Period Dignity
The Department of Education has promoted period dignity since September 2021, helping pupils to reach their potential, by supporting confident attendance at school, primarily through the provision of free period products. A very successful pilot scheme concluded in June 2024 to make way for wider provision under new legislation.
The Department has published guidance on The Period Products (Free Provision) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 here. The Act also requires the Department to publish information about the locations where free period products are available in the education sector. This is summarised here.
The Department is pleased that, despite significant funding pressures, it is able to continue to provide funding for free period products.
For post primary, special schools and EOTAS settings, the latest budget allocations for 2024/25 are here. Primary schools will have received an allocation of free period products for pupils during the autumn term.
All settings can order products to meet their requirements via the existing EA contract. Instructions for placing orders can be found here, with further detail at page 7-8 of CCEA’s Period Dignity Guidance.
A wealth of curriculum resources, including new period dignity videos, can be accessed on CCEA’s website here.