Last year, the Department for Education (DfE) agreed to fund the provision of free sanitary products for primary and secondary schools and further education colleges.
The opt-in scheme rolled out in January this year, with the DfE publishing implementation guidance for schools (DfE, 2020). However, take-up has stalled with six in 10 schools failing to claim the free period products. There are fears that schools which have not signed up by December will lose access to the funding.
The issue was first brought to national attention three years ago by student Amika George and her #freeperiods campaign, which highlighted the fact that more than 137,000 children in the UK have missed school because of period poverty.
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