One in four children are due to start school in September without being toilet trained, a charity has said.

A report by early years charity Kindred found pupils are losing, on average, a third of their learning time each day due to teachers diverting away from teaching and towards supporting children who are not school-ready.

In a bid to prepare more children joining reception, Bristol charity ERIC – the children’s bladder and bowel organisation – has set up an “emergency intervention” campaign for those starting school next month.

ERIC CEO Juliette Rayner said that, while the problem had been a “growing issue” recently, “this year seems to be particularly bad”.

“A child in a nappy has a disadvantage from day one,” she said.

“We do know there are some children who can’t be toilet trained for medical reasons or if they’ve got additional needs, so it’s not about stigmatising those children.

“But for the majority of children, they need to be able to get on with learning and just enjoying school,” Ms Rayner added.

She said the issue was linked with the fact children starting school this year were born during or near the start of the pandemic, “so in quite a lot of their early years they haven’t had as much attention on their social development”.

The charity has launched a summer campaign, All Aboard the Toilet Train! to help more children get ready to use toilets independently at school.

Parents can sign up to the charity’s online challenge which will help them prepare for school. They will receive information, advice and support throughout the summer.

Beth Osborne, early years consultant at Bristol City Council, said: “We’ve seen, over the years, Covid having an impact on children and potty training, and more children starting reception in nappies.

“It’s really important that children and families are given support to make this happen a little bit earlier so that when they start school they’re ready for their learning, so that they can make friends and they can engage and develop to the next stages.”

Calls to ERIC’s helpline spike in July, the charity said, when parents realise their child may not be toilet trained in time to start school.

Rachel Britton, nursery manager at Southmead Children’s Centre, said: “It is daunting, but it’s a really important milestone.”

She said a lack of toilet training had “become more of an issue” over the years, but parents could help with “lots of encouragement and support and praise”.

“Most children will pick it up really quickly, and once they’ve got it it’s amazing,” she added.

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