Petition is successful with 132 signatures
To: Mr Mark Thompson, Acting Head Teacher
Remove blanket ban on toilet breaks for children at Wroughton Academy
Head Teacher spoke to me and assured me that there is no blanket ban, possibly some “miscommunication” from teachers.
The blanket ban on children using the bathroom during class needs to be removed and each instance taken on an individual basis. Some children get nervous in unfamiliar or high stress environments and need to use the bathroom at more regular intervals than standard break times allow. This would not meet a medical exemption so no formal proof could be given. Adding additional pressure to an already nervous student is unconscionable and teachers should be able to make judgment calls on if a student is being disruptive or genuinely needs to relieve themselves.
Why is this important?
We, the parents of children attending Wroughton Academy, need to show solidarity for the immediate reconsideration / update of policy that should already be common sense. Having researched the subject, it appears that schools do, in fact, have the ability to introduce policy to prevent children using the bathroom during lessons. This doesn’t mean that they HAVE to, or that it NEEDS to be a blanket ban. I would challenge the teachers to have some empathy and put themselves in the children’s shoes. How would they feel if someone denied them access to the bathroom if they were caught short? We’ve all been there, at some point or another, and this is as adults who are very used to dealing with bodily functions. Unfortunately the body doesn’t always do precisely as we wish it would, so how can this be demanded of children. I thought that we were passed the dictatorship days of classrooms gone by, but apparently we are not.
Under no circumstances am I condoning the abuse, or misuse of this proposed change, but if a child is a “repeat offender” or it is suspected that they are just being disruptive, the matter can be brought up with the parents on an individual basis.
The recent change in how the children enter the school in the morning has been touted as a way to give the children more independence / agency over their actions. I propose that this independence/ agency is also extended to unplanned bathroom breaks.
