Pupils receive free menstrual products during pandemic

School-aged pupils who are self-isolating or shielding during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic can claim free menstrual products as part of a Welsh Government-funded scheme.

 

With more than 120 children already signed up, the council has been provided with funding to provide a range of both single-use and reusable menstrual products.

 

The products are available to all school-age pupils and can be obtained from the council’s youth development team free of charge by emailing [email protected] with a pupil’s name, address and school.

 

The scheme follows the success of an existing local partnership between the council and the WINGS (Women In Need Getting Support) Cymru Group which began at Maesteg Comprehensive in 2017.

 

Set up to help end ‘period poverty’, the WINGS partnership distributes donated menstrual products. It has been extended to cover all secondary schools in Bridgend County Borough where it is ensuring that pupils have access to a steady supply of products all year round.

Cllr Dhanisha Patel, Cabinet Member for Well-Being and Future Generations, said: “Life is challenging enough during the pandemic without girls and young women having to worry about whether they can access menstrual products in order to meet natural biological needs.

 

“The funding from Welsh Government is proving to be of major benefit and I am delighted to see that it is already helping more than 100 pupils as well as supporting the existing WINGS partnership.

 

“Together, these two schemes are making a real difference for teenagers and young women in Bridgend County Borough.”

 

To find out more about the WINGS scheme, please visit www.wingscymru.co.uk