More than a quarter of schools are still not making use of free period products for their students

5,344 of all eligible schools have not placed an order on the government scheme since it began in March 2020

Students across England are missing out on access to free period products, with over 5300 eligible schools still not placing an order within the scheme since it began back in 2020.

The period product scheme, funded by the UK Government, provides free period products to girls, women, and anyone who menstruates, who might need them in their place of study.

Schools have access to free pads, tampons, menstrual cups, and other supplies such as period pants in an effort to break down the stigmas on periods and ensure no young person’s education is disrupted by their period.

“Periods are a normal part of everyday life and we do not want young people missing out on lessons because of them,” says Children and Families Minister, Michelle Donelan.

By December 2020, 48 per cent of eligible organisations had signed up to receive products, providing free period products to over 9,700 schools across England; a considerable amount for the first year of the scheme.

However, while the dataset for 2022 is incomplete, the figures from 2021 and the current trend for this academic year suggests we can expect a similar percentage of eligible organisations to keep placing orders each academic year, meaning only half of schools are providing consistent access to period products.

Interactive Graph

The map below demonstrates no obvious inequalities between the regions; instead showing the neccessity of scrutinising each individual local education authority. In 2020, Hartlepool had the lowest percentage of schools ordering compared to Enfield and Manchester at the other end of the spectrum with 66 per cent of schools providing products.

Interactive Map 2020

Interactive Map 2021

In 2021, only 30 per cent of schools in Islington provided their students with period products, compared to 75 per cent in Leicester, suggesting a year-on-year variation on whether students can dependent on their schools providing period products.

“My college is in a deprived area where many families may face being unable to buy enough food for the week,” says 17 year-old student Annaleece Longmore. “Periods are natural so no one should be held back because they don’t have enough money to buy products.”

Research by Girlguiding found that the issue of product affordability spreads to 1 in 10 families, resulting in increased stress and stigma around periods as well as placing those who cannot afford period products at an educational disadvantage to their peers due to missing school.

“Without the access to these products I believe it would’ve caused more stress, which likely would’ve impacted my studies,” Ms Longmore shares.