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A significant increase in the number of children who are toilet-trained before beginning school has been observed in a city where parents received potty training resources alongside their initial school placement offers. York served as the location for this city-wide pilot program, which also included workshops designed for parents and specialized training sessions for early years staff.
From April onwards, families in York whose children were about to start reception class received potty training guides to help ensure their children could use the toilet independently by the time school began. This initiative reached parents through various community touchpoints such as GP surgeries, pharmacies, family hubs, schools, and nurseries. The pilot’s results, shared exclusively with the BBC, showed a notable 43% reduction in the number of children not fully toilet-trained at school entry compared to the previous year. Specifically, data from all 55 mainstream primary schools indicated a decrease from 148 children (11%) last September to 85 children (6%) this year among the reception cohort.
Parents who have benefited from the program expressed their appreciation for the support provided. Lucy noted the value of awareness sessions held at her local children’s centre, describing them as “a really good idea” and stressing the importance of children being adequately prepared in this area before starting school. Natalie, whose daughter Freya is now potty trained, acknowledged the pressure parents often feel in this regard. She emphasized that school can already be challenging for young children and highlighted the importance of children gaining confidence and independence in toilet use, reducing their reliance on teachers who have many children to care for. Natalie suggested that the widespread use of disposable nappies might contribute to delayed potty training, compared to previous generations when cloth nappies required more frequent washing and handling.
York councillor Bob Webb praised the positive impact the program had made for both families and schools but pointed out a possible “gap in support” between the time children see health visitors as toddlers and when they begin school. He credited the pilot’s success to effective collaboration among health services, schools, and community settings, while acknowledging that more could be done to support earlier-age training. Encouraged by this success, twenty local authorities across England, including North Lincolnshire, Suffolk, Solihull, Rotherham, Hampshire, Halton, London Boroughs of Redbridge and Hounslow, as well as Cheshire West and Chester, have committed to adopting York’s model developed by Kindred Squared to promote earlier potty training in their own regions.
Nationally, just over two-thirds of children (68.3%) leave reception year with a good level of development—a key indicator of school readiness encompassing communication, physical, social, and emotional skills. The government aims to increase this figure to 75% by 2028. Early Education Minister Paul Waugh described the pilot’s progress as “encouraging to see this pilot helping more children develop the confidence and independence they need before starting school,” emphasizing the importance of parents starting toilet training at an early stage. In York, Mould expressed hope that future cohorts would be potty trained even earlier, ideally arriving at school already independent, thus reducing the need for additional support on arrival
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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