Starting Nursery or School is a huge step for children and the more parents/carers can do to build their independence before this time, the easier the journey will be. This includes supporting their development in toileting, to build independence in self-care. Below you will find lots of useful information on how to support your child in learning to toilet independently. The earlier you can start this journey the better (from as young as 18 months) and the advice from professionals, is that it is still important to build in a routine even if your child does not yet have full interoception and/or has SEND. 

If a child is under 5 parents can call the Health Visitor duty line for support and a bespoke toileting plan: 01273 242004. Health Visiting Service (sussexcommunity.nhs.uk)

Once the Health Visitor has worked with a child, they are then able to refer to Tier 2 support if needed via the Continence Team. There can be a long waiting list for this and so it is best if parents start the process as soon as possible in order to get the right support.

If your child is not yet toilet trained before starting Nursery or School, then we will work with you to support the process, which may include working together to create a care plan. Pupils who are not yet toilet trained before starting Nursery or School will need to provide their own nappies, wipes and sacks. It is always useful for children to have spare clothes/pants with them if they are in the toilet training process.

Please see below for some useful documents and links.

School Nursing Service

Information and advice - ERIC