Providing free period products: guidance and tools

Last reviewed on 26 November 2021
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 39336

Know the ins and outs of the DfE's free period product scheme, including how it's funded and how to order tampons and pads. Download our consultation pack to help you gather views from parents and pupils, and use our poster to alert pupils to the signs of toxic shock syndrome.

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Contents

  1. What's the scheme?
  2. What's available?
  3. Who for?
  4. What's our funding allocation and how will we get it?
  5. How do we decide what products to order?
  6. Consulting pupils and parents  
  7. How do we order? 
  8. Providing safety information
  9. How do we distribute products? 

What's the scheme?

All state-funded schools and colleges in England can now order free period products from Personal Hygiene Services (phs) Group. The scheme, which launched in January 2020, is funded by the DfE.

It’s not a mandatory scheme, but the DfE is urging schools to take advantage of it because it wants to eliminate barriers to education faced by pupils who have periods.

If you decide to take up the scheme, there are some important equality, and health and safety requirements you'll need to follow. We've explained these in the section on safety information (see below), and have also highlighted the requirements in boxes throughout this article.

What's available?

A variety of:

  • Single-use and reusable period pads
  • Tampons
  • Menstrual cups

Who for?

Girls, non-binary pupils and transgender pupils who have periods should be able to access these products if they need them at school.

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