To expect my 11 year old to be able to use the toilet during the school day?

[bendy75]

Is this the norm? My 11 year old started in at secondary school last month and has had two warnings (or stage 2 - Low level disruptions) for asking to use the toilet.

I told him to try and go at break times but he tells me they are locked, confirmed today by staff when I asked, children who have a medical need can apply for a toilet pass but he does not, so has to try and go from 8.00 am until returning home around 3.00pm without using the toilet.

AIBU to be shocked by this?

Why doesn't one of you start a petition? This is obviously a national problem and it can't happen! Children have got to be able to use the toilet at regular, sensible intervals and schools have got to be able to properly punish (and enforce it) anyone who damages property or hurts anyone when that's the problem. Obviously it's not that easy but at least if there's a big enough petition it's got to be discussed and something will come of it?

Your school scrapped break time? So the children only get a break at lunch time? That's insane!

In our local area, the majority of state secondary toilets are locked except for lunchtime when a member of staff can be present. It's not an isolated case and more common than not sadly. At lunchtimes, its then a choice between having a pee or queuing for a slice of cold pizza.
It basically boils down to poor investment over the years - not enough ancillary staff, out dated facilities and teachers without the support of management trying to fire fight a rise in destructive pupil behaviour.

Breaks have usually been scrapped/shortened due to behavioural problems.

Many parents really don’t get the issues schools are facing all the time.

How it scrapping breaks going to help behavioural problems? Surely it'll just make them worse when they don't have the chance to let off steam. They get breaks every 45 minutes at schools where I am because they know its better for concentration and behaviour.

Unfortunately it's become common practice is many secondary schools, it was all over sm and in the news back in March with the Tiktok school protests, just Google school toilets protests uk

@Natsku unfortunately in many schools it is found that when pupils are left to their own devices during break time is when bullying and violent behaviour starts. Schools can’t afford to pay supervising staff and anyway not many people would want to supervise feral Y11s

If I remember you live in Finland where children are brought up to respect teachers. In this country many families expect schools to sort out things that traditionally parents would do, starts from Primary school where parents expect help in toilet training, lessons in brushing teeth, being taught how to use cutlery and so it goes on up the school (obviously excluding any SEND)

With respect to SEND, there is so little funding and so few services, needs are not being met outside school and so schools are meant to sort everything but again no funding.

Support for children with behavioural needs, support for children from dysfunctional families all meant to be provided at school with no funding

No funding to repair dilapidated and dated school buildings (including toilets). Made worse when schools are vandalised

And the list goes on.

No wonder we have a huge teacher retention and recruitment crisis

If the schools are the places with big behavioural problems and for this reason they are presumably not safe for children, then surely the schools themselves must be closed?

@NotQuiteHere you don’t get the issues schools are facing. If you close the school because of behavioural issues where would the pupils go. To another school and cause problems, roam the streets and cause problems?

No it is you who do not get how ridiculous the logic of "since there are behavioural problems, we will lock the toilets and scrap the break times" is.

How does closing the toilets help with this in any way?

Has antisocial behaviour in schools miraculously ceased since children have been deprived of access to toilets?

@crumblingschools the lack of funding and support in schools (and outside services) is terrible, its no wonder things are getting so bad. Problem behaviour here would get swift involvement of social services and the school psychiatrist, that probably has more to do with the better behaviour than how the children are raised (as obviously not all parents are raising their children to respect teachers here, we have our share of issues) but in the UK children have to wait ridiculously long for referrals and I expect many who need it don't even get referrals.

But children still need time to move around, so getting rid of break is counterproductive, but needs funding for more supervision

I know several girls I went to school with (I left in 1990!) That bled through and one girl weed on the trampoline as she'd been told to wait until break and they made her take her turn. Just because YOU never bled through or had an accident doesn't mean it never happens!

The amount of people saying theyre lying is disgraceful. Im a tutor with 20 different students, 7 of them go to school. Of these 7(all different schools) , 5 of them tell me the toilets are locked at all times and they must get a key to go. So no. They are not lying. STOP being so judgemental and accusatory. However I think you might have misunderstood that they can only have a key for a medical need so I would check this. My students can get a key without a medical need but they do have to request one. For the record I personally think this is disgusting and they should only be locked in lesson time (accessed on request) and a teacher should monitor the toilets at break and lunch. If I was at school I would not be able to cope and my mum would not stand for this.

I know schools are in crisis in the UK (by 'crisis' read ‘funding has been cut to the bone by this inmoral government’, but let's set that aside for a moment)

BUT shortening/scrapping breaks???? Closing toilets???? Whose brilliant mind thought of that fresh hell? How is that going to help? (Please excuse the excess of question marks, I just can't get my head round that).

The toilet issue is self evident. The mind boggles - how can you expect, say 1500 kids to go the toilet in 30 minutes?

The breaks issue is no better - children need breaks (like everybody else). The lack of breaks will only make behaviour worsen.

I think what parents don't understand is why their well behaved children are being punished and not being able to access toilets because for some reason the school cannot handle behaviour issues. Lots of schools manage it perfectly fine.

We put in cameras to save the money that we were spending on repairing the vandalism. But if you are happy for schools to pay to repair toilets instead of it going on education then thats on you.

There's no passion to teach children only control. You don't agree with their rules but you are happy to put up with it and keep your mouth shut.

I have left teaching and did so for many reasons, This type of attitude being one of them.

I suspect that most people's experiences are different from other peoples. Life is like that.

Bullying is not the exclusive to breaks. I was bullied in class and walking and waiting between classes sometimes in full view of the teacher. If anything, break time was an opportunity to get away from the bullies.

The worst of all is the teachers' indifference in this situation.

They don't mind locked toilets, no breaks, short lunchtime. Teachers demand respect from their pupils, but working in a school and, presumably, approving or justifying the draconian measures the schools routinely take, do the teachers deserve respect?

The right to use a toilet at any time in any setting is a basic human right. The right to sanitation is an element of "the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family" (Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights or ICESCR).

Schools are putting themselves in a very iffy situation by preventing children using a toilet when they need it. Ask for a meeting with the head, ask to see the school rule book and the written rule about toilet breaks. Even if they actually have that rule, (99.9% haveny) parents can absolutely oppose this action and turn it around by getting the Trustees involved, local GPs, your MP and produce a petition. My son was told he couldnt wear an ear ring at school. The girls however were permitted, the school were at odds with the sex discrimination act, they had no written rule regarding boys wearing earings so they chose to let my son wear the earring rather than for me to take this further. His teacher, a rather abrasive man said ‘would he like to wear a dress as well?’ I asked if he would like to keep his job or keep digging? I had a written apology from the head.

MargotBamborough · Yesterday 14:26

Bad behaviour in toilets was a big problem when I was at school too but they didn't bloody lock them and stop kids from going to the toilet!”

This, in the 60s and 70s. Surely this goes against health and safety regulations?

I think it also depends on where you live as well. What area did you teach in?

The children who went to your schools obviously have no respect and no ambition for their future, It's a shame. I think it's good you came out of teaching. You can't blame other people's attitudes for leaving you either have it in you to inspire or you don't.

I taught in a middle class area. Pupils had very little respect for property as they would just get given what they want.

You can't blame other people's attitudes for leaving you either have it in you to inspire or you don't.

I'm really not sure whether you believe this or are just being goady. So I'm just going to go with goady.