Schools Providing Sanitary Products

[Sansastark45]

Don't get me wrong periods aren't nice at the best of time but don't our schools have enough on their plates without now having to take on this??

Am i being unreasonable to think that if you have a daughter you should be having the conversation with her?? Basic own brand sanitary products are cheap enough to buy - our schools shouldn't be left to deal with this too!

Doesn't come out of the school budget and I think it's a great thing.

My workplace also provides free products - it's great not having to walk into toilets with your handbag and you also never get caught with an early period and no products.

It’s not a big deal. At my secondary school there is a girls’ only toilet within the school nurse’s annexe. There is a basket of sanitary products you can help yourself to. I’ve used it myself when I’ve been caught short. Sanitary products have always been available in most schools, but you would have had to ask the school nurse directly.

Mooncups are popular with the older girls at the (private) school where I work. They have been repeatedly asking for a toilet where the sink is also inside the cubicle (i.e. like a disabled toilet) so that they can rinse them privately.

I meant to add that its not unusual for some reception children to still be in nappies/not fully house trained when they start school.

Some people would be surprised at what has to go on behind the scenes in some schools.

I can't believe anyone is stupid enough to think this is a bad thing. My 13 year old was surprised when she heard it on the news yesterday but only because her secondary school always has sanitary products along with spare knickers, tights and skirts available if needed.

Of course everyone in this country SHOULD be able to afford these things but poverty is alive and kicking OP or did you think it was a made up story?

You're either really callous or too dense to comprehend that not everyone's life is like yours. Neither is a good look.

This is a positive step for young women, their families, and their schools / education Totally agree.

I hope it is accompanied by a directive to teachers that they are not to stop girls going to the loo during lessons if they need to (especially ignorant male teachers telling them they can "hold it in" as has been described on MN before now).

Really surprised that you're even questioning this. A lot of public places (University, beauty salons etc) near me now offer free sanitary items because period poverty is sadly very real. It's not just shout that it's also the embarrassment that some young ladies may feel.

I have wondered for some time, since a teen I suppose, why the NHS don't provide some form of sanitary product for those in need. Nothing fancy - those kotex type ones.

Some parents are abusive.

@karencantobe

"OP I agree with you that this should not be necessary and that we are asking schools to take on more and more, which is not their role."

For some years, around ten, schools have become about the whole child and not just places of education. They see children the most, so that made sense.

There's always been neglect and abuse, we will never eradicate that, so we have to counteract it instead, as much as possible. Likewise poverty etc.

You shouldn’t put blood stained clothing immediately into a hot wash with vanish. You should soak it in cold water before washing.

It's not just about poverty, it's also about girls who get their period unexpectedly and are caught short and. otherwise, might have to go home or have forgotten to bring their pads etc in.

I've just seen the list of products that the DfE will be supplying and it covers all needs -tampons, pads, environmentally friendly pads, reusable pads, mooncups etc, not that I think many girls will take up the use of these.

It's not a huge burden on schools as we already have charities who supply some products but this will ensure we have a full range available, and anything that helps students to be comfortable is worth a little bit of effort.

We weren’t poor. My mother just wouldn’t buy me pads that often. She thought I used ‘too many’. I got into a mess at school on several occasions.

Mine would only buy me the Dr Whites ones with loops - the kind you needed a sanitary belt for, but wouldn't buy the belt. I used to double up sticky tape to attach them to my knickers and they'd move and slide everywhere so I had leaks and stains. Eventually when I got my pocket money I used to buy my own supplies. She freaked when I bought tampons because she was convinced I'd die of toxic shock syndrome.

cologne4711 In some schools it is the behaviour policy that dictates that students are not allowed out of lessons. It is less frequently an individual teacher's choice. Therefore it is senior leaders and those who make the policy who need to take into account young women's need to use the toilet sometimes without having to wait. (Teachers also can't go to the toilet during lessons and a few weeks ago there was an excellent Twitter thread on the implications of this during our periods).

@Ponoka7 I understand that. I just think too much is expected of schools. They are not given extra money for all the parenting duties they are now taking on. If they are being expected to effectively parents kids from chaotic families, then they need that needs resourcing.

It’s about time! Most schools have teachers and support staff who pay for sanitary products out of their own money because they know there is a need amongst the girls. This stops them needing to do so and means all schools will be able to help.

It’s not only great for those who are living in poverty and simply can’t afford sanitary products but, especially given how unpredictable the cycles can be in the early years for any girl who may be caught short whilst at school.

Here is the Twitter thread and the TES piece that kicked off the comments.

In the country in the 1950s farm workers families were so poor we made our own sanitary towels out of old sheets. They were washed and put out to dry, traditionally on gooseberry bushes. Ah, happy days (not)

You can think parents 'should' do all sorts of things but it doesn't mean they can or they will.

If I was a girl in this position it would increase my emotional well being massively to not to be worried or embarrased about my period. Why wouldn't schools want to do this small thing to help? Teachers quite rightly want to make school a safe and happy place to learn.

There was an article on the radio about this, and I was wondering how and why period poverty is a separate issue from poverty. (Obviously I realise it only affects girls/women and all poverty needs to be addressed) If you can't afford san pro it's likely there will be a whole lot of other essentials that are not affordable.

I was on holiday in the summer staying in a town with a small village shop and at least 10 miles from a sizeable supermarket. My dd had her period and I went to the next town to get supplies (in an independent chemist) Of course they only had branded ones and the first pack I bought had been opened and some taken out. So although it is possible to buy cheaply, that requires living near, or having access to shops that sell own brands or have better offers.
I would support schools supplying sanpro (as long as they were not required to fund it) and would donate if they asked. We also have a hygiene bank in our town which is similar to a food bank but collects toiletries, sanpro, nappies etc.

How very privileged you are to not even realise that some people are struggling so much for money to eat, that girls miss school instead of asking for sanitary wear.

No clue how a lot of people live.

My workplace offers free sanitary products - very useful in an emergency. Considering that I, at the advanced age of 42, can still sometimes be caught out, I think it extremely wise that schools carry a good supply for the young female students.

And that's before considering poverty, abuse, etc.

RE the nhs they won’t even provide to patients in hospital - or not in my experience . I had vulval surgery and my period started the night of the op, the nurses told me I could have two pads only from the NHS whilst an impatient and thereafter use my own .

Similar at GP surgery when I suddenly flooded, GP gave me from her handbag as the surgery didn’t stock them at all .

Discovered the same working for nhs - when patients started a period we weren’t able to give them anything except massive incontinence pads that were counted (so to limit the use of them) ... I ended up going out and buying pads a few times for patients in the end !

Anything that ends the stigma around periods is a good thing in my eyes .

For the tax credits and child benefit ,none of it came my way ,I had neither deodorant,toothpaste or Sanpro ,step mum refused to give me money or products,dad either didn’t care ,or thought she was dealing with personal hygiene issues,..I was dab hand with sellotaping loo roll in to knickers