Poor hygiene causes primary school pupils to shun the loo

13th of June 2018
Poor hygiene causes primary school pupils to shun the loo

Around 44 per cent of children avoid using the toilet at school each week, according to a new study.

One in 10 primary school teachers have also seen children refraining from eating or drinking in a bid to be able to avoid using school toilets. And a quarter of primary school teachers and children describe the hygiene levels in school toilets as poor or very poor, with a fifth claiming that no checks are made on them during the day.

The study, conducted this spring by YouGov and commissioned by Essity, involved interviews with more than 400 primary school teachers and 500 parents and children.

According to School and Public Health Nurses Association ceo Sharon White: "We know that an effective layout, efficient cleaning and maintenance plus good access policies are all essential to ensure that school facilities are valued and accessed.

"Children and young people need to be healthy to learn and grow. Depriving them of basic needs such as toileting facilities should not be a big ask and a public health approach is urgently required to address these unacceptable shortfalls."

Essity UK managing director Kevin Starr said: "The findings indicate a worrying and growing problem regarding hygiene standards within UK primary schools.

"Our aim in highlighting these issues is to open up a dialogue with schools, parents, children and local authorities and work with them, using our collective expertise and experience to identify simple and easily implementable solutions to tackle the issues with little or no cost to schools.

"By doing this we aim to improve health and wellbeing, reduce absenteeism and increase the self-esteem and confidence of children in the UK."

 

 

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