The start of a new term brings plenty for schools, colleges, and other educational settings to organise. Teams need to prepare classrooms, restock supplies, and check facilities before students return. Your washrooms should be on that list too, including making sure students can access period products when they need them.
Having sanitary towels, tampons, and suitable sanitary bins available on site gives students a comfortable and dignified way to manage their period during the school day. With the right sanitary products, dispensers, and waste collection service in place as term starts, you can keep everything stocked, serviced, and ready to use throughout the academic year.
Read more about sanitary products in schools below.
Key Takeaways
- Period products for schools should be included in your start-of-term washroom checks, making sure students can access the essentials they may need during the day.
- Providing both sanitary towels and tampons gives students a choice and helps you prepare your washrooms for different needs.
- Period provision should also include suitable sanitary bins, giving students somewhere discreet and hygienic to dispose of used pads, tampons, and liners.
- Regular sanitary bin servicing and waste collection helps facilities teams keep on top of hygiene and make sure waste is removed and disposed of correctly.
- Anway Washrooms can bring period products, dispensers, sanitary bins, collections, and wider washroom supplies together under one service, giving your school fewer things to organise.
Get a Quote for Sanitary Bin Services with Anway
Put Period Products on Your Back-to-School Checklist
Students can be caught without a period product for all sorts of reasons. Their period might start unexpectedly during the school day, they might have used the last product they brought with them, or they simply might not have access to what they need at that moment.
Making products available in your facilities gives students something they can turn to without having to leave the premises or ask someone for help. When you’re planning sanitary products in schools, it’s worth checking both what you provide and how easily students can access it.
Why Access to Period Products Is Important
Periods are a normal part of everyday life, and students need practical facilities to manage them while they’re at school or college. Convenient access to period products can help them deal with their needs privately and comfortably, then get on with the rest of their day.
Think about where students will actually need the products too. Keeping sanitary towels and tampons within or close to the washroom can make them much easier to use when needed, particularly when a student is already dealing with an unexpected period.
What Period Products Should Schools Provide?
There isn’t one product that suits everyone, so giving students some choice is useful. For most educational settings, regular sanitary towels and tampons are a good starting point when reviewing the period products for schools you want to stock.
At Anway, we can supply applicator tampons and sanitary towels, alongside the dispensers and washroom equipment needed to make them readily available. You can choose a setup that suits your facilities and how you want products to be accessed.
Sanitary Towels
Sanitary towels, also commonly called pads, are an important option to have on hand for your students. They’re simple to use and can be suitable for those who prefer external period protection or who don’t want to use a tampon.
We supply sanitary towels that can be stored on a wall-mounted bracket or in a vending machine. When checking your facilities before term starts, make sure there’s enough stock and that someone knows when to review and replenish supplies during the school year.
Applicator Tampons
Tampons give your students another option for managing menstrual blood during the school day. Providing both pads and applicator tampons allows individuals to choose the type of period protection they’re most comfortable using.
We can supply applicator tampons alongside sanitary towels as part of your washroom provision. Keeping both products available can make your facilities better prepared for the different preferences and needs of students using them.
Make Products Easy to Access
Where and how you stock period products for school students is another key part of your planning. Within the washroom, some schools may prefer a simple dispenser, while others may want a more structured vending solution. Options could include:
- Keeping products in their original cardboard dispenser box on a counter or shelf
- Mounting the box to the wall using the free bracket we supply, with double-sided tape
- Decanting sanitary towels and tampons into your own storage or dispenser
- Using a dedicated washroom vending machine to hold and dispense the products
At Anway, we can offer dual feminine vending machines and multi-product washroom vending machines. This gives schools and colleges different ways to provide products depending on their facilities, student numbers, and how they want the service to work.
Don’t Forget Sanitary Bins and Waste Collection
Once you’ve decided how students will access period products, you also need to think about what happens after they’ve been used. Pads, tampons, and panty liners need a suitable disposal point, which means making sure washrooms have enough sanitary bins in the right locations.
Sanitary bins give your students a discreet place to dispose of used products and help keep sanitary waste separate from other washroom waste. Before term starts, check that your bins are in place, easy to access, and included within a reliable servicing and collection schedule.
Make Sure You Have Enough Sanitary Bins
When deciding how many sanitary bins you need, look at the number and layout of your washroom cubicles. Providing nearby access to a sanitary bin means students don’t need to carry used products outside the cubicle to find somewhere suitable to dispose of them.
We can supply and install durable, visually appealing sanitary bins to suit your facilities, including slimline options where cubicle space is limited. We can also advise on what you’re likely to need during a free site visit to discuss your washroom requirements.
Arrange Collections With a Reliable Service Provider
Sanitary bins also need regular servicing. How often they should be collected will depend on student numbers, how heavily the facilities are used, and how quickly the bins fill up. A good service provider will help you set up the right schedule and adapt it as needs change throughout the year.
Our team can arrange weekly, fortnightly, or monthly sanitary bin collections. During each scheduled visit, we’ll remove the sanitary waste, service the units, and handle disposal safely and compliantly, with your service records and waste paperwork available through our digital portal.
A Simple Start-of-Term Washroom Check
A quick check before students return can help you spot missing products, low stock, or servicing requirements before your washrooms get busy again. For schools and colleges, we’d suggest looking at the complete period provision as one part of your wider facilities checks.
Your back-to-school washroom checklist could include:
- Make sure appropriate sanitary towels and tampons are available
- Check dispensers or vending machines are stocked and working
- Check you have enough replacement period product stock on site
- Make sure sanitary bins are installed where students need them
- Review your sanitary bin collection schedule for the upcoming term
- Put a system in place for holding waste collection and service records
- Restock soap, toilet rolls, hand towels, and other washroom essentials
Doing these checks before term starts gives your teams a clear picture of what’s already sorted and what else there is to do. Regular reviews once students are back can also show how your washrooms are being used, so you can adjust stock, collections, and service levels as your needs change.
Manage Your School Washrooms Through One Supplier
Your facilities team can quickly end up with several different tasks, from restocking period products for school students to servicing sanitary bins and arranging safe, compliant waste disposal. At Anway Washrooms, we can bring these services together, helping you manage your washroom products and sanitary waste through one friendly, trusted team.
Alongside period products and sanitary bins, we can also supply and service other washroom essentials, including soap dispensers, hand towels, toilet rolls, air fresheners, and other hygiene products. With scheduled visits, DBS-checked staff, and a digital service portal, we can help you stay on top of your washrooms throughout the school year.
Get Your Washrooms Ready for the New Term
Whether you need period products, sanitary bins, washroom vending machines, or a reliable sanitary waste collection service, Anway Washrooms can help you get the right setup in place for your school, college, or other educational setting.
Have a chat with our team about what you currently have, what you need for the new term, and how often you’d like us to visit. We can help you put together a seamless service that keeps your products stocked, your bins hygienic, and your sanitary waste taken care of.
Contact Anway to Discuss Your Requirements and Get a Quote Today
FAQs About Period Products for Schools
What period products should schools provide?
Sanitary towels and tampons are useful products to have available, giving students a choice in how they manage their period and making sure they can access something suitable when they need it. At Anway, we can supply sanitary products for schools and colleges, along with a choice of dispensers and vending options to make products easy to access within your washrooms.
Where should period products be available in schools?
Period products for school students should be somewhere easily and discreetly accessible. Depending on your setup, products can be provided through simple dispensers or washroom vending machines. At Anway Washrooms, we can help you look at your facilities and choose an option that works for your school.
Do schools need sanitary bins if they provide period products?
Providing period products doesn’t, by itself, create a separate legal requirement to provide sanitary bins. However, if students, staff or visitors are using sanitary towels, tampons or panty liners on your premises, you should provide a suitable and discreet place for them to dispose of used products.
How often should sanitary bins be collected in schools?
Your collection frequency will depend on how many students use your washrooms and how quickly the bins fill up. Busier schools or particular facilities may need more frequent visits than smaller sites or washrooms with lower usage. At Anway, we offer weekly, fortnightly, and monthly sanitary bin collections. Get in touch about your likely bin usage and we’ll help you choose a sensible schedule.
Can Anway supply both period products and sanitary waste services?
Yes. We can supply period products for schools including sanitary towels and applicator tampons, along with dispensers and vending machines to help make them available within your facilities.
We can also supply and install sanitary bins for your washrooms, arrange scheduled servicing and collections, dispose of the sanitary waste and provide service records through our digital portal.
This means your school can manage the products students need and the waste they produce through the same friendly, trusted supplier.