Potty Training Pilot Cuts Untrained Pupils by 43% in York, as 20 More Councils Sign Up

A city-wide campaign to help parents potty-train their children before they start school has produced a sharp improvement in school readiness, according to figures shared exclusively with the BBC. In York, the number of reception pupils arriving at school without being fully toilet-trained fell by 43% in a single year, prompting 20 local authorities across England to adopt the same approach. The scheme, believed to be the first of its kind on this scale, combined practical guides for families with workshops and specialist training for early years staff.

Under the pilot, every family in York with a child due to start reception in September received a potty training guide alongside their first school offer. Information and offers of support were also distributed through GP surgeries, pharmacies, family hubs, schools and nurseries, beginning in April. The stated goal was that all children, except those with medical issues or special educational needs, would be able to use the toilet independently by the time they began school.

The results, drawn from all 55 mainstream primary schools in the city, suggest the strategy worked. Last September, 148 of 1,364 reception pupils — about 11% — were recorded as not being fully toilet-trained when they started school. This year, that figure dropped to 85 out of 1,374 pupils, or roughly 6%. The 43% reduction represents a significant shift in a single academic year, and has attracted interest from councils keen to replicate the model.

The pilot was developed by the children's charity Kindred Squared, which has been researching school readiness across England and Wales. Its latest survey found that around one in four children started school last year without being fully toilet-trained. Teachers reported spending more than an hour a day changing nappies, time that would otherwise be devoted to teaching. The charity's work has helped frame the issue as a broader question of school readiness rather than a matter of parental convenience.

Parents in York who spoke to the BBC welcomed the additional support. Lucy, whose daughter starts reception next year, said she had noticed drop-in sessions on potty training at her local children's centre and described the idea as "really good". She added that it was important for children to be more prepared for that aspect of starting school. For many families, the transition to reception is the first time a child is expected to manage toileting independently in a busy environment.

Natalie, another mother whose daughter Freya will start school next year, said getting her child potty-trained in time had been a priority, though she acknowledged the pressure parents often feel. She pointed out that school itself is challenging enough for young children, and that being confident enough to use the toilet without relying on teachers — who already have many children to look after — matters greatly. Natalie also suggested that the widespread use of disposable nappies may be one reason some parents delay potty training, compared with earlier generations who used washable terry towelling nappies that had to be laundered and dried.

The benefits have been visible inside classrooms as well. Jo Mould, who teaches reception at Robert Wilkinson Primary Academy in York, said she had noticed an improvement in pupils' readiness this year. She said her class had spent more time teaching in the first three weeks of term than in previous years, because the children arrived more settled and better regulated socially and emotionally. Not having to deal with toilet training, she explained, had freed up time for actual lessons. Mould described it as a very positive start to the school year.

York councillor Bob Webb said the scheme's impact had been "so positive" for schools and families alike. He nevertheless acknowledged a potential gap in support for parents between the toddler years, when families see health visitors, and the point at which a child arrives at school. Webb said the key to the pilot's success lay in collaboration between health visitors, schools and other community settings, but he added that there was always more that could be done at an earlier age.

The government has responded cautiously but positively to the findings. Ministers described the pilot's results as encouraging and confirmed their commitment to a broader target: that 75% of pupils should reach a good level of development by the end of their first year in school by 2028. That goal, set against a backdrop of concerns about school readiness, places potty training within a wider strategy on early childhood development rather than treating it as an isolated issue.

The involvement of 20 local authorities across England marks a significant expansion of the York model. Each council has committed to adopting the approach developed by Kindred Squared, using it to encourage earlier potty training in their own communities. The roll-out suggests that what began as a local experiment could become a national template, particularly if further evaluations show similar reductions in the number of untrained pupils.

The York figures also highlight how quickly school readiness can shift when support is targeted. The pilot did not rely on a single intervention but on a network of touchpoints — health services, community hubs, schools and nurseries — delivering consistent messages to parents. By embedding advice in places families already visit, the scheme reduced the risk that guidance would be missed or ignored. The involvement of early years staff, who received special training, further reinforced the message.

For teachers, the stakes are practical as well as educational. Children who are not toilet-trained require adult assistance that can disrupt lessons and consume staffing resources. When a quarter of a cohort arrives without those skills, the cumulative effect on classroom time is substantial. The Kindred Squared research, which found that teachers spend over an hour a day on nappy changing, illustrates why the issue has moved up the policy agenda in recent years.

The pilot's success in York may also encourage a debate about the timing of support. Councillor Webb's comment about a "gap" between health visitor contact and school entry points to a structural issue: families may receive advice in the toddler years but then lack follow-up as the school start date approaches. The York approach attempts to bridge that period by maintaining contact through multiple channels until the child actually begins reception.

Whether the model can be replicated at scale remains to be seen. Local authorities differ in their resources, demographics and existing early years provision. Nonetheless, the commitment of 20 councils represents a notable endorsement of the Kindred Squared approach, and the government's stated target for 2028 gives the roll-out a clear benchmark. If the York results are repeated elsewhere, the number of children starting school without being toilet-trained could fall substantially across England.

For parents like Natalie and Lucy, the value of the scheme lies less in statistics than in confidence — for themselves and for their children. Natalie said that going to school is hard enough for children, and that she wanted Freya to be independent enough to use the toilet without relying on teacher help. That sentiment captures the broader aim of the pilot: to ensure that when children walk into reception, they are ready to learn, settled and able to manage one of the most basic tasks of the school day on their own.