Should Schools Give Free Tampons and Pads?
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Do you think schools should give free sanitary products?
Some families on a tight budget struggle to provide them for their kids and it's easy to get caught short. If they could grab them for free in the toilets, school nurse or their teachers, it could also lead to less of them missing school when they are on.
I can't speak for other areas but where I live girls are refusing to attend school whilst having their periods due to not being allowed to go to the toilets in lesson time and then on break only 2 are allowed in at a time, so they have to choose between queuing for the toilets or for lunch!
Midnightflower My daughter school the same. Only permitted at break and lunch times and only 1 set of 5 are open. Her primary school was same. Both she and her brother have ended up with numerous UTI's because of it. Apparently its because of vandalism.
Anybargains I can’t speak for girls but I know my grandson has same problem either go to toilet at lunchtime or miss lunch. I think that’s bad enough for my grandson but I never thought bout young girls. Not wonder young girls are staying home during their periods but if you add up those lost days every month that’s lot of school these young girls are missing out on. Think schools really need to rethink this whole thing
Midnightflower that's a right bug bear for me. It's not OK. It's disgusting and I say this as a professional myself. It's a basic need. Telling children they can't go to the loo.
Anybargains my school did that some 27 years ago and one of the parents started a protest in our town centre, that got them unlocked. If they are afraid of vandalism then the toilets should be watched/attended not closed.
As us women know, each period is different and different for each person. I finally got diagnosed with Endometriosis last year after 30 years!! My periods were so heavy at one point I’d go through a tampon and pad at the same time, or if just a pad can leak in 10 minutes, work has always been tricky and for young girls dealing with this at school it’s not acceptable that teachers are not allowing them to go out. I also got diagnosed with IBS at 13 so the whole toilet thing has always been a nightmare from an early age and no where be it schools or workplaces never have good enough facilities
For the past year I’ve been able to work from home and that has greatly helped
I hope parents will put pressure on the governors about this issue and I can’t blame the kids who don’t want to go in, I wish I’d been able to do that
Jerseydrew 4 out of the 5 high schools in our city are doing this to kids and they're all part of the same academy. Parents are complaining and it's been in our local news but nothing is changing.
chele44 especially with how much time they lost due to covid lockdowns. Everyday really matters. I'm sorry to hear your grandson is facing the same issue.
Anybargains the schools here say its due to vaping and bullying. The parents have been making lots of complaints about the situation but the schools do not seem to care, which is very concerning.
Gromit22 they have been, its been on social media and the local news but nothing has changed. It affects 4 out of our 5 local high schools so it's incredibly hard for parents to move children out of the situation.
Midnightflower it's disgusting this happens. It's not OK. If your child is at this school speak up as its not right
I've seen some places give free sanitary products but I really think that's out of the goodness of their heart that the owners personally bought
SamGoodship yes I think they should. It's something us females can't help and its something we really *need*.
It would be good if manufacturers provided them free to schools as a way of introducing there products to new customers. Not sure how many Girls would want budget own brands.
There are schemes where schools can apply for free to use period products so there should be no excuse for any school not being able to help those in need. During covid lockdown a teacher I know drove to deliver products from the scheme to the girls who usually got help at school
Yea without a doubt some kids can't even speak to there parents about periods so never mind tampons
Yeah they absolutely should do this, imagine the embarrassment for the girls who perhaps have forgotten to bring one or can’t afford them. They don’t need that stress on top of all the other things they have to deal with at that age
I said at least 20 - 25 years ago sanitary products should be free, rather than free prescriptions for all and would be less likely to be abused. My daughter informs me her school sometimes have some. Then again the toilets are always locked and only permitted access at break times.
Sanitary products should be free, full stop. All persons going through this should receive vouchers each month entitling them to the basic then up to individual if they want to add more money.
Without doubt, young girls should not be put through the embarrassment, from their peers of being "caught short".
I would be quite happy for all sanitary and condoms to be free and pay an extra £10tax out of my wages, if we all done that it would be possible..
What is the matter with today's parents getting child allowance, benefits, free food, cheap or free travel, I could go on, saying their cannot afford to pay for something so essential for their daughter each month? This country in certain area is only producing unemployable and unteachable teenagers with zero decorum.
Well not schools the sanitary products should be provided by every shop free to ladies its a sad world we live in the main heigene products of ladies are very expensive around the world & out of reach of many it should be easily available without any problem
You can get free condoms so yes you should get free sanitary products if needed.
I think this is a difficult one. I do think they need to be available but also wouldn’t want kids to be silly and steal them when not needed
SaveMeSunday What if you had to ask a teacher/receptionist or school nurse so they weren’t just there to take?
I am pro this. The youth worker in me supports this. Sanitary products aren't a luxury and those starting periods may not know it's about to happen or have parents that are willing to get products for the child
The school I work in and all the secondary schools in the council area give out free sanitary products. You just have to ask at the office. Even the staff bathroom at my school has a basket with free stuff in it.
I personally don't think they should be provided as its typically not efficient to get the government involved in this type of process. It's like prescriptions if you get many medicines on prescription the same as over the counter in superdrug etc then the cost to the taxpayer is many times that of the product cost. Better to allow a bit more money in other means tested benefits than doing this.
Should be free and available. We had a pub & we always ( no pun intended) had them available in our toilet area for women to help themselves.
It’s been a long time since I was at school and some of things I have read on here are horrifying. I couldn’t believe that toilets are closed and/or visits to them are limited. That’s appalling.
MargaretJe98202 it was like that when I was in school and you’re talking 15 years ago
We have them for free in our office so I don't think schools should be any different. People are struggling so much at the minute and I've read the stories of young girls staying away from school as families don't have the money for sanitary products. Anything that helps kids stay in school
KirstyWhit29673 I think it would be great idea for companies to supply them to schools during the yr cos it would also give these girls the chance to see what suits them best plus when out of school these girls will buy their products
I remember taking my then 11yr old daughter on school open nights when she was due to transfer from primary to secondary education. The 1st school we went to had big signs up everywhere saying toilets are kept locked at all times and you need to go get key from front office. After seeing 3/4 of these signs my daughter said can we leave here and check out another school. At time she was suffering from kidney problems and felt so uneasy just in school corridor before actually seeing any of the school facilities. Thankfully she went to a great school which didn’t have any issues like this and toilets were open full school day
I don’t think schools should be responsible for sanitary protection, just a good education.
I disagree purely because i think we should all be moving to reusable sanitary wear if we can. Disposable ones are so bad for the environment. However, if schools were providing a small kit of reusable pads for struggling families i wouldn't see a problem with it
In our school we were allowed. The teacher would give us a key for us to open them . We had to give the key back after we'd been and lock it again. That way they could monitor who's been in . the dinner hall toilets were open lunch and break times. In comprehensive . We didn't have them provided in school. But think it's a really good idea
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