Twenty councils in England to adopt York potty training guides after pilot success

Twenty councils across England are looking at giving parents potty training guides with their child's first school offer, after a York pilot. Twenty local authorities have now signed up to follow the city's approach.

York City Council sent every family a potty training guide with their school offer in April. Information was also made available at schools, family hubs, GP surgeries and pharmacies. Officials say the number of children who were not fully toilet trained when they started school dropped by more than 40 per cent. Across the city, there was a 43 per cent fall in the number of children starting school in nappies this year compared with last year.

At Robert Wilkinson Primary Academy in York, pupils were one month into school life. Teacher Jo said no one needed extra help this year, and staff could spend more time teaching lessons instead of changing pants and nappies. She said settling in can usually take four to six weeks, up to October half term, but after three weeks the children were settled and knew the routines.

Across England and Wales, about a quarter of children are not toilet trained when they start school, according to the charity Kindred Squared. The charity says dealing with this takes teachers more than an hour a day. Parents of preschoolers in York said the new support was helpful. One mentioned sessions at children's centres. Another said parents sometimes put potty training off because of other commitments, but their child was ready and managed it herself. The scheme also reflects a shift in approach: children are often allowed more independence and asked when they are ready, whereas in the past the timing was more about when parents were ready.

The council accepts more could be done to offer support earlier. It says the scheme has cost taxpayers very little and is a blueprint for others. A council figure said simple investment can provide a lot of support for families, and that every child and family situation is unique. The government wants three quarters of children to reach a good level of development by the end of their first year at school, but there is still a long way to go before all children have the basic skills they need.