Head has to hire nappy changer for pupils age 5

A HEADTEACHER has hired a ‘nappy changer’ to cope with the number of children starting primary school without being toilet trained, it has emerged.

It comes as council leaders in Walsall plan to send letters to parents of children starting school this year, setting out basic skills they should have such as holding a pen, writing their name and washing hands after using the toilet.

Chris Towe, who is responsible for education at Walsall Council, declined to name the school, but said more than 80 primary headteachers in the borough had reported similar issues around four- and five-year-old pupils arriving without many basic skills.

‘This school has so many children needing their nappies changed... that they have decided to employ someone,’ Mr Towe told the Daily Mail.

He added: ‘I don’t know what has gone wrong with our society to allow this to happen. Parents are abdicating their responsibilities and I don’t know why.’

A 2016 survey found the number of children starting school without being toilet trained had risen by 70 per cent since 2011.

Local Labour councillor Diane Coughlan said ‘school readiness’ was ‘simply not a priority’ for the many vulnerable families in the area. She added: ‘So apart from sending a letter, what other support will they be given?’

Walsall Council, which is sending the letter to more than 2,000 local parents, would not reveal the salary of the ‘nappy changer’ or details of what the role entails.