Parents say they are paying £22 for a doctor's note to allow kids to use the loo during lessons after they were told they could only go before or after school and during breaks or lunch. Mums and dads at Marine Academy Plymouth have slammed the new policy as "inhumane".
The only exception to the secondary school's new rule is a "medical necessity''. But parents say they are paying £22 for a doctor's note which would enable their children to be given a 'toilet pass' from the school.
But they say the pupils still have to wait for permission from their teachers to use the loo during class time. One mum, Carol Courage, said her 12-year-old daughter has been refused to use the bathroom on multiple occasions - when she explains she is desperate.
Carol claims her daughter has even been punished with detentions for taking no notice of the rule, and blames what she believes is an "inhumane" policy for her developing urinary tract infections (UTIs).
Carol told PlymouthLive: “Even if the girls are on their monthlies or anything and need to use the toilet, even if they say they’re going to leak, they’re not allowed to go. Well no, it’s human right to go to the toilet.
"I get if they go in a crowd - that’s different - but if they are going on their own they are going to the toilet. It’s inhumane not to let them use the toilet. It’s not just me who thinks this, it’s hundreds of other parents who agree."
Two other parents of another 12-year-old pupil, Shepard and Trevor Joyce, have said their daughter does not want to continue at the school. They claim she also suffers with UTIs and the rule is "horrendous."
They said: “Our daughter has got to the stage where she doesn’t want to go school. "It’s horrendous.
"They should have something in place for girls Also to get a doctor's note for our daughter, it takes ages due to the NHS waiting lists at the moment.
“It’s a nightmare because she doesn’t want to go school because the biggest thing on her mind is not being able to use the toilets while she has the infection. She has the toilet pass now which means she can go - but still has to have permission and wait.”
Marine Academy has said the welfare and safety of its students "is always our first priority" and students are able to use the toilets throughout the day, as long as it is not during a lesson.
Leigh Withers, Principal of MAP said: "As in all in schools, the welfare and safety of our students is always our first priority. Students can use the toilet at the start of day, break time, between lesson transition, lunchtime and after school.
"If there is a medical necessity to use the toilet at other times we discuss each case with parents to ensure the best support plan is in place and this may include a toilet pass. Also we do not have unisex toilets.
"We will be welcoming our largest ever cohort of Year 7s which is a testament to the excellent education and care students receive here at Marine Academy.
"As a school we have had to expand our allowed number of entries to fit the demand of parents who seek a school with high expectations, an academic focus and the clarity of vision which at its heart, states that every child who joins Marine Academy should have the opportunity to go to university when they leave.
"This year Marine Academy will see 80 per cent of its Year 13s moving on to University and the school will celebrate its greatest ever GCSE results that are likely to see it as one of the highest performing schools in the entire South West."
