Schools unaware they can order free tampons

Charities have announced that many schools and colleges across England are not aware that they can order free period products through a government scheme.

Just under 40 per cent of state schools and colleges have placed orders since the scheme was launched in England in January. The revelation comes as concerns grow that the coronavirus pandemic has left more pupils struggling to access and afford tampons and pads.

Although the government says that the opt-in scheme has operated throughout the pandemic., campaigners are now saying that it should be promoted more as schools return.

Gemma Abbott, from the Free Periods group, said the government also needs to take some responsibility for the fact that more than 60 per cent of eligible schools and colleges have yet to sign up to the scheme. She also claimed that her charity has ‘hardly heard anything’ from the Department for Education since the initiative's launch at the start of year.

She said: “If the Department for Education really is committed to ensuring that 'no young person's education is disrupted by their period', as they said back in January, then they need to make much more effort to ensure that schools and colleges know about the scheme, that they place orders for products and that they distribute those products efficiently and sensitively to students who need them."

According to research by charity Plan International, three in 10 girls in the UK have experienced issues either affording or accessing period products during the pandemic, while one in five said their periods have been harder to manage due to the lack of available toilet roll.