Dozens of councils across England plan to distribute potty training guides to parents alongside primary school offers starting this spring, following research showing one in four children begin Reception class wearing nappies. The pilot program in York saw a 46% reduction in toileting issues after distributing guides to 1,700 families and hosting informational sessions at libraries and GP surgeries. Critics argue that addressing potty training is the responsibility of parents rather than the state.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Dozens of councils across England are planning to distribute potty training guides to parents ahead of their children starting primary school. A recent survey revealed that one in four children arrive at school still wearing nappies, leading to significant time wasted by teachers dealing with toileting issues—on average, 1.4 hours per day. The charity Kindred Squared conducted a pilot program for the City of York Council, which saw a 46% reduction in such incidents after implementing potty training guides. Teachers like Jo Mould from Robert Wilkinson Primary Academy noted that this initiative has reduced the need for staff to leave classrooms to change children, improving overall classroom management and safeguarding practices. The scheme is set to roll out across up to 20 councils starting this spring, with primary school offers made in April each year, giving parents five months to prepare their children. Participating councils include Hounslow, North Lincolnshire, and others in various regions of England.
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Dozens of councils are set to give out potty training guides to parents after data showed one in four children arrive at school in nappies.
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children → set → nappies
From this spring, up to 20 councils plan to deliver instruction leaflets to parents alongside their primary school place offer.
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councils → plan → offer
A recent survey of teachers found one in four children nationwide last year were not toilet trained when they started Reception class, which is for ages four to five.
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which → find → ages
Teachers were wasting on average 1.4 hours per day having to deal with toileting mishaps.
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Teachers → waste → mishaps
The charity Kindred Squared, which undertook the research, has already funded a pilot of the scheme for City of York Council, resulting in a 46 per cent reduction in this problem.
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which → undertake → problem
Primary school offers are made in April each year, meaning parents have five months to put the guides into practice.
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parents → make → practice
Among the councils planning to sign up to the scheme are Hounslow, North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, North Yorkshire, Rotherham, Hampshire, Suffolk, Halton, London Borough of Redbridge, Cheshire West & Chester and Solihull.
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Hounslow → plan → Redbridge
However, Iain Mansfield, head of education at the think-tank Policy Exchange said: 'Unless there is a genuine physical disability, four is remarkably late for a child to be being potty-trained.
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child → say → Exchange
Dozens of councils are set to give out potty training guides to parents after data showed one in four children arrive at school in nappies (file picture)
'
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children → set → nappies
We are witnessing a further example of the collapse of parental responsibility, with the state once more stepping in to do a role it was never intended to fulfil.'
Tory peer Baroness Maclean of Redditch said on X: 'This is a potty idea.
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This → witness → X
The government shouldn't be toilet training children.
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government → train → children
We need to bring back the concept of shame.
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We → need → shame
Parents should feel embarrassed that their child is in nappies at age four and stir themselves to grip the problem.
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child → feel → problem
'Don't have children if you don't want to deal with the challenges that come with raising them.'
In the York scheme, 1,700 families were sent hard copies of a potty training guide on Primary National Offer Day, April 16, 2026.
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families → have → Day
The guide provided detailed advice and said the ideal age to potty train is between 18 and 30 months old, unless a child has a medical condition preventing this.
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child → provide → this
It added: 'It's really important that children are out of all nappies well in advance of starting Reception year in school.'
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children → add → school
Leaflets were also distributed at libraries and GP surgeries, and drop-in sessions were laid on for parents.
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sessions → distribute → parents
The 55 mainstream primary schools covered by the scheme reported 85 out of 1,374 (6 per cent) not being toilet trained in 2026, a decrease compared with 148 out of 1,364 (11 per cent) the year before.
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schools → cover → 1,364
Jo Mould, a teacher at Robert Wilkinson Primary Academy in York, said of the pilot: 'We don't have to spend so much time changing children now.
'For safeguarding reasons it took two people to change a child and that meant taking those two members of staff out of the classroom.'
Felicity Gillespie, chief executive of Kindred Squared, said: 'These impressive results are making such a huge difference.
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results → say → difference
On average, teachers have been losing the equivalent of a day a week of teaching time helping children who are not able to go to the toilet themselves.'
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who → lose → toilet
Early education minister Paul Waugh said: 'Toilet training can be one of the biggest milestones in a child's early years, so it's encouraging to see this pilot helping more children develop the confidence and independence they need before starting school.'
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they → say → school
The Aporia
