Plans for Solihull parents to get help toilet training school starters
The borough is among areas taking inspiration from a pilot in York that provided extra support on toilet training to help parents prepare their children for school.
Last updated 26th Oct 2026
Parents in Solihull could be given extra support to toilet train their children before they start primary school.
The borough is among around 20 council areas in England looking at using a blueprint trialled in York, where families were sent potty training advice alongside school place offer letters.
The City of York Council pilot was funded by the charity Kindred Squared and included leaflets, parent workshops, teacher training sessions, and advice made available through GP surgeries and libraries.
This initiative was trialled after a survey of teachers by Kindred Squared suggested around one in four children who started reception in 2025 were not toilet trained.
Jo Mould, a teacher at Robert Wilkinson Primary Academy in York, one of the schools which took part in the pilot, said: "I think the biggest impact for us has been that we don’t have to spend so much time changing children now.
"For safeguarding reasons it took two people to change a child and that meant taking those two members of staff out of the classroom to go and change the children.
"Obviously, the higher the number of children in nappies, or who were having toilet accidents, that increases that amount of time away from the other children."
Results from the pilot suggest there has been a 42% decrease in the proportion of children starting school in York not toilet trained.
Ms Mould says this result has had a positive impact on educational outcomes, as staff can now spend more time in the classroom supporting learning.
The Government is pushing to increase the proportion of children starting reception “school ready”.
Solihull, Suffolk, North Lincolnshire, Hampshire, Rotherham, Halton and the London Borough of Redbridge are among the areas said to be looking at the York approach.
The York pilot saw leaflets sent to 1,700 families alongside their school place offer letters in April.
Overall, 55 mainstream state primary schools in York were asked to compare the number of children who were not toilet trained when they started school in September 2025 with the number this September.
Gail Brown, chief executive of Ebor Academy Trust, which had six schools included in the York pilot, said: "I think that there’s been a very clear expectation across the whole city that children who start school, where possible, will start toilet trained."
She said: "It was very much about supporting parents, not blaming parents."
Felicity Gillespie, chief executive of Kindred Squared, said: "We know from our annual school readiness surveys that, on average, teachers have been losing the equivalent of a day a week of teaching time helping children who are not able to go to the toilet themselves.
"We also know parents and carers have been calling for clear and concise advice, and this just shows that when the best resources are really targeted, everyone benefits."
Paul Waugh, minister for early education, said: "Toilet training can be one of the biggest milestones in a child’s early years, so it’s encouraging to see this pilot helping more children develop the confidence and independence they need before starting school."
He said: "When children are supported to take these important steps early, it can make a real difference to how they settle in, make friends and start learning."