[iamcityreader]

Does your child's school keep the gates shut all the time, all day long? If not, does it bother you?

Does your child's school allow kindergarten/FYOS children go to the toilet (which is on the other side of the school grounds, well away from classroom) on their own? If so, does it bother you?

I don't know why this bothers me so much but it does (even though when I went to school there WEREN'T any gates or 2 metre fences, and we walked around on our own all the time... and nothing happened... I worry ALL DAY about DD )

[=R2=]

Our school has gates that are shut most of the time but are easily opened by all kids from Prep (bit of a stretch but possible) to Year 7. My 5-year old's class also goes to the toilet with a buddy (one of her classmates) and their toilets are next to their classroom. My daughter has even taken notes to the school office along with another child on the other end of the school without supervision.

Our Prep teachers teach responsibility for oneself and others and making good choices from Day 1 of school. They're not just let out of the classroom willy nilly. The rules and expectations of behavior are always laid out before any venture out of the classroom. I find this excellent because it teaches the kids to be independent and to observe responsible behavior from the very beginning. Obviously if your child's a runner, a teacher is less likely to let them go to the office and the teacher aide may hang around outside the toilets to discourage any bad behavior but ultimately by the end of the year the kids have to learn to be independent.

Not all schools have full time teacher aides too. Ours finishes at 1pm so the teacher will be by herself with the kids for the last 2 hours of the day and it would be unreasonable for parents to expect her to accompany every child to the toilet while she leaves the rest of the class behind.

My suggestion is to voice your concern to your child's teacher and they'll let you know what procedures are in place for the class in regards to toileting, etc.