Periods 'should be talked about more often' in NI schools

Periods should be talked about more often "to remove the stigma around periods and period poverty", a Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) report has found.

It is looking at period poverty in education.

A three-year pilot scheme to provide free period products in schools has been set up by the Department for Education (DE).

Free period products are also being provided to higher education students.

Prior to the departmental schemes, some voluntary organisations, like the Red Box Project, provided products to individual schools.

Some schools also ran their own schemes.

According to CCEA, the term period poverty can refer to "poor menstrual knowledge and/or access to period products".

The organisation carried out research into the frequency and extent of period poverty in schools and colleges.

The findings in its just-published report are based on responses from more than 1,700 school pupils, 770 teachers, and 100 students and staff in Further Education (FE) colleges.

"Many issues relating to 'period dignity' have been exacerbated recently by lockdowns, particularly period poverty," said the CCEA report.

"Period poverty and other issues around period dignity need to be addressed: these include embarrassment and lack of knowledge about periods."

More than a quarter of pupils who responded to CCEA's questionnaire said they had difficulty getting period products, while around one in 12 said they had missed school because they did not have any.

Over half of the pupils who responded also said they "were embarrassed when buying period products".

"Alarmingly, a majority of pupils and FE students reported embarrassment when buying period products," concluded the CCEA report.

It said many had suggested that "periods should be talked about more often to remove the stigma around periods and period poverty".

About 70% of teachers who took part in the research said they had noticed a pupil asking other pupils or school staff for period products.

The DE scheme for schools also includes training for teachers in primary and post-primary school to support them in discussing issues around periods with their pupils.

The CCEA research was carried out in June and July 2021, after the schools scheme was announced but before it started in September 2021.

The organisation is planning to carry out a further study in January 2022 to find out how the schools scheme is operating and what the uptake of period products has been.