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!!

There's a campaign about best practice for access to the toilet at school.

www.bog-standard.org/index.aspx

It basically boils down to the fact that pupils should be able to go when they need to, and not be made to go when they don't.

Thanks ruby, very interesting!

"I may ask a child if they could wait until I had finished my teaching input, but if they said no, or were dancing on the spot, I would let them go!"

As above here, esp by Y2. Once teaching input bit done they can go, but only 2 at a time at most.
But we do encourage them to go before the lessons at play time, not in class time. It is pain in our room as they have to go outside, across playground and into the main building - not far, but takes more than a minute or two.

No they are a rare species within schools these days :-( there is still a service however. Perhaps a pre-emptive strike on the next potential candidates for their enuresis clinics!
Free access to water goes hand in hand with good toilet habits I'm afraid. Most school children drink far,far too little unfortunately and this is partly addressed by the free access to water policies. Poor fluid intake is a significant culprit in terms of constipation, urine infections and sometimes recurrent headache amongst children.
I imagine it can get messy but if they can do it in year R (as they do in DS1 school) then it should theoretically get better as fine motor skills etc improve.
I'm sorry to harp on but it is VERY frustrating hearing the same themes recurrently in clinic. Constipation and recurrent infections, soiling and wetting are almost always due to habits and lifestyle rather than any medical problem and by the time they see me there is often a lot of hard work to be done getting things right again...

We have to let 2 go at a time due to them being out in the playground without a teacher. But I always try to send a boy/girl pairing where possible. Sadly it does mean that a second child has to miss class time as well, we have to hope another child actually wants to go!

I don't allow within the first 10 minutes after coming in from breaks, but normally because I'm doing input and if they wander off then they have no idea what the lesson is about.

There are also a few kids who ask as soon as the maths etc gets difficult. I normally make them answer one more question, then let them go. Everyone need a mental break sometimes. I know my own attention span is about 5 minutes, so I sympathise with them!

There are an awful lot of unrealistic opinions on this thread.

Anyone who works with children knows that many will want to go to the toilet when they don't want to do what they are meant to be doing. One child going leads to an epidemic.

Primary children have many breaks where they can go to the toilet. That's the appropriate time. They need to learn and appreciate that. For a child who doesn't have a known medical problem, there is no harm in making them wait in lesson time - for a certain amount of time after a break. One or two incidences is not going to lead to long term medical problems, but it will teach them a lesson.

The same children asking to go to the toilet in lessons, will have no problem going on a long trip. They will even manage a couple of hours on the Wii before needing wanting a wee.

If a school does allow children to go to the toilet in lessons, a wise policy is for one child out of the class at any one time. This tops loitering and mischief in the toilets, and miraculously makes the subsequent requesters forget about their bladders.

I don't allow within the first 10 minutes after coming in from breaks, but normally because I'm doing input and if they wander off then they have no idea what the lesson is about.

There are also a few kids who ask as soon as the maths etc gets difficult. I normally make them answer one more question, then let them go. Everyone need a mental break sometimes. I know my own attention span is about 5 minutes, so I sympathise with them!

Should be allowed the first time. Some children might not feel able to try asking a second time if they got a "no" the first time.

Blimey, you have a lot of children with weak bladders at your schools if you 'only let them go 2 at a time', or such like! At the beginning of the term, I generally get about 2 requests a day, and would let them go, with a reminder to go at break. From about two weeks in, no-one asks to go at all - just reached that stage this week.

Maybe the fact that the toilets stink has something to so with their exceptional bladder control?

I am very lucky in that at the dcs' school there aren't restrictions on loo breaks. Ds has had continence problems which all the staff know about and doesn't even have to ask when he needs the loo.

quip where's the safe guarding there? If your ds is free to wander out of class whenever he needs to, what happens if the fire bell goes off?

I make all children ask, simply so I know where they are. I even have a board by my door so children can move their own name when they go to the toilet.

Hi every body.I'm new in this web, bt jst bcause i dnt have no choise. My son never wee the bed sens 6 months old.but nw hes have change midle school nd techers not leting him go to toilet. now hes coming home in pain hes cant even ride the bike to home with hes painful bladder. sens wn school start he hase wee the bed 3 times.I went to GP nd GP said hes have sensetive bladder its normal its mother nature hes said that hes should be able go to toilet wn he need.but techer always refusing.i spok to head techer but hes said that kids should go on brake time nd treining them bladder, but wt if they dont wont in that time.Im not agry with that my son is not a dog !!!! no 1 child is not a dog that u can treining them.on brake time kids thinking only abt play after leson bt not about toilets off cours if he wont's he go.back to leson kids setals down then head start realising wt he need.nd today my son been told off by school head techer nd hes said to my son hes going to be off the board if i come again to school nd complain abt toilets.plz may sm1 cn help me wt to do r where to complain coz my sons healt is more inportant then that school r head techer. thnx

Unless he has a medical condition then I agree he should not be allowed to go. However if he was literally about to pee himself they should have let him go but set a timer and however long he was gone he has to make up next playtime/lunchtime.

Why are you upping a load of ancient wee threads, LocaBillmore?