Parents have complained of a new ‘prison-like regime’ at a secondary school, where pupils have ten minutes to eat their lunch and toilets are locked during lesson time.
Students at Cowes Enterprise College on the Isle of Wight returned after their summer break to a new set of rules.
Toilets have been locked outside of break and lunchtime, with a select few pupils with medical issues told to inform their teacher if they need to go.
They then have to wait for another member of staff to accompany them to the toilets, which can only be accessed by a key card, the Daily Mail reports.
This reportedly led one Year 7 pupil to wet themselves.
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The locked toilets have also caused long queues at break and lunch, say parents, with some children allegedly not drinking during the day so they don’t have to go.
The issue has been compounded, they claim, by the fact each year group only has an allocated 10 minutes to buy and eat their lunch within their 35 minute break.
Some students have reportedly had to throw their lunch away moments after sitting down to eat because they were held up by a toilet queue and their 10 minute slot had come to an end.
Pupils returning last week were also reportedly told that they must now stand in a single-file queue on a yellow line, with one foot on either side, before being allowed in to the building at the start of the day.
A member of staff described as a ‘drill sergeant’ reportedly ordered them to comply, and some pupils alleged they had to stand in the rain for up to 15 minutes.
The school has also stopped selling juices, milk or fizzy drinks, with water apparently now the only drink on offer.
On parent wrote on Facebook: ‘My son is in Year 11 and came home and said he felt horrendous at the poor, brand new Year 7 that wet themself because a teacher called for a toilet escort and no one turned up in time.’
Another parent told the Daily Mail that they would be keeping their child, who suffers with autism and ADHD, at home until there is a change in the rules.
The mother said parents received an email a day before the school broke up for the summer to say all of the toilet passes for special educational needs students would be removed.
‘Loads of parents have said their children are refusing to drink water during the day because they don’t have the time to queue because they have to get their lunch,’ she added.
‘They get ten minutes to get their food, sit down and eat it. There were children in tears today.’
She described the school’s approach as a ‘prison-like regime’ and that itreminded her of an ‘army training camp’ or ‘Alcatraz’, the famous high-security prison on an island in San Francisco.
The parent believes the new rules have been enforced to tackle bad behaviour by a minority of the pupils at the school, but thinks the ‘80% of kids’ not breaking the rules shouldn’t be punished.
Another mother, whose daughter started at the school last week, said her daughter had a bowel condition and had previously just been allowed to wave a pass when she needed the toilet.
She added that by the time a member of staff arrives to accompany her, it could be too late.
The woman said she was planning to speak to the school about the issue.
Another parent told the Isle of Wight County Press: ‘Imagine a girl having to stand up in class and explain why she desperately needs to go to the loo because her period has started unexpectedly. It’s ridiculous.’
A spokesperson for the academy told the Daily Mail they introduced a number of changes designed to create a calmer, safer environment that supports both well-being and academic achievement.
They said many of the policies were in response to direct feedback from parents, students and staff and their aim was to enhance the overall educational experience of the children and young people.
They said they realises new approaches take time to embed and were listening to feedback from parents, students and staff and would make refinements if needed.
The Metro has contacted the school for comment.
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