Potty training pilot in York cuts school-start incontinence rates by 43%, prompting national rollout

A city-wide experiment aimed at helping parents toilet-train their children before they begin school has produced striking results, with the number of reception pupils arriving at school unable to use the toilet falling by 43% in a single year. The pilot in York, which involved sending potty training guides to families alongside their first school offer, has now attracted interest from twenty local authorities across England that have signed up to launch similar schemes.

The programme was designed to address a growing concern among teachers that more and more children are starting school without being fully toilet-trained. Parents across York were targeted through GP surgeries, pharmacies, family hubs, schools and nurseries from April this year, receiving information and offers of support on how to potty-train their child ahead of the school term. The guides were sent to all families who had a child starting reception in September, with the aim that every child could use the toilet independently by the time they started school, except those with medical issues or special educational needs. Workshops for parents and special training for early years staff formed part of the city-wide effort.

The results, shared exclusively with the BBC, covered all 55 mainstream primary schools in the city and suggest the approach has had a significant impact. Last September, 148 out of 1,364 reception pupils — equivalent to 11% — were recorded as not being toilet-trained when they began school. This year, that figure dropped to 85 out of 1,374 pupils, or 6%. The 43% reduction represents a substantial shift in school readiness in just one academic year.

The government described the pilot's results as encouraging and confirmed its commitment to ensuring 75% of pupils reach a good level of development at the end of their first year in school by 2028. The scheme is now being adopted by twenty local authorities across England, using a model developed by the children's charity Kindred Squared, which has been working to encourage earlier potty-training.

Parents in York have broadly welcomed the additional support. Natalie and Lucy, both of whom have daughters starting reception next year, said the help on offer had been valuable. Lucy said she had noticed drop-in sessions on potty training at her local children's centre and thought it was a really good idea, adding that it was important children are more prepared for that aspect of starting school. Natalie said getting her daughter Freya potty-trained in time for school had been a priority, but she acknowledged the pressure parents often feel.

"I think going to school is hard enough for children," Natalie said. "But for me it was really important that she's confident enough to use toilets, to be independent, to be able to go without relying on the help of teachers perhaps in an environment where they've already got lots of children to look after." She also suggested that the popularity of disposable nappies might be one reason why parents often wait longer to potty train, recalling that when she was little, terry towelling nappies had to be washed and hung on the line, making disposable nappies easier to rely on for longer.

Teachers have reported tangible benefits in the classroom. Jo Mould, who teaches reception at Robert Wilkinson Primary Academy in York, said she had noticed an improvement in pupils' readiness for school this year. "We've spent more time teaching in these last three weeks than we have in previous years," she said. "The children have come in so ready to learn, because they're more settled and regulated socially and emotionally. We've had a really, really positive start to the school year." For Mould, not having to deal with toilet training has meant more time devoted to actual teaching.

The issue extends well beyond York. Around one in four children started school in England and Wales last year not fully toilet-trained, and teachers said they have been spending over an hour a day changing nappies, according to the latest research from Kindred Squared. That figure highlights the scale of the challenge facing schools, where staff are increasingly having to balance educational duties with personal care responsibilities that would normally be handled at home or in early years settings.

York councillor Bob Webb said the impact of the scheme had been "so positive" for both schools and families. However, he acknowledged a potential gap in support for parents between seeing health visitors when their child is a toddler and the child later arriving at school. He said the key to the scheme's success was collaboration across health visitors, schools and other community settings, but added that there was always more that could be done at an earlier age.

The ability to listen to and follow instructions is another skill that helps pupils get the most out of learning when they start reception class, and the pilot's organisers believe early potty-training contributes to broader school readiness. By reducing the number of children who need intimate care during the school day, the scheme aims to free up teachers to focus on education and help children settle more quickly into classroom routines.

The rollout to twenty more local authorities will test whether York's success can be replicated in different communities with varying levels of health service provision and early years support. The programme's architects at Kindred Squared argue that earlier intervention is crucial, not only for children's dignity and independence but also for the practical functioning of classrooms where teachers are already stretched. The coming year will show whether the York model can deliver similar reductions in other parts of England.