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<p>The Pupil and Parent Carer Omnibus Survey between July and August 2018 includes
questions on the provision of sanitary products for girls in schools. The results
of this survey will be published shortly.</p><p> </p><p>The government has put in
place a series of arrangements to support girls in school who are menstruating. For
example, the current statutory guidance for Sex and Relationships Education encourages
schools to make arrangements to help girls cope with menstruation, including requests
for sanitary protection.</p><p> </p><p>We are now making Relationships Education compulsory
in all primary schools, Relationships and Sex Education compulsory in all secondary
schools and Health Education compulsory in all primary and secondary state-funded
schools. We are currently consulting on the draft guidance for these subjects which
reiterates that schools should make arrangements to help girls cope with menstruation
and sets out that puberty should be covered before onset as part of Health Education.</p><p>
</p><p>Schools have discretion over how they use their funding and can make sanitary
products available if they identify this as a barrier to attendance.</p><p> </p><p>As
a government, we are also providing over £1.6 million through the Tampon Tax Fund
for a project distributing sanitary products to vulnerable young women and girls in
need in England.</p><p> </p><p>In 2014, the government introduced a new duty on schools
to support pupils with medical conditions and has published statutory guidance on
this for schools and others to follow. This guidance can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3</a>.</p><p>
</p><p>This guidance does not specify which medical conditions should be supported
in schools. Instead, it focuses on the needs of each individual child and how their
medical condition impacts on school life. It is clear that pupils at school with medical
conditions should be properly supported so that they have full access to education.</p>
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