Important:

This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament

Rejected petition A change in school policies to ensure students' basic human rights are protected

Review and change toilet policies so that children do not have to hold their bowel and bladder for long periods of time. Individuals being able to hold the power to decide whether a child uses the toilet or not is a breach of trust and a form of abuse, as well as neglecting basic human rights.

More details

School policies are a breach of human rights and need updating. Humans can develop bowel problems and suffer severe constipation from having to hold their bowels for long periods of time. However, adults are not forced to do this, so it is unfair that children are being forced to do so. Children face public humiliation if they have an accident due to not being able to access a toilet. We need to ensure children have rights to use the toilet whenever they need to, as it is a basic human right.

This petition was rejected

Why was this petition rejected?

It’s about something that the UK Government or Parliament is not directly responsible for.

We can only accept petitions about things the Government or Parliament are directly responsible for.

Decisions on policies regarding when students can leave the classroom are a matter for individual schools and teachers, not the UK Government or House of Commons.

If you are unhappy with how a school or teacher deals with requests to use the toilet, you should raise this with the school or relevant local authority.

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.