TOILET PROTOCOL

Background

In January 2023 the UK government rejected the following petition:

“Children should be allowed to go to the toilet at least once in a lesson unless they have a medical condition. They should however only have a limited amount of time to go so that it does not become anything affecting their education”.

It was not deemed something that the UK government or parliament was directly responsible for.  Instead, it found:

“Decisions on policies regarding when students can leave the classroom are a matter for individual schools and teachers, not the UK Government or House of Commons”.

Introduction

It is every student and staff members’ right to go to the toilet whenever they need to.  Goldington Academy is committed to ensuring that whenever a child needs to go to the toilet they will be able to do so quickly and without fuss.  At Goldington toilets will always be clean, safe, working and hygienic spaces that are reserved for widely accepted toilet practices only.

One of the reasons the school has felt the need to have a toilet protocol is that since we have made a change to being a secondary school, we have seen an unacceptable (albeit low) rise in graffiti, vandalism, bullying and aggression that has taken place within these spaces.  This is currently regarded as a key secondary school issue throughout the country.  Sadly, in the past, some young children have reported that they feel uncomfortable going into toilets whilst certain children are there.  This becomes a safeguarding issue and one the school treats very seriously.

Practical Information for all stakeholders

• Main toilets are open before school, after school and at break and lunch for all pupils.
   
• Main toilets will be open between lessons 1 and 2 and 4 and 5 for general use if needed.
   
• Drama Studio toilets for Year 7 and 8 students only, are open every break and lunch.
   
• PE toilets are always open throughout the day.

During lessons students will be allowed out automatically if:

1. They have a toilet pass.  Toilet passes are generally given for medical reasons and a doctor or other health professional’s letter is required.  The Head of Year and Student Services agree that a toilet pass is required after consultation with home and then one is issued.
    
2. They have a temporary toilet pass.  This is issued by Student Services and likely to last for a few days.  This may happen because of occasional parental request.
    
3. They ask to go to the toilet.  However, teachers will use their judgement.  This is in an attempt to avoid the small number of students who ask lots of times, in many lessons, to go to the toilets.  However, it should be stressed that teachers are encouraged to say yes to those requests.

Goldington welcomes feedback on our toilet protocol.

Francis Galbraith
(July 2025)