Shrimpy the Best Way to Create Period Equality

7 July 2022

Turning period poverty into period equality, outside of the school’s core hours, is the aim of a new scheme launched by Oakgrove. During term time, students have free access to period products in school, but staff want to ensure that there is period equality at all other times, with products readily available from multiple locations within the local community.

The school collaborated with Brooklands based craft and gift shop Shrimp & Doodle to produce a new ShrimPy card. The colourfully designed card, which was created using funding from MK Council, has been distributed to all Oakgrove students and from 20 July, they will just need to show the card at the craft shop to easily access free period products. The contents of the packs, which are supplied by the Department for Education, will be available for collection in the evenings, weekends and during the school holidays.

Local branches of Waitrose, Boots and Tesco are also distributing the bags of free period products. They will be available for students to pick up from their in-store customer service departments.

Period poverty is not acceptable and I am delighted that Oakgrove School has joined forces with businesses and the local authority to ensure that our students now have free access to personal hygiene products when not in school, said Headteacher, Ian Tett.

However, not only do we want to address the menstrual needs of our students, we want to go further and tackle the stigma, lack of understanding and gender separation too. We have started a long-term conversation, with assemblies, discussions in tutorials and with the introduction of colourful ‘ShrimPy’ badges, that students can wear on their blazers as a talking point and a sign of solidarity. We are also issuing all new starters at Oakgrove secondary with a period starter pack in specially designed reusable pouches.

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