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AIBU?

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Original poster

Is this the norm, school nurseries

57 replies

Hollies98 · 08/05/2025 16:05

I met up with a friend to do the school run. Her dc is in the school now nursery. Age 3 and a half .. she was running round lifting her school dress and her nappy was that low, looked as if it’d been on all day. Is this the norm? are schools not required to change nappies?

OP posts:
Original poster
Hollies98 · 08/05/2025 21:38

StSwithinsDay · 08/05/2025 19:32

According to ERIC in January 2025

It is estimated that one in four children in England and Wales are starting school not toilet trained. Now in one area of Wales, parents are being asked to come to school to change nappies. It’s a difficult situation for everyone involved and there are many reasons why this has occurred.

https://eric.org.uk/news/toilet-training-and-school-readiness-in-the-news/

I saw this somewhere before actually. But this nappy honestly looked as if it had been on the entire day, it didn't look as if it had been changed by anybody

OP posts:
cabbageking · 08/05/2025 21:51

If you are short staffed, dealing with an injured child, changing a child, showering a child who has vomited or poohed over themselves, Dealing with a medical incident that takes a member of staff out of the room. Changing a nappy may have to wait. If you have several at one time again it delays the change.
It needs to be in your contract that personal care is provided. So if it's a bad day there may be a delay, but the child should get changed.

Special School. We do a phased midday change with nappies provided by parents. Because it needs two staff re older children and we worked out it was taking 3 hours a day and children were losing learning time. We no longer have spares because they have been used up and not replaced by parents. If they have the runs they need to be collected. Each school has to do the best it can but it is not always straightforward on a bad day.

thismummyslife · 08/05/2025 21:54

School nurseries I know change nappies (I have worked in one). If I was her mum, I’d be quite upset.

Dramatic · 08/05/2025 22:02

Is she there a full day or just 3 hours? The school nursery my daughter attended will only change them if they've pooed or if they are very wet, otherwise they wait til they get home.

Mumstheword1983 · 08/05/2025 22:17

JLou08 · 08/05/2025 21:29

I've worked with a lot of nurseries and pre-schools too and never come across one that refuses to change nappies. I'm sure some people just make stuff up to try and make a point about what age children should be toilet trained. The ones that come out with they only do nappies for significant SEN are total rubbish, most children's Special EDUCATIONAL Needs won't be picked up until they are actually in education.

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This.

MamaLenny · 08/05/2025 22:31

I'd start potty training. My child was just about potty trained at 3 for when he started nursery, but still having accidents. (Much more frequently at nursery than at home actually, because I would've probably asked him to go to the toilet more.) Nursery cleaned him up and helped him change into spare clothes. I'd rather that than have my child left in a nappy all day.

Mama2many73 · 08/05/2025 22:46

Children are definitely allowed to be in a school nursery while still in nappies. As pp have said uou cannot refuse on grounds of not being toilet trained.
Also staff will change them.

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