

Sometimes a stomach ache can just happen, I used to get anxiety ones. One happened in a lesson. The human body is not perfect, it can go wrong at anytime.

Oh gosh and period pains can lead to stomach ache too and loose bowels. What are girls supposed to do, miss a week of school each month!

That is awful. It may not be illegal but it should be. Imagine if adults were treated like that in work.

I will tell my children to just go if they are ever in this situation, but my eldest would find that very difficult because he has ASD and follows rules to the letter.
I was a very quiet and timid child and I would have been too afraid to disobey a teacher like that.

Tinfoil, but a need to rush to the loo may be the first sign of a problem.

Or, like my friends ds, you may have Crohns disease and when you are having a flare up, you need to go NOW. (and few of his friends and classmates know as he doesn't want them to)

Unless there is a medical reason a teenager should be able to withhold needing the loo.
Would you expect your surgeon to pop out mid op or the pilot pop to the loo mid landing?
Would you pull in on the hard shoulder for your 13 year old to use the bushes? Or would you say wait for the services?

I do understand the restriction, but exceptions must be made, if a child asks several times, there must be a reason, and it is pretty short sighted of the teacher not to realise

You should try working with teenagers and understand the chaos allowing one child to go to the toilet can cause. You allow one, you have to allow them all. Therefore anyone who fancies a bit of a break mid-lesson can go to the toilet. Who is then supervising all these children wandering around?

And believe me, they will beg and plead, swear blind they are desperate and be found having a fag with their mates 10 minutes later.

To those parents saying 'just walk out'. Yeah, great, thanks. As if discipline wasn't an issue enough all ready in schools. 'It's OK, son, you can do whatever you want, you don't need to listen to the teacher'. I assume you will all be the first to complain that your child isn't being taught anything because of the constant interruptions?

I work in a school with very long lessons. By far the majority of children (including those with toilet passes) - and all of us adults - are able to manage. Schools enforce these rules for a reason.

I'm really sorry but I just have to do this:

My heart goes out to the poor kid, who knows what kind of mark it will leave

Probably quite a stubborn one, but it should come out with some Vanish.

Apologies.

Seriously, that is horrendous. The poor child. A full written apology should be demanded from the teacher, despite the head of year's apology. The whole class should also be made aware that any future reference to the incident, or any mention of it to the affected child, will be punishable.

I remember a child in my primary school class (I think we were Year 6 at the time) wetting themselves. Unfortunately, those are the sort of memories that stay with people.

I don't remember anyone at my secondary school ever being refused permission to leave the classroom to go to the toilet. The teachers were probably too scared of having to deal with an incident like the OP.

It's not illegal, but generally I think a student should be allowed to go to the toilet. Where I teach, we sign the student's planner if they need to leave the classroom for any reason, which helps to stop skivers as their other teachers can see.

I will say no to students who I think are just going to muck around, but only if I have a reason to think this, e.g. they turned up to the lesson 20 minutes late and are always disruptive.

Perhaps teach them to use a pad in anticipation of a period.

When i was a secondary teacher I was given a bollocking for letting kids leave my lessons to go to the loo (actually next door to my classroom) as they kept on being vandalised in lesson time. Sinks pulled off walls, seats broken and blocked. Poo smeared all over etc.
I cannot tell if a student needs the loo or is just after a meet up with their mates /sneaky fag / wanting to terrorise other students with loo passes / just skiving /wanting to interrupt other lessons / meeting to do drugs or have sex - or the million of other reasons why kids ask to leave the lesson to visit the loo.
I then had to weigh up going against school policy and getting a formal warning, and knowing that sometimes kids really do need the loo. It's hard to judge sometimes, and sometimes you judge wrong.

Oh wow, that's awful for the child

I do get that teachers can't just let kids go all through class but surely some allowances have to be made.

Those who are saying to tell their kids to walk out if they are desperate, at my high school, the toilets were locked and you had to get a key from a teacher to get in, so that wouldn't have worked

Awful for the child, I agree.

The teacher made a judgement call and it was the wrong one. If the child wasn't one of the known piss-takers then probably she/he should have let them go. The trouble is that the piss-takers spoil it for everyone and must make it very hard for the teacher to judge.

The teacher needs to speak to both the child and the parents to apologise for the incident.

Yes, the policy is legal. Some rules are needed due to piss-takers, but so is discretion. A balancing act that can go wrong.

headofhive don't be so silly, this is a child, not a surgeon! No at times you cannot control body functions, what planet are you on!

headofthehive - well, last year we we on the way to friends, 2 hours drive, all kids ahd been to the loo before we left. 1 hour in ds, the 13 asked to go to the loo. I said wait, 5 minutes later has asked again, really mum isn't there a services, I'm desperate. the nearest services was another 20 minutes - no I can't wait that long, so we left at next exit and found somewhere.

So, actually, yes, not quite the hard shoulder, but teenagers don't always get it right.

The surgeon one is interesting, because I did have a friend who always had an issue with loose bowels when she had her period and would suddenly jump up and dash out. I have no idea what she would have done if she was a surgeon.

And when loos are vandalised it means they can be out of action for weeks until fixed. Meaning lots of kids cannot use them.

Schools tend to have medical need cards which they can show. So most people with normal function can wait. (If you can't wait there is something you need to see the DR about! )

No don't be so silly headofhive, normal bodies don't always behave the way you want, sometimes you can suddenly get a stomach ache or the urge to go to the toilet. Does not mean you need to see a Dr fgs, as if they have enough to do already! Girls on their periods can get stomach cramps which means they sometimes need the toilet, or they need to change their sanitary protection. Can't believe I'm spelling it out to somebody.

I agree with other posters that child should ask and if denied just walk out and go to the toilet, dealing with repercussions later. Sitting there and going in your pants is conformity gone crazy imo

Sounds like one of those things in life where the few ruin it for the many, and the occasional
Medical issue can't be used as a reason to let children leave for the loo whenever they like

the overwhelming majority of adults in the work place can go to the loo whenever they damn well please. The only reason this isn't the case in schools is because of crowd control issues.

Anyone who thinks that kids can learn efficiently by being taught in huge groups by a single person whose actions are more determined by the need to keep control in the class room than any idea of what a good learning environment would look like, is mad.

You need to be training your teenager for adult life. Lots of jobs don't allow rushing to the loo at a moments notice.

If a teenager needs the loo so much after only one hour, you need to investigate why.
And a conversation needs to be had.

I am a secondary teacher and work in a school with a similar no toilet visits during lessons.

There are only one set of loos open during lesson time. We have a card system that students can show discretely and they are allowed to go no questions asked.

I tend to say no the first time, the second time I will say yes but they need to make up the time after the lesson - this tends to prevent the ones who want to just mess about. Also by not letting them go straight away it avoids the planned meet up in the loos that can occur. I may also request they wait till I am finished with the teaching part of the lesson.

Oh and body language and imploring eyes from some girls can definitely get an ok on first asking as I can tell its an emergency.

I'm amazed teachers are still pulling this shit.

They're given too much power.

That teacher is a bully.