{"id":784,"date":"2025-11-23T08:34:36","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T08:34:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/badvibes.live\/?p=784"},"modified":"2025-11-23T08:34:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T08:34:36","slug":"my-pupils-were-afraid-to-raise-their-hands-i-had-to-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/badvibes.live\/?p=784","title":{"rendered":"My pupils were afraid to raise their hands \u2013 I had to act"},"content":{"rendered":"

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 <\/p>\n

At 09.10am on a recent Tuesday, I walked past the busiest room in my school.<\/p>\n

Not a classroom, the assembly hall, or even the canteen.<\/p>\n

No, our school\u2019s laundry room.<\/p>\n

I could hear the washing machine humming steadily inside and then I spotted the parent of a Year 5 pupil washing their child\u2019s PE kit. It made me so happy.<\/p>\n

For these families, that half hour of washing is more than just practical help \u2013 it\u2019s a small moment of relief, and a chance for their child to feel prepared and ready to learn in clean clothes.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s moments like this that I\u2019m glad my school is part of\u00a0Suds in Schools<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 a nationwide programme created to combat\u00a0hygiene poverty<\/a>\u00a0by installing washing machines in schools, so\u00a0families who are struggling<\/a>\u00a0can still have access to washing facilities for their clothes, for free.<\/p>\n

Before cleaning company smol donated a washing machine to our school earlier this year, I\u2019d become aware of a worrying pattern among some of our pupils.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Teachers had quietly told me they\u2019d noticed some children wearing the same uniform for days and that this was having an impact on them in the classroom.<\/p>\n

\u2018They don\u2019t raise their hands due to concerns about body odour,\u2019 one explained. Others said they\u2019d seen certain students avoiding PE, after-school clubs or choosing to stay home altogether, because they felt self-conscious.<\/p>\n

Naturally, I was concerned about the impact this could have on their long term engagement with school but also their relationships with their peers.<\/p>\n

Bullying isn\u2019t tolerated at our school, but kids can be cruel, even if it\u2019s unintentional.<\/p>\n

We tried to help where we could \u2013 running a food bank for families, including hygiene products, keeping spare uniforms on hand, even taking washing home ourselves \u2013 but it never felt enough.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

So when I read about the Suds in Schools programme in December 2024, it stopped me in my tracks.<\/p>\n

The email outlined the findings from smol and The Hygiene Bank charity\u2019s recent research. It said that hygiene poverty in UK classrooms has surged by 68% in the last year, meaning nearly three-million children have been affected, with teachers reporting an average of 6.5 school days lost per child \u2013 that\u2019s over 23-million lost learning days nationally.<\/p>\n

It also found that 91% of teachers say hygiene poverty harms children\u2019s long-term confidence, and three-quarters believe it affects\u00a0mental health<\/a>\u00a0and self-esteem.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

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Knowing that applied to some of my students made me desperately sad and I knew we had to act.<\/p>\n

I immediately applied for a washing machine for our school, outlining the ways in which it would be used to support our children and families. And in February we had a follow-up email to say our application had been successful.<\/p>\n

Within a couple of months, what had been our staff room was transformed into a working laundry room, with smol installing the washing machine and donating a steady supply of detergent (which is now sent every quarter).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After that, we alerted families through newsletters and one-to-one conversations and assured them that its location \u2013 near a side entrance \u2013 was private but accessible. Word spread quickly after that.<\/p>\n

Seeing the room in action made me feel extremely proud. The relief on both parents and pupils\u2019 faces was plain to see. And while we\u2019d continue running our\u00a0Christmas food<\/a>\u00a0and hygiene\u00a0bank<\/a>, the washing machine also meant we\u2019d be able to keep our free school uniform shop fresh and well stocked, too.<\/p>\n

But the best thing was seeing the shift in the children.<\/p>\n

Pupils who had kept to themselves began joining in again, one boy who had previously completely avoided PE even started participating enthusiastically once he had a clean kit ready each week.<\/p>\n

Children who had started to become a concern due to low attendance were now not missing school and children weren\u2019t afraid to put their hand up due to body odour issues anymore. Their confidence had been restored in ways even I hadn\u2019t anticipated.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Before long, the laundry room was busy most mornings and afternoons, with a family either using the washing machine just after school drop-off or just before school pick-up.<\/p>\n

For that parent of a Year 5 pupil, carefully folding their kit into a neat pile at the end of the cycle at school is practically routine now, but I could still sense their relief when they looked at me, smiled and said: \u2018It\u2019s all ready for tomorrow.\u2019<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a small moment, but one that quietly shows the difference this small resource can make to a family\u2019s day-to-day experience.<\/p>\n

But our school is one of the lucky ones. Over 100 schools currently have Suds in Schools laundrettes, yet there are many more who could benefit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thankfully, the\u00a0Government<\/a>\u00a0has set up a\u00a0Child Poverty<\/a>\u00a0Taskforce and promised a\u00a0Child Poverty Strategy,\u00a0<\/a>due to be published anytime now. What I\u2019d be reassured to see is for it to explicitly acknowledge hygiene poverty as part of the work and that\u00a0support is needed at scale for children<\/a>\u00a0and schools.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We need to treat hygiene as a basic need \u2013 it\u2019s just as vital as food or heating \u2013 but schools cannot fix the problem alone. Partnerships like Suds in Schools show how practical, immediate support can make a huge difference.<\/p>\n

Our laundrette can\u2019t fix every hardship, it won\u2019t solve hygiene poverty, but it does remove one barrier that can make the difference for inclusion and help with isolation.<\/p>\n

Most importantly it has given families and students their dignity, confidence and their place in the classroom back. For me, that\u2019s worth every single spin cycle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  At 09.10am on a recent Tuesday, I walked past the busiest room in my school. Not a classroom, the assembly hall, or even the canteen. No, our school\u2019s laundry room. I could hear the washing machine humming steadily inside and then I spotted the parent of a Year 5 pupil washing their child\u2019s PE […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t