Why clean kids learn better
One organisation is tackling the important issue of hygiene poverty head-on every day
Buying much-needed hygiene products for pupils isn’t on the job spec – but it’s what many teachers do when they see struggling parents choosing between feeding their kids or keeping them clean. “I’ve bought soap, pants, deodorant, a clean jumper and toothpaste for children over my 20 years as a headteacher,” says Bryony Baynes of Kempsey Primary School near Worcester. “It’s heartbreaking to see children coming to school who haven’t had a bath in weeks or whose bedlinen hasn’t been washed in months.”
One organisation that has been set up to relieve the pressure is The Hygiene Bank, a grassroots community initiative. Stressing that being clean is a basic human right, it has an army of volunteers who collect and sort donated personal care and household cleaning essentials – all of them new, unused and in date – and take them to local community partners and organisations for distribution to those families and individuals who need them most.
Boots is supporting The Hygiene Bank by hosting dedicated drop-off bins in stores across the country where customers can donate hygiene products. For every kilogram donated in its stores, Boots gives four further products.
“Hygiene poverty is a hidden crisis, and this isn’t a problem limited to hard-up city schools – it’s across the country,” says
Bryony. “If your classmates are pulling away from you because you smell, that damages self-worth and leads to children lacking in confidence. I’ve heard children tell a teacher: ‘Miss, I don’t want to sit next to him, he stinks.’ Words like those leave scars on the soul.”
Tackling this issue can also have educational benefits. It’s a lot easier to concentrate on what a teacher is saying for a child who doesn’t feel self-conscious about their personal hygiene.
Bryony says she sees more and more families struggling financially. “Businesses have gone to the wall in the pandemic, so parents who had good incomes now have no income at all. They find it especially hard to ask for help to keep their family clean.”
Hygiene poverty might feel like a tricky topic to broach with parents – who are already hard pushed financially – because it’s so personal. And that’s why it’s important that there’s a dialogue, so that schools and parents can tackle this key issue together.
Bryony says: “We have to initiate difficult conversations about how the school can support their family. The Hygiene Bank organises donations from the
local community, and sometimes I add items like toothbrushes and period items to the school supermarket order. The problem’s getting worse, and that’s why this partnership with Boots is so needed.”