School pupils’ right to leave the classroom for lavatory purposes has been a spiralling issue for years. Although schools have a right to minimise classroom disruption within school hours, does the banning of toilets during lesson time breach the rights of students and is it morally correct for educated individuals to install arguably dehumanising behaviour onto future generations? 

Bathroom policies in British schools vary, with some academies allowing access to toilets during set break and lunch times, while others issue bathroom passes or leave it to the individual teacher’s discretion. However, regardless of the conditions, the majority of schools in the UK partake in these policies as a form of preventing disruption and avoidance on school grounds, which is seen to be affecting students’ own education as well as the learning of their fellow pupils. 

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

The Education and Inspections Act 2006 states schools are permitted to install regulations to minimise disturbances through policies aimed at promoting good behaviour, self-discipline and respect. Additionally, government guidance issued for schools in September 2011 has also allowed school staff to use reasonable force in some situations. However, this must stay in-line with the human rights of school children. Regardless, many are questioning the morality of these rulings as many health-related problems can emerge for the deterrence of students’ accessibility to toilets on a ‘first needs’ basis rather than during set times. This includes: 

  • Digestive issues 
  • Urinary tract problems 
  • Kidney infections 

Furthermore, having set times for lavatorial access can cause an ‘I’ll go just in case’ practise, which means the bladder doesn’t accustom itself to waiting until it’s full. Over time, this leads to a reduction in the bladder’s capacity, which in turn increases a child’s need to visit the toilet more frequently. 

Additionally, the limited accessibility in schools means many children reduce their fluid intake to avoid the need to relieve themselves during lesson time, resulting in cases of dehydration, which have shown to reduce students’ stamina and also lead to kidney-related issues, when these practises become ongoing. 

Many schools allow ‘toilet passes’ for students with continence issues, who can provide medical evidence, however there is some evidence that older students with bladder related problems are reluctant to notify their teachers of their need for more frequent toilet visits, in-line with a fear of bullying, embarrassment and anxiety. Furthermore, bathroom policies in schools can be argued to be forms of ‘dehumanising behaviour’ leading to possibilities of increased anxiety in students, which can continue into adulthood and affect a child’s sense of self-worth alongside other aspects of their future life. 

Though the question remains: ‘Are these policies breaching a child’s human rights?’ Traditionally, the human rights of every person under the age of 18 are protected by the ‘UN convention on the Rights of Children’. These articles protect the rights of a child and ensure they are treated in the fairest way possible.  

Under these regulations, stated in Article 3, a child’s best interest must be a primary consideration in all decisions, whether undertaken through private or public social welfare institutions, and organisations responsible with childcare must abide by safety and health related standards, ensuring they act with as much care as is necessary for the child’s wellbeing.  

In addition, under Article 28, it is stated that all forms of discipline in schools must be administrated appropriately and in a manner ‘consistent with the child’s human dignity’. 

Correspondingly, refusing toilet access in school hours or only allowing set times to visit the bathroom cannot be argued to be in a child’s best interests and long-term anxieties and bladder-related damage from struggling to conform to academies’ absurd policies, clearly violate a child’s right to mental and physical welfare. 

The risk of ‘accidents or menstrual ‘leaking’ is in no way, shape or form, consistent with the maintenance of a child’s dignity and is therefore an inacceptable policy to be practised in local schools. 

Although schools are undeniably entitled to take the legal steps to manage classroom disruption, existing bathroom policies are in severe danger of jeopardising a child’s human rights and either must be critically rectified or completely abolished from the education system.