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Schools in Kent to get free sanitary towels to combat period poverty

Free sanitary products will be offered to students at schools across Kent from today.

All primary schools, secondary schools and colleges in England can apply to phs - hygiene services provider behind the scheme - to get free vending machines offering environmentally-friendly, reusable pads and menstrual cups.

Students will be able to take as many products as they want with no cost to them and teachers will have access to an online portal where they can order supplies when needed.

The Red Box Project, which is helping run the scheme, says it aims to help the 15% of school girls who experience period poverty because their family can not afford sanitary products.

As a result they would find it difficult to concentrate in school or miss it entirely and 7% were using socks and toilet rolls instead of sanitary towels.

Figures from the Department for Education show 32% of school girls have said that they or someone they know has been impacted by period poverty in the last year, with 30% saying they believe it holds girls back for achieving their aspirations.

Cllr Kelly Grehan, coordinator of the Red Box Project in Dartford and Labour councillor, said: "Most young girls have irregular periods and often they're sitting in class worrying about coming on, so this is massively important.

Kelly Grehan, Red Box co-ordinator in Dartford
Kelly Grehan, Red Box co-ordinator in Dartford

"So if you're not taking part then there are girls that are going to miss out without a doubt. So I really hope that communication with schools is going well and I would just say to anyone that has got daughters at school to make sure their school is signed up."

Similar schemes have already been set up in Wales and Scotland where 89% of girls said they felt less worried about their periods at school because they could access free sanitary products.

Cllr Grehan thinks this is brilliant news for families who cannot afford sanitary products.

She added: "I think the cost the cost for a young person is very big. We know a lot of young people are living in poverty. People will say a pack is about a pound and that's not a lot but that adds up, particularly for a young person who's in a family that are struggling.

"We had a particular example where a school asked if it was okay if a girl took a couple of packs home for her mum because she knew her mum was managing with toilet paper."

Kelly Grehan, Red Box co-ordinator in Dartford
Kelly Grehan, Red Box co-ordinator in Dartford

Cllr Grehan hopes this will be a historic moment that will make periods something that doesn't need to be whispered and instead it will become normal for young girls to say they need a sanitary towel.

She added: "When you've got girls that are skiving off school for a couple of days a month, that's going to have a massively negative impact on their education. Research that's been done says that schemes like ours do make a big difference to a lot of girls attainment in school.

"I think psychologically the emotional stress of having a period being ashamed and worried about leaking and, heaven forbid, using socks or toilet rolls instead of a sanitary towel is massive. If you can erode all those problems for a girl, that's got to have a big effect on their education, but also their self esteem."

The Red Box Project co-ordinator's only concern is that schools will go back to the traditional way of handling sanitary pads, by only giving one to those who ask for them, which she says is "quite inadequate."

She added: "What I think our project really has going for it is girls can take as many sanitary towels as they want. So they can take a pack for the day, take it back for the month from perhaps different thicker packs of the night.

"I hope that is going to continue because that's made a massive difference to the girls. I hope that we don't lose that kind of essence that they can take as much as they want."

Another worry of Cllr Greham is where girls will get their sanitary towels over the holidays. She hopes the scheme can extend out to places where they will be going during the holidays such as summer clubs and church clubs.

Schools can opt-in using the online portal set up by phs.

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