Access to free period products in educational settings during the 2018-19 academic year: monitoring and evaluation report

Annex B: Full methodology

Monitoring data

Monitoring data was requested from all local authorities, colleges and universities covering delivery in two time period during the 2018-19 academic year:

• 1 September 2018 to 1 February 2019 (5 months);
• 2 February 2019 to 31 August 2019 (7 months).

Data on costs

Local authorities, colleges and universities were asked to provide data on:

• How many and what many and what type of products were purchased (sanitary towels; tampons; menstrual cups; reusable pads; liners; starter packs)
• Spend on each product type;
• Additional spend, excluding the purchase of period products, categorised by type (set up, staffing, delivery and promotion/marketing).
• Whether the reported costs included VAT and, if so, at what level.

For the 2 February to 31 August 2019 data collection period, institutions were provided with a template spreadsheets on which to log this information, to help standardise the information recorded and provide guidance on the data requested. There was some variation in the level of detail recorded about products: some entries included full information on the number and type of products (e.g. "Always Ultra pads with wings"), while others simply recorded "Tampons".

Analysis

For each institution (providing data was available), several variables were derived by Scottish Government analysts from this data:

• Unit price of each product type: reflects the spend on each product type divided by the number of that product type purchased.
• Estimated uptake: reflects the number of products required to meet the full annual disposable product requirement of the whole menstruating pupil/student population divided by the total number of disposable period products purchased divided by institutions.

Data on delivery

Local authorities, colleges and universities were asked to a range of questions to inform understanding of delivery approaches. This included information on:

• The types of period products made available to pupils and students.
• An estimate of uptake
• A description of the delivery model implemented
• Whether the full extent of planned delivery had been achieved and, if not, the reasons why.
• Whether there were any times in which pupils or students could not access period products from their school/college/university.
• A description of the provision in place to support access to free period products outside of term time.
• The number of period products held in stock (i.e. not yet distributed).
• What worked well/less well in delivery.
• How burdensome providing access to free period products was.
• Any logistical challenges faced.

Local authority workshop

The purpose of the workshop was to supplement the evaluation data collected from local authorities on the provision of period products in schools, with a view to gathering additional qualitative data on what is working well and what is working less well in delivery, and why, from the perspective of local authorities.

Local authorities were asked several questions, structured around three key themes. The themes and questions were agreed in advance between COSLA and the Scottish Government.

Theme One: Exploring different delivery models

Aim: to develop understanding of the effectiveness of different delivery models across local authority areas.

Attendees were prompted to discuss:

1. Which model of delivery they chose and why e.g. baskets in cubicles/ vending machines/ other.

2. Reasons why other models were not suitable

3. If they have had to change or develop their modelling; if so why and how have they done this.

4. What has been the impact of Public Private Partnership (PPP) schools?

Theme Two: Exploring different management approaches.

Aim: to develop understanding of challenges faced when this initiative is managed by different Council departments and how they are resolved.

Attendees were presented with brief case studies of approaches taken by two local authorities taking a teacher/education-led delivery approach and one local authority taking a facilities management-led approach.

The group prompted to discuss:

• Does the experience of these local authorities reflect their own?
• If not how do they manage the distribution of products/ what other challenges have they identified ( e.g. uptake/ storage/ restocking) and how have these been resolved?

Theme Three: Exploring Variable Uptake

Aim: to understand the causes of variable uptake in different schools within a Local Authority where the same model is applied.

Attendees were prompted to discuss their experience of uptake and any actions being taken to address variations in uptake.

Analysis

Thematic analysis was undertaken using the main topics outlined in the research objectives as a starting point.

Student survey

The methodology of the student survey conducted by Young Scot, on behalf of the Scottish Government, can be found in their access to period products report.

How to access background or source data

The data collected for this social research publication:

☐ are available in more detail through Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics

☐ are available via an alternative route <specify or delete this text>

☐ may be made available on request, subject to consideration of legal and ethical factors. Please contact <email address> for further information.

☒ cannot be made available by Scottish Government for further analysis as Scottish Government is not the data controller.