Our primary school has banned the toilet except at set times!

[dinny]

Madness, surely this can't be legal??? Tehy are only allowed in the morning, at break time, lunch time and then before they go home

this is in response to some boy escaping last week when he went to the loo

have never herad anything so bonkers!

dinny on Tue 23-Sep-08 15:44:25
"imagine if your workplace told you to have set loo breaks - they'd never be allowed, would they?"

Lots of work places do. Or do you imagine that brain surgeons, university lecturers, ambulance drivers, coach drivers, violinists can just nip out whenever they feel like it ("sorry everybody, there will be a slight delay, the second viola has just gone for a wee")? Even supermarkets tend to regulate these things- otherwise they would have to keep a lot more staff to keep tills open.

IME it is normal to regulate access to loos in junior schools, though not in infants, experience having taught that most 7/8yo can go for a couple of hours without the loo. At this age they can normally manage the cinema or a bus journey into town or whatever. Any child with special problems will be issued a toilet pass, as they clearly cannot discriminate against children with disabilities.

But tbh I would rather like the children to have been trained in the art of bladder control before they get to my university: it is ^incredibly" disruptive if 5 people get up, push their chairs back, squeeze past everybody to go out and then come back and repeat the whole procedure during the course of my lecture. And I cannot keep repeating information 5 times for such people because we'd never get through the work. If I have students with disabilities then obviously that is different and I would bend over backwards to accommodate them. (But you still couldn't have a brain surgeon popping out for a wee while somebody's skull was left open and pulsating).

By secondary school the training should certainly have started but I don't think mid-primary (say Yr 3) is outrageous.

Absolutely outrageous. Whenever HEers like me say "well, one of the disadvantages of many schools is that children can't just go to the toilet when they want to, they have to ask permission and it might be denied", people say "nonsense. that doesn't happen". But it does, doesn't it?

If an adult takes a job which constrains their freedom to pee whenever they like, then that's a decision they've made for themselves. But if a child has no choice about whether to be in school or not, and they are being expected to control their bladder and bowels according to someone else's agenda and someone else's timetable... well, I think that's pretty outrageous on both health and basic respect grounds, tbh.

oh come on - there are 30 kids in the class, it's just not manageable to have kids going off for a pee as and when they want to throughout the day
( notice I didn't say NEED to - that's a different story.)
really don't think its worth getting so riled up about so am going to parp here

Is it the same for children with medical problems or do they have toilet passes because this is fair for "normal" children but not so for those with medical probs. when they get to a certain age , all thing well with bladder and bowel, they are old enough to control themselves

Unless you can provide any evidence on the contrary Cory, the examples you are naming are all professions were you can have a break for toilets whenever you want to.
University lecturers hardly teach more than 2 hours without a break a few times a week. Brain surgeons are not at an operation table without moving for 6/7 hours a day as children are. The same about drivers and violinist. There are (very hard) professions were you cannot take a break whenever you need to go to the toilet. Most people are unable to go to toilets in exceptional circumstances (a concert for a violinist) but we are speaking about children, subject to this stupid rules 6 hours a day every day.
My bet is most children don't go to the toilet constantly. This is probably a vedry particular problem with a few kids involved. Instead of addressing the small problem they create a general rule for everybody.
I am convinced this can be challenged successfully and I would.

I've told my DCs that if ever they need the loo and the teacher says no that they are to say "I'm sorry, but I have to go" and leave anyway. I will deal with it from there. They are good kids and won't take the mickey. They know they should go at break time but if the sudden urge takes them they need to go.

It's just cruel to deny a young child the toilet, if they wet themselves or worse, they will have to deal with the humiliation and teasing. There was a kid at my school and if anyone says his name 30 years later, it is followed in my mind by the phrase " ... Poos his pants". Kids don't forget!

Ours says Foundation: any time, KS1: not for 20 minutes after a break, KS2: in breaks except at teacher's discretion.

This seems pretty fair. In reality, teachers never stop kids going to the toilet if they clearly need to - and when dd was anxious about it (following a tummy bug), all it took was a quiet word and she had permission to go anytime that week.

But re the OP: I would have thought the issue of escaping when going to the loo should result in other security measures - not banning toilet trips!

Brain surgeons are not at an operation table without moving for 6/7 hours a day as children are.

Children do not sit for 6-7 hours without moving. How ridiculous! They have been told they may go to the toilet in the morning, break times and lunch times. So, for example, at:
9:00 when they come in
10:30 breaktime
12:00-1:00 lunchtime
possibly 2:00 afternoon playtime
3:10 hometime.

The longest gap above is 2 hours and 10 minutes between the end of lunchtime and hometime (if there is no afternoon playtime - which there usually is in infant school)

That's not barbaric. However, it does mean that children need to get into the mindset of making sure they go at the times they are allowed. DD is 4 and can hold on for 3 or 4 hours between wees.

This thread is five years old.

I should have framed that better. Brain surgeons are not subjected to the will and schedules of others regarding toilets as kids are. It is barbaric to ban toilet trips as a general rule.
If there are some kids who take the mickey, schools should show a bit more of imagination and intelligence to address the issue. This measure speaks tone about the school and how they handle issues. I would not trust a school to provide a proper education if they cannot deal with disruptive behaviour without punishing the whole student population and treating them like dogs on issues related to their own bodies.

oops....

This has been an issue for my DS; his teacher has decided that they cannot go in lesson time in the afternoons, consequently the last chance they have to go is 1pm because they don't get afternoon break in key stage 2.

I'd just noticed that!

Presumably the OP's is no longer at primary school!

It's LocaBillmore - for reasons perhaps best known to herself, she is ignoring the zombie warning and is busily upping ancient wee threads