My son wet himself after the school banned pupils from using the toilet during lessons – he was humiliated
AN irate mum has claimed her 11-year-old son was “totally humiliated” having wet himself after the school banned pupils from using the toilet during lessons.
The single parent says her Year 7 pupil asked to go to the toilet during a morning lesson at Birches Head Academy in Stoke-on-Trent but was told he could only go to the bathroom during break and lunchtimes.
Officials at the school have denied the youngster had an accident in front of his classmates and say the pupil was allowed to use the bathroom after he said he felt unwell.
The mum has said her son suffers from bladder problems brought on by anxiety and was so desperate that he was unable to hold it in and had an accident in front of his classmates.
She has now withdrawn her son from the school and decided to home school him until a place at another school becomes available.
The mum told the : "I got a phone call from my son and he was crying down the phone. I couldn't make out what he was saying.
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“I told him to text me and he said he had had an accident. I rang the school and said someone needed to go to him because he was in the toilet crying.
“I got a phone call saying they had found him. He was so distraught, he had been physically sick.
"When I managed to speak to him he said he had been in class when he asked the teacher if he could go to the toilet. He says they said no.
“He said he really needed to go but he was told he could only go at break or lunchtime. He says it got to the stage where he couldn't hold it in and he wet himself.
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“He says other students saw it. He ran out of the class. He says he was sat in another area and a couple of his class came past and were laughing at him and calling him names. He has been totally humiliated.
"I rang the school later and got a call back. I asked why he couldn't go to the toilet and they said it is disruptive to the class and they can only go at break times. I said, 'Doesn't this show you what can happen if you do that?'
"He can't be the only kid it's happened to. I'm fuming. I explained that he has been having bladder problems but they said they would need medical evidence to give him a toilet pass."
The mum claimed her son had been suffering from anxiety due to the bullying he had suffered since he started at the high school in September.
A spokesman for Birches Head Academy has claimed the boy had been allowed to go to the toilet after complaining he felt unwell and said the “accident” did not happen in view of other pupils.
"A student said that they felt they needed to go to the bathroom during a lesson," said a spokesperson for the school. "The student was allowed to leave their lesson early to go to the toilet, and did so while all other students were still in their lessons.
“There was no suggestion or evidence that there had been an accident in the classroom.
“The student immediately visited Student Services and was let into a toilet. When he left the bathroom, he said he had been sick and ‘spilt water on himself’. This was treated sensitively, and the student was provided with a replacement set of clothes while his mum was called to collect him.
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“We are saddened that the parent has raised issues of bullying. While we are aware of an issue in the past, this was addressed quickly. We have monitored the situation closely since then and there have been no further issues that we are aware of. If there have been any problems, we would like to continue to work with the family to support them.”
The Sun Online has contacted the school for comment as well as the local council and the regional schools commissioner’s office.
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