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!

I always told my dds that id they really needed to leave a classroom and the teacher wouldn't let them, to say they were going to be sick- that usually works!

The child obviously deserves an apology and the DC need to be told anyone making fun of this situation will be severely punished, but the teacher cannot be held responsible for this- they were just following common senses.

The only people who think this is acceptable are those that live in blissful ignorance that some people can't 'just hold it'. I know someone who wet themselves at secondary school because they couldn't get to a toilet in time. Some schools have shocking facilities and it's not just outside.

KinkyAfro:

Happens in lots of jobs. If you are operating on someone, do you think you can just say, "Hold on, I need a poo?" What if you are a firefighter? A delivery truck driver? A teacher? There are lots of circumstances where the ability to use the toilet is reasonably restricted.

I had a teacher who wouldn't let me go to the toilet unless I'd finished a certain number of pages in my maths book. I really, really struggled with maths (still do) and could not get it all done. I remember feeling ill I was so desperate for a wee. I'm 35 so not talking much more than 25 years ago. At that school (big junior school) there was bullying in the loos at break time so I always tried to go during lessons. Consequently my bladder has never really recovered and I'm really prone to UTIs and nervy bladder etc. I'd love to go back to that teacher as an adult and tell her the effect her actions had on me.

JacquesHammer:

You would get nowhere with it. I would produce the email from my Head that says students are not to be allowed out to go to the toilet without a note. Done.

All this "what happens in jobs" is nonsense.

It's a child. It doesn't matter whether they'll be able to go to the loo when they're 27. It means the teacher royally fucked up.

My goodness, suddently it can happen out of nowhere, the person was fine before, suddenly they have a stomach ache or cramp and they need to poo asap. If you haven't experienced it you don't know! My friends teenager can be very anxious and as a result has stomach aches.

As a teacher I use my discretion even though school policy is no toilet use during lessons. As a teacher I can't go during a lesson and I figure if I, a 50 year old woman with no pelvic floor left can hold it then a normal teen can. However if a child is jiggling and looking uncomfortable or asks me quietly because they have started their period then I will let them go. Kids use the toilet excuse I'm afraid to get out of lessons, vandalise and meet up with their buddies. I'm surprised a child couldn't hold his poop for an hour max but it does happen. Oh and if they just walk out of my lesson without permission they will get a detention. It's rude.

Surely this isn't that difficult a discussion to have. There are many jobs where you need to ask a supervisor's permission/wait until a break so she may encounter it eventually even if you continue to Home School her.

Yep, I've had one of those jobs, and I think I've twice had to call over the supervisor and tell them that I have to go - once for a sudden bug, once because of an eye problem - note that as an adult, I wasn't asking permission, I was informing them that I needed to leave my post. As an adult, had they said that I couldn't (after a sensible wait to get my till shut down/a replacement person or whatever) then I would have to make the call between throwing up over my work area or leaving without permission.

If it wasn't a life and death job, then obviously I'd just leave. If it was a life and death job, then my boss is an arse, the company is negligent, and they will need to explain to the customer why I just threw up in their lunch I guess.

Being a student isn't a life and death job. In an emergency, they should be allowed to leave.

We are talking about children, not adults in jobs, totally different.

Hah. There would be an awful lot of unpleasant meetings for that teacher first.

Are you really not able to distinguish between real need and playing up? I volunteer once a week and can manage to work that out. Poor.

JacquesHammer:

Nonsense. Virtually every child learns to hold it when they are potty trained. If they can't, the issue is medical. Do secondary school age children routine poo themselves when they are stuck on the Tube for half an hour or on the bus home? No. They don't. They wait until they find a public toilet. This is ridiculous hyperbole.

I am sure if a teacher had sudden onset IBS or stomach ache, there is no way in hell they would stand there and soil themselves in front of their class.

JacquesHammer:

I wouldn't attend such a meeting. I would refer you to my Line Manager.

Sometimes adults do soil themselves in public if there is no loo nearby, this is a school building, so there should be access to a toilet, its not on the tube, or in the street, or out fighting fires.

Aeroflotgirl:

No, probably not. They would walk out and leave the class unsupervised. Does that mean the policy should be that it is fine to leave your class unsupervised if you think you need the toilet?

Or like my friend, driving in her car, suddenly came on, by the time she pulled over, she has soiled herself. Why let this happen, when it can be managed and it does not have to happen.

Poor child. What a terrible thing to happen

Well if you your going to soil yourself, you have no choice have you!

bessie
my dd is 7, she has regular water infections (with bleeding) recently had 1 teacher refuse her to go for a wee, she come out in tears and wet herself in the car

I don't think you can blame the teacher for this one. Surely once the lesson had ended she could have gone while getting her things ready to go home? If not for whatever reason, why didn't you take her to the toilet before going home?

Any teacher knows that you can't say 'yes' every time a child asks to go to the toilet, because they would all ask one after the other.

Teacher got it wrong this time and yes should apologise, but people on this thread are being very ott.

I can't believe it's just accepted that secondary age kids aren't allowed access to toilets in lessons. I think it's absolutely inhuman to deny someone access to a toilet when they need it.

Yes, in an ideal world everyone uses the toilet at break, but bodies don't always work like that. Not everyone has bowel habits like clockwork.

I can't believe these goady types acting like it's an outrageous thing to need a poo at an inopportune time. And because surgeons can't leave theatre for a toilet break, nor should anyone else? Jeez.

This sort of comment always puzzles me so can someone please explain. When I need to defecate, I need to defecate. I can't decide to go when I don't need to and I can't not go when I do (can hang on for a few min, maybe up to 10 as a child but no more). I have Crohns disease (diagnosed at 40) but have been like this my whole life. Am I alone in this not being able to strategically plan my trips to the loo?

I can 'plan shits' to an extent. Not to the minute as some seem to be able to but I don't get a 'must go now' thing. Unless I am ill.

I seem to really badly need a pee out of nowhere though sometimes.

Aeroflotgirl:

That isn't the point. Adults (and teenagers) who are unable to control bladder or bowels for the time it takes to find a toilet in, for example, a city centre, will have mobility or medical issues. In that case a student would have a note to make sure they were allowed out. It is true that there are vanishingly rare circumstances where the sudden onset of a stomach illness would necessitate leaving the lesson or shitting oneself. I hope any teacher would be able to recognise such urgency and would bend the rules. That is no reason to have a blanket change to school policy.

I'm surprised a child couldn't hold his poop for an hour max but it does happen.

Perhaps people should read the OP -
Apparently they aren't allowed to pop to the loo in between classes, only at break/lunch.

This means you need to hold it a lot longer than an hour if you are desperate . This really scares me actually. DS would never go to the loo without permission (ASD and very rule bound). If this happened to him, I would seriously consider taking him out of the school and changing to another. I think the bullying and pisstaking that would happen as a result would absolutely make this necessary

Offroader the teacher denied her the toilet in class! She had known water infections, that should be an automatic right to the toilet and I would be furious with the school. That can cause damage.