A whole-centre approach to toilet learning, built for Australian early learning environments.
Most Australian children now learn to use the toilet in care, not at home, yet the milestone has long been managed without an integrated framework. Go Time–Potty Time gives directors, educators and families one shared, evidence-led approach.
The toilet learning context has shifted
Where toilet learning was once mostly led from home, many children now spend much of the week in care, so the milestone unfolds across both settings. The progress a child makes depends on how consistently the two work together.
2024
Three things make whole-centre toilet learning hard
Group setting, individual readiness
Toilet learning readiness is individual. The room it happens in is not. Educators are supporting twenty different stages in a single setting, every day.
Routine, not pedagogy
When no shared framework exists, toilet learning is managed in the moment rather than taught with intent. Every other developmental skill in the room has a curriculum. Except this one.
Different staff, different approaches
When language, routines and responses shift between educators, the child carries the inconsistency. Progress made on one shift can be undone on the next.
Go Time–Potty Time Early Learning
Three principles that turn a daily routine into intentional teaching.
Build familiarity first
Children learn what the milestone is, what it looks like, and what to expect, through story and play, before they are asked to do it themselves.
Make the routine the teacher
When the routine is visible, predictable and consistent, children can follow it without constant adult prompting. The room teaches the child.
Playful motivation
Children move toward the milestone through curiosity, play and seeing their own progress. Motivation comes from feeling capable.
What your centre actually gets
A complete operating framework for toilet learning: training, materials, parent resources, dedicated support, and allied health guidance, delivered from day one and sustained across the year.
Structured Tiered Training
Video and PDF training content across three tiers: relief staff, permanent educators, and leadership. Each tier is calibrated to the depth of involvement the role requires.
Resource Library
A growing library of articles, quick reference guides and information cards. Topics include readiness, constipation, stool withholding, toileting anxiety, neurodivergence, and more.
Physical Centre Resources
A complete physical kit for every room: storybook, child self-directed learning booklets, sensory tools, visual routine posters, and printable resources. Everything educators need to deliver the program, ready to use from day one.
Parent Hub and Resources
Families receive a physical home pack, their own portal access with parent training videos, and the same resource library educators use. The centre-home approach is shared, and families learn alongside the centre.
Centre Partnership Manager
A dedicated relationship manager who supports your centre through onboarding, training, and ongoing implementation across the year. One point of contact, one person who knows your service.
Allied Health Pathway
A clear escalation pathway to allied health support when developmental, clinical, or behavioural concerns emerge. The framework includes when to refer, what to communicate, and where to direct families.
Continuing Education
Continuing education through regular updates, new training modules, and access to webinars on emerging research. The framework stays current; your educators stay current with it.
Mapped to EYLF and NQS
National Quality Standard
- QA1Intentional teaching
- QA2Health and wellbeing
- QA4Educator consistency
- QA5Dignity and respect
- QA6Family partnership
- QA7Educational leadership
Early Years Learning Framework
- OUT 3Strong sense of wellbeing and capability
- OUT 4Confident, involved learners (autonomy and agency)
- PRACIntentional teaching
- PRINSecure, respectful relationships
- PRINPartnerships with families
What the pilot program demonstrated
The pilot included in-centre educator support, a family education session, and pre- and post-program surveys of both groups.
"It has been great to get all educators on the same page and following the same routine, dialogue and approach. This gives consistency to the children and families."
Pilot centre educator
"My son decided that he wanted to lead, and wanted to wear jocks and no nappy. We have not looked back. Consistency and all the children doing the same thing really helped."
Pilot centre parent
Built by an Adelaide founder.
Go Time–Potty Time Early Learning was founded by Monica Barker, an Adelaide-based parent and entrepreneur with twenty years in medical science, health research, and educating health professionals.
What started as a question, why is something this universal so unsupported in the spaces children spend the majority of their week, grew into a structured, evidence-led program designed for the realities of group early learning.
The framework draws on clinical evidence, occupational therapy and child psychology principles, alongside developmental research from Bronfenbrenner, Vygotsky, Piaget, and Deci & Ryan. It has been refined through sector input from educators, educational leaders, and continence health practices.
What centres usually ask first
How long does implementation take?
Full onboarding is completed over a six-week window, with most centres fully integrated by the end of week three. The Centre Partnership Manager guides the rollout: tier-based educator training in weeks one and two, family communication and home pack distribution in week two, and embedded daily practice from week three onward. Weeks four to six are about consolidation, troubleshooting, and confirming the framework is operating as designed across every room.
What does our centre need to commit?
The time commitment is intentionally light. Educator training is structured by tier: relief and casual staff complete a 15-minute introduction, permanent educators complete approximately 1.5 hours of training, and educational leaders complete around one hour of leadership-focused training. The program itself is delivered through intentional teaching during existing parts of the day, such as story time and toilet visits. There is no additional time required beyond what educators already spend on intentional learning. The framework integrates with the rhythm of the room rather than adding to it.
How is the program priced?
Pricing is based on the number of approved places at your service. Under certain circumstances, occupancy levels may also be considered. Group and enterprise pricing is available for multi-site operators and educational provider groups. Pricing is shared during an initial 15 minute call, where we discuss your service's size, structure, and specific needs to provide an accurate quote.
Can we trial it before rolling it out across the centre?
Go Time–Potty Time is designed to work as a whole-centre framework, so partial trials don't give an accurate picture of how the program functions. Learning begins long before the outcomes are expected. Children in the under-twos rooms hear the storybook, see the characters, and absorb the language and symbols of toilet learning months before they are ready to use the toilet. By the time they transition to the toddler room, the milestone is already familiar, the language is already known, and the readiness work is already underway. A partial trial cannot replicate this. The consistency between rooms, educators, and families is the mechanism that produces the outcomes. The Centre Partnership Manager is involved from the first conversation and remains your point of contact throughout the year.
Tell us about your centre
Tell us about your service and a Centre Partnership Manager will be in touch within two business days. We will arrange a 15 minute call to understand your needs, explain how the framework would fit, and answer any questions. Your information is kept confidential and used only to support this conversation.