What are the rules on trips to the toilet?

[tibywibs]

Hi All,
Ds Y2 asked computer teacher who he sees twice a week if he could go to the toilet in her lesson. She said no as it had just been play time and he should have gone then. (totally agree).
However the lesson is an hour long and he asked to go a second time and she still said no. After computers there is another fifteen minutes til home time and luckily we live opposite school as i dont think he could have held it much longer!!
While i definately agree that he should have used his play time to visit the toilet i do think that if a child asks a second time then they should be allowed to go!
Just wondered if there were any rules regarding this as we are only two weeks into term so imo he's hardly had chance to be a toilet pain!!

If it was clear he was desperate (he asked twice fgs) he should have been allowed to go

Tough one. Generally speaking I would probably have said yes the second time as the last thing you want is for the child to have an accident. I don't think there's any rule just common sense. however I did tell a class today that after being asked by 6 children if they could go to loo that I expected everyone to go before the lesson next week and I would only let those who really needed to go to the loo in class time. generally only the really desperate ask again!

Should have been allowed.

I'm a year 2 teacher, and mine are told that the rule is they go at playtime.

It's very flexible though - has to be! I remind them a lot to go when they come in from playtime, and remind them before they go out to play.

The only time they get told "no" is during focus time (when I'm actually teaching) even so if they are obviously desperate I'd rather they miss two minutes than wet themselves! If they remember to ask again after the focus, they can go.

Well thats what i thought! I did say that I agree with teacher that he should have gone at break time but i do think he should have been allowed to go after asking again! I dont know whether to have a word with his usual class teacher or not! While i hope he remembers to go before class, i want to know that he wont have to wait an hour and a quarter to have a wee!

Schools make their own rules. There aren't any "standard" guidelines afaik. In ours the children are expected to use the toilet at break and lunchtime, and in the juniors there is short shrift for anyone asking within half an hour of break or lunch. We might ask them to hang on five minutes to listen to a particularly important part of the lesson or instruction, but otherwise they go as needed. In the infants they go when they ask because we don't want wet floors and in yr2 they're expected to go at break (and are reminded to, before they leave the lesson just before break) and the 'curfew' is more like five fifteen minutes.
If a child asks twice they should definitely be allowed to go. An hour??!!! Ffs this is worthy of a discussion with the class teacher or head IMHO.

Oh yes, only one at a time! Two is far too risky!! :)

When I was at school I remember being about to move up to year three and being horrified to learn that you had to ask to go to the toilet and that the teacher might say no!

I was actually really anxious about it

Hi,
I am a paediatrician and this is a constant bugbear of mine. It is not unusual for me to write a letter to a school on this topic relating to patients. It is not at all uncommon that children are penalised in some way if they need to go to the toilet during class time.

Whilst I totally sympathise with the view that children should go to the toilet during break times I also believe they should NEVER be prevented or penalised for asking to go when they need to in class time, particularly in primary age groups. I appreciate a minority of children might take advantage however this would need to be tackled in other ways.

We teach children that they should NEVER hold on when they need to go and go straight away to the toilet when they need to. The reason for this is that "holding on" promotes health problems particularly urinary infections, constipation and wetting or soiling accidents. It is totally counterproductive if schools penalise children.

Some schools are moving forward in this regard now in the sane way that it is now common place for children to have free access to drinking water in class time.

Thanks for all replies. I know that he is one of those children that hangs on until the last minute which is why we've discussed the importance as using break to go to the toilet before now. He often runs straight to the loo when we get home but he's never said that he has not been allowed to go. I may ask the teacher if he is making a habit of it and go from there.

At the moment my rule for the toilet is they don't go unaccompanied

an adult ... since my boys flooded the toilet block

Sorry Abby but I don't agree with the children having unfettered access to water bottles during lesson time.

Way too much time is taken up fiddling about with bottles, or knocking them over and mopping up the inevitable flood. My children can drink when they come in from break, or with snack or lunch.

I simply cannot believe that a 7 year old cannot go 45 minutes without a drink of water.

My boys have managed to block the drains in the toilets, not sure how, the plumber was arriving as I was leaving! It's usually pencils or whole rolls of toilet paper

And they're Year 5/6!

Do you have a TA mrz?

I wouldn't be able to accompany mine, and there's no-one else in the classroom to do it.

I appreciate it may be teachers rather than schools but perhaps there is an educational issue to address more widely since it is such a common problem. The message is going to the toilet is about more than just preventing accidents it's the risk of significant health problems as a consequence such as urine infections and constipation. Healthy toiling habits are essential to preventing these conditions.
I have had children coming to clinic that have been told they will lose their "golden time" etc

I would point out that I also tell the children and parents that they MUST go to the toilet before school and at breaktimes whether they think they need it or not. Perhaps the school nursing service has a role in terms of promoting healthy toiling behaviour in schools??

Our school covers this is the staff handbook and no child is to be refused permission to use the toilet. Obviously they will encourage the older ones to go at breaks instead though.

However, my yr 1 child came home with school issue pants and socks on last week because she wet herself as she wasn't able to go during the lesson. After no accidents through all of yr R. But she does tend to wait until the last minute. If it happens again I will probably be having a word.

Abby I can't remember the last time I saw a school nurse, even a peripatetic one....

No cakebump but I have a student at the minute so hopefully they will learn the error of their ways before her placement ends.