Aims:

• To maximise access to learners’ toilet facilities during the day to promote the health, well-being and learning opportunities of all learners.

• To provide open access to well-maintained, clean, private and safe toilet facilities throughout the school day.

Rationale:

• The school recognises that well-maintained toilet facilities where learners feel comfortable and safe and have open access to throughout the school day, are essential for health, well-being, and learning.

• We value and respect our learners and want them to be able to benefit from good provision and practice.

Objectives:

• To ensure that this policy is both accepted and upheld by the whole-school community – school management, staff, learners, governors, parents/carers, site manager, cleaning and ancillary staff.

• To keep all toilets open and available to learners throughout the school day. While learners can use toilet facilities at break and lunchtimes if they need to, we ensure learners have access at all times. We recognise that toilet needs are highly individual and do not conform to regimental timetables. We recognise that some learners only feel comfortable going to the toilet when others are not around and will allow them to quietly sign in and out of class to use the toilet without adverse comment.

• To ensure that the toilet and washroom facilities are suitable for the range of anticipated users, including learners with disabilities and special needs, with adequate lighting, fixtures and fittings.

• To ensure that the toilet facilities provide visual and aural privacy for users, ensuring a spare supply of cubicle door locks.

• To ensure that all toilet areas have properly maintained supplies at all times of warm and cold water, liquid soap, hand drying facilities and toilet tissue in dispensers, provided at a convenient height.

• To ensure sanitary disposal units in all female cubicles (for girls aged eight and over) are serviced on a regular basis and to provide sanitary dispensers in female toilet blocks (where applicable).

• To implement and maintain an effective toilet cleaning, supervision and inspection regime to ensure proper standards of provision and cleanliness, throughout the school day.

• To locate drinking water supplies and outlets in safe and appropriate locations, and not in toilet areas.

• To supervise the toilets at break and lunchtimes, if learners perceive the need.

• To actively seek the views of the whole-school community in relation to any concerns about toilet provision and access issues (ensuring a child-friendly procedure for learners to report deficiencies or problems) and to respond seriously to these and deal promptly with any problems highlighted by the learners.

• To actively consult and involve the learners in managing the toilets, via our Happy Healthy Helpers and our Emotional and Mental Health Steering Committee.

• To encourage learners to respect the toilets and each other, via the Pupil Voice Groups, in PSE lessons, discussion times, Assemblies, etc.

• To regularly include toilet management issues in all appropriate school council, staff, parent/carer and governor meetings.

• To implement and maintain regular reviews of this policy to monitor that it is being adhered to and remains relevant.

School Toilet Charter:

Access to decent toilets whenever the need arises is a fundamental human right and necessary for good health and well-being.  Our Happy Healthy Helpers are currently devising a LPS School Toilet Charter based on the BOG Standard Campaign model charter.

At LPS we will ensure that there is:

1. Unrestricted access to a toilet, whenever or wherever the need arises.

2. Adequate numbers of facilities for both female and male users which ensure sufficient

3. privacy.

4. Dedicated unisex toilets, or female and male toilet cubicles, properly equipped, for users with special needs.

5. Properly designed toilet and washroom facilities, suitable for the range of anticipated users, with adequate lighting, ventilation, fixtures and fittings.

6. Hot water, ideally from a mixer tap, with adequate provision for liquid soap and hand drying facilities.

7. Toilet tissue dispensers provided at a convenient height, replenished as needed throughout normal hours of usage.

8. Sanitary towel disposal units in all female cubicles (where age appropriate in both primary and secondary schools), serviced on a regular basis.

9. An effective toilet supervision regime to ensure proper standards of provision and management throughout normal hours of usage.

10. An effective toilet cleaning/inspection regime to ensure adequate standards of hygiene, behaviour and cleanliness, throughout normal hours of usage.

11. A published school toilet management policy approved by school governors and learners, and communicated to all learners, parents/guardians and staff.

12. A child friendly comments/complaints procedure, for learners, parents/guardians and staff to communicate toilet concerns or grievances to the head teacher and/or school governors.

Additional Information and Guidance:

Education and Resources for Improving Childhood continence BOG Standard Campaign – Good toileting

Good toileting practice – for learners with continence problems:

1. This group of learners should be encouraged to make full use of breaks to visit the toilet.

2. They will need the opportunity to make scheduled (perhaps hourly) visits to the toilet.

3. It is important for many of these learners to sit down on the toilet and spend several minutes trying to make sure the bladder and bowels are completely empty.

4. They should have the opportunity to visit the toilet in privacy.

5. Many of these learners will have a very short warning of the need to go and may need to go frequently, even if they have just been. They should be allowed to leave the class to visit the toilet immediately, without fuss, and without having to wait for permission. Avoid causing embarrassment or making them ‘hang on’.

6. Consider where the learners sit in class in relation to the door and when regrouping learners for different activities.

7. In order to develop their bladder capacity and to help avoid constipation and soiling problems, it is important they drink water regularly throughout the school day.

Good toileting practice – for learners without continence problems

1. Most learners should be encouraged to only go to the toilet when they feel the need to go.

2. They should not be taught to go ‘just in case’.

3. They should not be subject to prolonged delays before going.

4. They should be able to go to the toilet without adverse comment or restriction.

5. They should have open access to toilets when the need arises.

6. They should have the opportunity to visit the toilet in privacy.

7. They should be encouraged to drink water regularly throughout the school day.

This policy will be reviewed when required and was first established:

March 2022