Schools tell parents 'if your child wears nappies you'll have to come in and change them'
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A council has sparked outrage by telling parents they must come in and change their children if they soil themselves at school. The controversial new policy will be implemented across Blaenau Gwent schools in Wales next term for reception and nursery pupils. Letters have been sent to parents explaining that the time teachers spend changing children who aren't potty trained is cutting into valuable teaching and learning time.
The association of school leaders in Wales has noted an increase in children starting school without being potty trained. However, the policy has been slammed as "discriminatory" and "unfair" by a concerned parent, who pointed out that many youngsters are not fully potty trained when they start school, despite parents' best efforts.
The dad, whose three-year-old son is due to start nursery in Blaenau Gwent this January, is now rethinking his decision to send him to school, reports Wales Online. He argues that it's impractical for parents to leave work to clean and change their kids and that the school's routine would be interrupted by numerous parents arriving to do so.
He also raised concerns about the health and safety risks of leaving a child in soiled clothing until a parent can attend, mentioning that his own son is still prone to accidents despite being in the process of potty training. The father expressed his concerns, saying: "It is obviously a parent's responsibility to potty train but my view, if you look at the literature, is that children hit their milestones at different ages... we are still undecided whether to send our son to school nursery next term now.".
