One parent’s story of campaigning for better school toilets

The Right to Go campaign, which ERIC launched at the start of 2014, seeks to highlight every child’s right to good care for a continence problem at school and their right to access safe and hygienic toilet facilities. The campaign developed from the success and learnings of ERIC’s Bog Standard campaign, which sought legal standards for school toilets.

In addition to continuing to push for school toilets to be protected by legislation, the Right to Go campaign also calls for all school toilets to be safe, hygienic and well-maintained and for schools to have appropriate policies and procedures in place to support children with continence problems.

Until legal standards are in place, it is the job of individual schools to improve their toilet facilities. Not all schools will do this, however, without an added incentive, which can come in the form of pressure from parents and children. Nicola Maybury is one such parent who has successfully pressed her children’s school to improve its toilet facilities. This is the story of how she used the information provided about how good school toilets can improve children’s health and overall wellbeing on ERIC’s website to campaign for better facilities.

Nicola Maybury with her son Sam

Nicola’s story

The toilets at Nicola’s son’s school were in a bad state and she was keen to get the school to improve them. Nicola knew other parents that felt the same way about the toilets and she knew that children had also complained about the facilities.

Eager to find out whether minimum standards for school toilets existed, Nicola searched online and stumbled across ERIC’s website where she discovered lots of information about how good toilets can improve children’s wellbeing and have a positive knock-on effect on their performance at school.

Hard to ignore evidence

Curious to know more, Nicola got in touch with ERIC to find out what she could do to improve the situation at her son’s school. Using evidence from ERIC’s website about the benefits of good toilet facilities, Nicola put together a comprehensive document outlining how the school and the children’s experience there would be greatly improved if the toilets were of a better standard.

She submitted this document to the head teacher and the school governors, who were soon won over by Nicola’s convincing arguments backed up by facts.

On becoming a school governor in early 2014 and joining the wellbeing committee, Nicola discovered that school toilets had been an ongoing issue for a couple of years, but due to some resistance, the issue had not been resolved.

Toilet survey

The sinks in the boys’ toilets where the taps didn’t work properly

Nicola teamed up with another governor to do a thorough survey of the school toilets. The survey provided concrete evidence of the scale of the problem by highlighting that some areas of the toilets were more in need of attention than others. This showed that it was a much less daunting problem to fix than originally envisioned. From the results of this survey, the head teacher was able to seek quotes for the different bits of work that needed to be carried out.

Campaign success

Nicola’s campaigning to improve the toilets has been successful – they are due to be refurbished during the October half-term. On completion, Nicola wants to publically recognise the school’s achievement by entering the toilets for the ERIC School Toilet Award.

If you feel the same way as Nicola did about the toilets at your child’s school, try using her tips to campaign for better school toilets (see below). Don’t hesitate to get in touch with ERIC if you need any help or if you just want to let us know how your campaign is going. Then once the toilets are fixed, enter the school for a School Toilet Award.

Nicola’s tips for campaigning for better school toilets:

• Raise the issue with the school’s parent council, if there is one. It can then be escalated to the head teacher.
• Contact governors by emailing the school or handing in a letter to the school office. Governors on the wellbeing committee are the best people to approach with your concerns.
• Show the school evidence that good toilets can greatly improve children’s wellbeing and school performance by using ERIC’s information about the benefits of good toilet facilities.
• Work with other parents to put the issue on the school’s agenda. Various people pushing from different directions will really put the pressure on.
• Set up a Facebook group as a forum for parents to raise concerns, brainstorm ideas and give feedback.
• Don’t worry about space or lack of it – school toilets can be improved in the space they currently occupy if a complete overhaul isn’t possible. Work with the space you’ve got.
• Be persistent!

CCTV in Toilets! Privacy issue or peace of mind?

It was recently announced that more than 200 schools are using CCTV cameras in toilets or changing rooms and this news will no doubt come as a shock to many parents.

The research indicated that The Radclyffe School in Oldham topped the list of schools with 20 cameras in toilets or changing rooms.  Its head teacher, Hardial Hayer, said its cameras are above doors entering toilets, and only overlook washbasins.  He said the cameras had been placed so it was possible to tell who was going in, but added they are not near cubicles.

Understandably, this research does raise serious questions about the importance of privacy of school children across Britain and indeed clarity about purpose of use, data protection and excessive surveillance does need to addressed.  But is CCTV in toilets and changing rooms an infringement of privacy or does it provide peace of mind for parents and children that their school’s toilets are safe and monitored?

Susan Lewis, Chief Inspector for Wales recently commented; “You can tell a school by its toilets: they say an awful lot about a school and tell you about the value the school places on its environment.”

Indeed, schools need to ensure children can use school toilets when they need to which is why it is important for them to consider the total toilet environment.  Simply keeping facilities clean and in good condition is not enough.   All aspects of privacy and toilet-use should be considered to ensure a healthy and pleasant environment is provided for pupils and this should go beyond ensuring access to adequate provisions like toilet paper, soap and hand towels – unfortunately we know that not all schools even do this.

We know that a quarter of pupils avoid their school toilets – some even avoid drinking throughout the day to prevent them from using the school toilets at all.  Added to this is the problem of many toilet blocks being located in isolated areas of the school grounds leaving children feeling vulnerable and many are unsupervised which increases instances of bullying or vandalism.

I think perhaps then CCTV cameras are best used when other options to keep toilets safe and free from vandalism have failed.  Their aim is to make toilets a safer environment for pupils and to prevent anti-social behaviour such as smoking, vandalism and graffiti. They can allow schools to keep toilets open at times when they would previously have been locked and that is good news for school children.

Certainly, the use of CCTV cameras in school toilets remains a contentious issue and will undoubtedly continue to be widely debated amongst teaching staff, parents and pupils in the future.  What is your opinion?

To read further about raising the standards of school toilets visit  www.bog-standard.org

 

Tracy

 

 

Back to school

It’s the first day of school today for many UK children. Usually around this time of year we get lots of calls to our Helpline from parents worried about children having wetting or soiling accidents in class.

Our Helpline team have put together some top tips for parents and here are some of the best bits. You can read the full article over at Yahoo Lifestyle and there loads of information on the ERIC website too.

Our Helpline team are also going to be live on Facebook on Tuesday 11th September answering any questions or concerns about wetting or soiling problems at school. Just post your question on our page or if you want to keep it private send us a direct message or use live chat.

Accidents at the start of term – what parents can do 

It’s usually expected that children will have developed good toileting skills by the time they start school, but increasingly teachers are reporting that this isn’t the case. And for parents whose children are not yet fully clean or dry, the prospect of starting school can be fraught with anxiety about how their child will cope.

Even if your child has been successfully toilet trained it would be unusual if there weren’t a few accidents in the first weeks of school.  There’s so much to learn and so many new activities that it’s inevitable young children will become engrossed in what they are doing and get caught short.  For many children having to disturb the teacher to ask to go to the toilet in front of everyone can be daunting.  Others may be reluctant to use the school toilets if they are dark, noisy or smelly or even if they are used by older children.

If you anticipate that your child will have problems always let the school know so they can be aware and put measures in place to help your child.  Many schools have supportive systems in place and will prompt a child during the day or allow access to the toilet without needing to ask for permission. Most schools have a school nurse available who can help families resolve on-going wetting or soiling problems and she can be an important link between the family and the school.  It’s important to seek help from your GP, school nurse or health visitor as soon as you begin to have concerns about your child wetting or soiling.

Wetting in the day

The extent of wetting accidents can vary from a large puddle on the floor to damp patches on pants. When very young, the most common cause of wetting in the day is becoming engrossed in play or activities and ignoring the signal of a full bladder.  But there are several reasons why a child may wet at school.  Causes of daytime wetting include:

•    An overactive bladder. This is a condition in which the bladder muscle contracts suddenly, before the bladder is full, causing a strong need to wee with little or no warning.
•    A urinary tract infection (UTI)
•    Constipation

If a child wets for one of these reasons they will have little ability to control the problem and if you have any concerns at all, always make an appointment with your GP to have the problem checked. The problems can almost always be managed or resolved.

Other reasons for wetting in the day include:

• Leaving it too late and not having enough time to reach the toilet
• Difficulty undoing or pulling clothes up and down without help
• Avoiding an unwelcoming or intimidating toilet environment (e.g. cold, smelly or with spiders!)
• Changes in routine, tiredness or a mild illness
• Being in too much of rush to completely empty the bladder
• Emotionally upset

Tips to help you manage if your child wets in the day 

• Encourage your child to drink six to eight cups of water based drinks spread out over the whole day. Drinking more may seem counter intuitive but over time this helps increase how much the bladder can hold
• Ensure your child wears clothes that are easy to undo or pull up and down
• Establish a regular, prompted toilet routine every two to three hours in the day
• Introduce a fun way of prompting toilet visits such as “123 do I need a wee?” or use a vibrating reminder watch
• Try to encourage your child to fully empty their bladder by weeing in a steady continuous stream.  At the end of the stream wait, change position and then try to do a bit more.  This will ensure the bladder is fully empty
• Put a changing bag with clean pants, wet wipes and disposal bags in your child’s school bag in case there is an accident – and explain to your child what you would like them to do and practice how to do it

Soiling

Soiling accidents are less common that wetting accidents but cause a lot more distress for families and schools.  For most children who soil they have very little, if any, control over it happening.  The problems can usually be managed but can take a little while.  If your child is soiling it is always recommended that you visit your GP immediately to have the problem checked.  Causes of soiling include:

• Constipation.  If your child’s pooing pattern changes and they poo less frequently than normal it is usually an indication of constipation.  Soiling happens when there is a build-up of hard poo in the bowel and either newer poo leaks out or pieces break away
• Sometimes children have a painful poo and try to avoid more pain by withholding poo

For both of these, medication, which can break up hardened poo and help soften poo so it is more comfortable to pass, is usually prescribed.

Other reasons for soiling include

• Dislike or fear of using unfamiliar toilets
• Poor diet or fluid intake
• Anxiety or emotional upset
• Mild illness
• A change of routine
• Not having a regular toilet routine
• The child doesn’t recognise the signals of the need to poo

Tips to help you manage if your child soils

• Ensure your child has a well-balanced diet and drinks six to eight cups of water based fluid every day
• Make the toilet a welcoming and fun place to be
• Put a daily toilet routine in place.  Ask your child to sit on the toilet for a few minutes, 15-20 minutes or so after meals, following some gentle exercise. A reward system can help encourage this
• When boys stand to wee they have to make special time each day to sit on the toilet.  If this routine isn’t in place it can lead to constipation
• Ensure your child’s feet are supported on a step and they sit on the toilet in a comfortable and secure position
• Use techniques such as blowing bubbles, a musical instrument or blowing raspberries on the back of the hand to help with pushing poo out or try a gentle rocking movement
• Use an appropriate prescribed laxatives as required
• Pack your child a changing bag as described above

Starting school is a big step for most children and toileting accidents are very common and totally normal.  If you have any concerns about your child’s toileting don’t delay seeking help from ERIC, your GP, school nurse or health visitor as problems that are dealt with early can usually be resolved more quickly.

Indian toilets get facelift

India is getting a bit of cosmetic surgery.  Well the southern part of it anyway.  A total of 47 schools in Kalamassery will be getting a revamp over the space of 5 years, including their toilets, benefiting an estimated 13,000 students.  The idea being to improve the infrastructure and learning standards that is expected of an educational setting.

This area of India isn’t renowned for its strong economy and it is down to the Minister of Public Works, V K Ebrahim Kunju, that it’s gotten the green light from the government.

Now let’s flick back to us here in the UK and our school toilets.  Or should I say our Government.  In an earlier blog post it was pointed out that they had decided against doing anything to improve the poor state of UK school toilets and proceeded in changing the legislation of our primary and secondary school buildings.  Not for the benefit of the humble toilet of course.

Maybe this is because they feel it’s necessary or a way of cutting costs or human resources.  Either way if a country that economically wise, is lower down the scale than us can refurbish toilets to a better standard why are we having to somewhat downgrade ours?

You can read the full story on the plans for schools in India at http://ibnlive.in.com/news/facelift-for-47-schools/283652-60-122.html

Crescent 

Hollywood star Michael Fassbender wet his pants in class

It really can happen to anyone.

Irish-German actor Michael Fassbender who starred in Prometheus, X-Men and Inglorious Basterds has recently revealed that his most embarrassing moment was wetting his pants in front of his class.

“My most embarrassing moment would be when I peed my pants,” Michael told German magazine Für Sie. “I was about seven years old: the teacher wouldn’t let me go to the toilet  –  we were only allowed to go in the big breaks. Afterwards she gave out tests and I had to go to the desk. I couldn’t hold it anymore. She was probably even more ashamed than me.”

Michael is 35 now and it just goes to show that embarrassing situations like wetting yourself in front of your friends can stay with you for life.

These embarrassing situations are mostly avoidable, if only more teachers had better systems in place, like the ‘good teacher’ told us on Monday.

We’ve written to Michael Fassbender to ask him to support the Bog Standard Campaign. I hope he writes back…

Anyone know him that could ask him for us?!

Natasha 

Good teacher

I love getting positive comments on the Bog Standard you tell us pages but sadly they are few and far between. Most are stories of pupils having accidents in class because they weren’t allowed to go to the toilet or horror stories of pupils faced with loos without cubicle doors or locks, no cleaning, no soap, no toilet roll, no warm water… Anyway, I’m getting off subject – this is a positive post!

Today I received a comment from a very sensible teacher – I just wish more were like him. He posted on the access to toilets section and said;

“Allowing children to use school toilets is an education for both teacher and pupil alike.
Teachers must understand the needs of their learners. The route to effective classroom and behaviour management does not lie in the inflexible, unbending refusal to let students use the bathroom. A bad teacher can make students have accidents; a good teacher will not require displays of power to maintain a safe and effective learning environment. 

On the other hand, particularly in secondary school, students must learn to budget free time and remain aware of the effects of leaving a lesson. If pupils are engaged and hooked on what they are doing, often they will forget about the toilet. We are all human; mistakes can be made. Pupils forget about going to the toilet at break time as teachers forget to mark books or return projects.

Any system must be flexible yet clear in its consequences. The student who requests repeat toilet visits compared with the student who apologises and asks to leave before the others arrive are quite different, and require different responses. A flexible system will also allow those with anxiety/medical problems to visit the toilet discreetly and not stick out as the ‘only one who gets to go’.”

I’ve said before that teachers allowing access to toilets during lessons is something that causes a lot of intense debate. But the approach above seems very sensible and fair to me.  I’ve never really understood it when people argue that if you allow access it’s going to be toilet anarchy and all the pupils will be getting up and going every 5 minutes. Surely any good teacher can control a class and identify the genuine requests without fuss and disruption. And if a clear and fair system has always been in place, it’s not going to be something pupils will take advantage of – we need to give trust and respect in order to get it back.

Let me know what you think…

Natasha 

Guardian coverage

Guardian coverage

The Bog Standard story about changes to the School Premises Reg’s is in today’s Guardian (page 30) and online too (click the link above) . There are some interesting comments on there – all in our favour. Have a look and comment too if you can – we’ll make sure the government receive the comments!

Natasha 

No Bog Standard

Bad news unfortunately.

You may remember that our Bog Standard campaign has been lobbying for better regulations for pupils’ toilets in schools.  Sadly the government hasn’t listened to us and last week published changes to the School Premises Regulations that will actually make things worse for children’s school toilets!

There are NO laws that state school toilets must be cleaned regularly, must have toilet paper, soap, doors that lock or must be maintained – and as a result thousands of children across the UK are faced with disgusting school toilets, with no locks, no loo roll and no soap.

Would you put up with this in your workplace?

Toilets that teachers use are protected by laws that include minimum standards like regular cleaning and ensuring enough supplies of toilet paper and soap.

It seems crazy to me that there is nothing similar for pupils and that the government won’t do anything about it.

You might think it’s common sense that schools ensure there is toilet paper and soap available for pupils and that their toilets are clean and pleasant to use – and I agree it is common sense. But that doesn’t mean schools are doing it and I know from the emails I get and the comments on the Bog Standard website that thousands of children and young people are facing disgusting school toilets every day.

The toilets are probably the most rooms in a school – so why are they such a low priority?

Within the new School Premises Regulations, it stipulates that “suitable toilet and washing facilities must be provided for the sole use of pupils”

But what does “suitable toilet and washing facilities” mean? According to the pupils, parents and health professionals we hear from every day, it certainly isn’t the state of school toilets at the moment.  Without clear minimum standards, this new legislation will do nothing to improve things – it is so vague it is unenforceable. Parents and pupils will not have meaningful protection or be able to holds schools to account and schools will lack clear guidance on what to provide.

Because they are unpleasant to use, children avoid the toilets at school. This can cause or make existing continence problems worse and can lead to other health problems too. Toilets really are important. But do you know what the toilets are like in your child’s school?

Despite this set back, we will continue with the Bog Standard campaign and we will improve toilets for pupils in schools. If you have any suggestions or would like to support us by providing a case study please get in touch.

Natasha 

The Regulations can be read in full here. 

The toilets in my school…

Today’s post comes from Polly who spent a week doing work experience with ERIC. 

My name is Polly, I am 15 years old and I live in Bristol. My school is relatively new so most of the toilets are still in quite a good condition. However, most toilets do have writing all up the walls which can make quite a good read but obviously are not nice if they’re written directly about somebody else. Often, these are not removed after being there for weeks on end, which makes me think, how regularly are these toilets checked?

In addition, ever since I can remember there has been a broken lock in one cubicle. The metal has been slightly bent so the lock will not fit but it could easily be fixed or even replaced!

This block of toilets is in the middle of one of the busier corridors and, especially in between lessons does get rather packed. Also, it is always embarrassing when you go into a cubicle, go to the toilet and then have the shock of there being no toilet roll left!

Then, you either have to be brave and ask someone else in the toilets or just go without which is both unhygienic and uncomfortable. However, it is not just filling up the toilet rolls that sometimes get abandoned. In some toilets, the sanitary bins are hardly ever emptied which is disgusting for everyone.

What makes it worse is that these toilets are not labelled clearly as girls so the year seven boys, who have not been at school long enough to know those are PURELY GIRLS toilets, come out looking rather pale.

I think it’s sad that toilets are overlooked by schools and by the government because they are a place that everyone needs to go at least once a day! I still can’t believe that there are laws to protect teachers ensuring their toilets meet certain standards but NOTHING for pupils at school.

I will be taking some of ERIC’s Bog Standard information to my school council and I have signed the online petition to ask the government to improve school toilets for pupils

https://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/bogstandard

Access to toilets at school…

Today I received this email from a 13 year old girl who wet herself in class because she wasn’t allowed to go during a lesson. Before I joined ERIC, I would have been surprised if someone told me that every week, children at secondary schools would be wetting themselves because they aren’t allowed to go to the toilet when they need to.  But unfortunately, I receive emails like this all the time.

“This week I was desperate for the loo and the teacher said I could go when I finished the worksheet I was doing… As I was handing it in I felt floods of pee go down my leg as I could hold it no longer. The whole class burst into laughter causing me to burst into tears. The teacher quietened the class down and gave the whole class a detention, with the exception of one girl that comforted me. He told the girl to take me to the office to get cleaned up. She was really nice and we’re great friends now, everyone else is still teasing me though.”

Access to toilets during lesson time is an issue that causes a lot of disagreement and debate.  Children and young people spend half their waking hours at school so how much they drink and how often they go to the toilet is important for their health and wellbeing.

There are times when they might need to hold on, but repeated and prolonged delays can cause distress and health problems. And for some, any delay is impossible. Children and young people’s bladder and bowels are unlikely to conform to a school timetable, would any adults be able to either day in day out? Imagine being told you could only go to the toilet two or three times a day when at work, it would certainly make you think twice about that second cup of coffee (or third or forth!).

Despite a lack of education about healthy toileting habits, some teachers are very understanding of the needs of children and young people and the problems restricted toilet access can create. Unfortunately, others are unaware or unsympathetic to the physical and psychological health risks.

While every school has its own rules and policies for various reasons, it seems to me that the child should always come first and a good teacher would know the difference between a really desperate pupil and someone trying to get out of a lesson.

But I could go on about this for hours! There is loads more on the need to let pupils visit the toilet when they need to on the Bog Standard website.  http://www.bog-standard.org/adults_guidelines.aspx

Going to the toilet when you need to is essential for children with wetting or soiling problems and for those that don’t.  ERIC’s Bog Standard campaign aims to ensure that all pupils have good quality, clean and well maintained toilets and can use them when they need to. I think we still have a long way to go on these issues but we continue to educate schools about good practice and I know we will get there.

Do you know if children are allowed to go to the toilet when they need to at your child’s school? There are things you could do if they aren’t allowed, contact us for suggestions.

 Natasha