Number of children starting school in York without being toilet trained almost halves, following innovative pilot

City of York Council teamed up with national charitable foundation, Kindred Squared, to support families through this significant developmental milestone.

The pilot – part of York’s Best Start in Life initiative to support young children and families – aimed to bring schools, hubs, health, early years, and community partners together, creating a single set of citywide expectations to bring rapid change.  It reinforced the Best Start in Life principle that small, early actions – in this case ensuring that children were toilet trained and ready to learn as soon as they started Reception, could help to prevent bigger issues later on, through delayed learning.

Other councils across the country are now looking to replicate the pilot in their own areas.

Data for last year’s Reception cohort in York, compared to this year:

• Number of pupils not toilet trained in 2025: 148* out of a cohort of 1364
• Number of pupils not toilet trained in 2026: 85* out of a cohort of 1374
• Improvement: 42%

Staying clean and dry through the school day, without the need to wear nappies, helps children to feel confident, healthy and part of their class group. It also means teachers can spend more time teaching and supporting children’s development in other ways.

And while potty training can seem daunting, almost all children can learn to be clean and dry with the right support.

A citywide campaign was officially launched in April, with GPs, pharmacies, schools, and charities joining forces to support families through a range of options including online information, drop-in sessions for parents, and extra training for staff.

Approximately 1,700 families living in York received hard copies of The Potty Training Guide and a Starting Reception leaflet alongside their school place offer letters.

The comprehensive support for both parents and childcare providers included:

• Major Community Campaign: Marketing materials, including posters and postcards, were distributed to 56 pharmacies, 11 GP surgeries, and 6 community hubs across the City of York to ensure the message reaches every corner of the community.
• Parent Workshops: A series of drop-in sessions has been held across York at locations including Clifton SEND Central, Hobmoor Primary School, Headlands Primary School, and various Family Hubs. These sessions, funded by Kindred Squared and City of York Council, provided a space for parents to receive guidance and support.
• Practitioner Training: From April, monthly online training sessions were made available for teachers, nursery staff and, childminders. This training, developed by the health visiting team in York and consultant Jill Webb of Families First, focused on using the guide as a tool in supportive conversations with families.
• Resources such as reward charts, one page guides for parents, and online advertising have been specially developed for this pilot. Schools and nurseries in York were given packs of resources free of charge through a new ordering service

The success of the pilot has now been evaluated, comparing data on the number of children starting Reception who were not fully toilet trained, including children in nappies*, compared to those starting Reception this September.

The evaluation has also incorporated feedback from practitioners and parents gathered through digital engagement tools and surveys.

Cllr Bob Webb, City of York Council’ Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education, said: “These results show the positive impact the campaign has had in York. But behind each data set are real success stories: a toilet trained child who feels confident amongst their classmates; pupils who can get the best learning experiences from their school day and teaching staff who can focus on teaching.

“I’d like to thank parents and carers across the city for supporting the campaign. As well as the schools, childcare and health professionals who have helped families at every step of the way.

“This really has been a citywide effort, and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to work with Kindred Squared and partners to make a real difference to children in York. We’ll look to build on the success of this year’s campaign to support families in years to come, continuing our work that sees York at the forefront of innovation around early childhood development.”

Feedback from schools, early years settings and families on the campaign has been really positive.  Parents highlighted the benefits of having a single, simple definition of “ready for school” rather than multiple messages and reported feeling empowered after attending the toileting workshops.

Felicity Gillespie, Chief Executive, Kindred Squared,  said: “These impressive results are making such a huge difference. We know from our annual school readiness surveys that, on average, teachers have been losing the equivalent of a day a week of teaching time helping children who are not able to go to the toilet themselves. We also know parents and carers have been calling for clear and concise advice, and this just shows that when the whole community gets behind a single, targeted message, it can really work well. No wonder dozens of other councils are now showing interest in repeating York’s pioneering project around the country.”

Gail Brown, CEO, Ebor Academy Trust, said: “We really are seeing the difference in the classroom, with all our reception children and dedicated staff able to spend far more time on the reception curriculum, providing the very best learning environment for our youngest children to flourish in. The new, improved ways of working across all our schools in our city have been brilliant and ensured families have consistent messaging and information to support their children to make the best start to school possible.”

More information about support for toilet training in York is available at www.raiseyork.co.uk/PottyTraining