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.
Responsibility for the administration and delivery of the Period Dignity Programme now rests with the Education Authority (EA). Information on current arrangements, access to free period products and guidance for schools is available on the EA Period Dignity webpage.
The Department has published guidance on The Period Products (Free Provision) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 here, and a written statement on arrangements for the provision of free period products can be found 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. Budget allocations for post-primary schools, special schools and EOTAS settings are managed through the Education Authority.
Post primary, special schools and EOTAS settings, can order period products to meet local need through the Education Authority's Period Dignity arrangements. Primary schools allocations of free period products for pupils.
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.