“ Adequate staffing and thoughtful scheduling can make something as basic as a washroom break considerably easier to manage.
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In Alberta, teachers have legal and profes- sional responsibilities for student supervision while occupational health and safety require- ments recognize the importance of access to basic workplace facilities. Collective agree- ments also provide duty-free lunch periods or other breaks and are applicable to teachers, including school leaders and division office personnel, that are covered under them. But a break on paper does not necessarily mean that a teacher can leave students unattended whenever the need arises. Nor does access to a washroom necessarily mean that a teacher has a realistic opportunity to use it. Over time, putting off a trip to the wash- room can become part of a teacher’s working day. Teachers may learn to ignore the urge to go or plan when they drink according to when they expect to have a break. Some may deliberately drink less during the school day so that they will not need to use the wash- room as often. Individual strategies can help—staying adequately hydrated, using scheduled breaks
when they are available and seeking medical advice when bladder symptoms persist—but they do not address the underlying workplace issue. Teachers should not have to restrict fluids or routinely ignore the urge to use the washroom simply to get through the instruc- tional day, Brown says. Schools can help by ensuring that teach- ers have predictable opportunities to use the washroom and should have a process or plan that allows a class to be covered when a teacher needs to use the washroom, Brown says. “I have seen and, when I was a school leader, created a process in which the teacher calls down to the office, and one of the admin- istrators or available support staff then comes to the class to cover,” Brown says. School leaders can also avoid treating every recess, lunch or unassigned period as available time for additional duties. Adequate staffing and thoughtful scheduling can make something as basic as a washroom break considerably easier to manage.
Your First Year: How to Survive and Thrive as a New Teacher Todd Whitaker Available through the ATA library.
ATA Magazine Fall 2026
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