Denied toilet break

Grannypiper

No of course i would not make your dd wait, as i assume you would inform me of a medical condition.

Since when have teachers used mobiles during class

"...would never embarrass or make a child feel uncomfortable."

So making them say, "it really is urgent Miss" or "Can I please go Miss I'm bursting" isn't embarrassing or uncomfortable.

When I was younger I worked under a really draconian chief clerk who insisted on ruling virtually every aspect of our working lives but even she didn't demand that we only went to toilet at set times.

There are many circumstances where a child might have to hold on. Making them wait until break time unless it really is necessary is no different from telling them to wait when your in a car on the motorway.

Like i said earlier never had any accidents or complaints, if they really need to go they just quietly tell me by coming to my desk or i go to them they do not have broadcast it around the room.

That is totally illogical vicwarren

In schools there are toilets close to classrooms. On the motorway you have no option.

Duh!

yes that they can use in the morning/break time/lunchtime and before going home, not during lessons.

That's not how it works. Of course they can use it when the need arises.

Have you ever worked in a primary classroom? I hope not.

Yes i teach year 5, I do not let them go during class unless it is absolutely necessary, they go during break just like I do.

Do you teach them to punctuate too?

And are you sure you ought to be posting on GN 'during lessons' (11.23am or are you in a different time zone?) vic - shouldn't you '.hold on' until 'break times/lunchtime and before going home'?

Not at work this week Anya. The best part about not being at work is going for a wee when I want.

Funny, my GC are all at school this week.

????

Never mind your current employment status, vicwarren, I'm waiting to hear your answer to Anya's question about whether you teach your pupils correct punctuation...

We have had a death in the family Anya. My school is open still

Answer came there none...

And you've got time off???? You must have the most sympathetic HT in the universe. Most of the schools I've taught in reluctantly gave funeral time for most relatives and for spouses perhaps a week, parents/siblings you might get a couple of days. if you wanted longer you needed to go off sick and produce the relevant paper work.

It's subjective. I was refused a day off to get the church hall ready for my aunt's funeral and greet mourners some of whom had come from a distance. I was allowed to leave school at lunchtime with just time to get to the service, I was one of the last to arrive. I was my aunt's closest relative.

A staff member and his partner also on the staff were both given a whole day off for his father's funeral. Possibly two days, it was a while ago but still rankles.

A subsequent head closed the school for a day for everyone to attend her ex husband's funeral. I'd never met him and, being part time, was working elsewhere that day. A friend told me 'Your absence was noticed'.

Can I just say that today 10 minutes before lunch a boy asked if he could visit the toilet and thinking back to the posts on this thread I said yes and to be quick. A colleague brought him back to class as he was running down the corridor with another child who had been let out from another class, so much for giving him the benefit of the doubt. I decided that i would return to my old policy of no toilet during class

A girl asked if she could nip to the loo as she came in from lunch, I explained that she should have gone at lunch and the answer was no. She did ask again later on and said she was really desperate,but i stuck to my guns and said no, she hung on until the end of the day

Sorry if people disagree with my views on the subject, but not letting them out of class is what seems to work for me

Precisely, works for you - what about the children?

I'm all for discipline and minimizing class disruption but you seem to relish being an awkward arse towards your charges.

So glad you didn't teach my children/grandchildren.

And you find 'managed to hang on' a perfectly reasonable statement. I'd be knocking on the door of yourself, the HT and the LEA if you treated mine like that.
That's not from a doting mum or GP but from a retired teacher of many years who didn't have a disrupted classroom despite allowing occasional loo breaks!

mcem

"occasional loo breaks" So you did say no sometimes.

Like I say when the boy was allowed to go he was found misbehaving.

Me too mcem - always allowed toilet breaks and the children never abused that.

Methinks this is a very ill-disciplined school yet with enough staff to be wandering the corridors to sweep up unruly pupils!

How odd too that this alleged incident happened today so that our 'Y5 teacher ' (newly returned from a weeks bereavement leave) could use it to justify her actions.

How very opportune

Oh! I thought *Vic was a man - seems like one to me...(apologies if I've got that wrong)

...... as he was running down the corridor with another child who had been let out from another class

So they synchronized their loo breaks in order to run down the corridor?

Sounds like fun

No way do the teachers in my school use mobile phones during lesson times. Some very harsh comments about teachers on here!
Most teachers I know try to discourage children leaving the classroom as it interrupts lessons, but will usually know when a child really needs to visit the toilet. We quickly get to know our classes and it is not set in stone that there are no toilet breaks.However, if a child asks 5 minutes into the lesson we will remind them to make sure they go at break in future. Once one child goes to the loo it seems to become contagious and there can be constant requests with a steady stream of children in and out.