Victoria Archer
Published November 23, 2025 8:00am
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I’d become aware of a worrying pattern among some of our pupils (Picture: Victoria Archer)
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’s 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’s PE kit. It made me so happy.
For these families, that half hour of washing is more than just practical help – it’s a small moment of relief, and a chance for their child to feel prepared and ready to learn in clean clothes.
It’s moments like this that I’m glad my school is part of Suds in Schools – a nationwide programme created to combat hygiene poverty by installing washing machines in schools, so families who are struggling can still have access to washing facilities for their clothes, for free.
Before cleaning company smol donated a washing machine to our school earlier this year, I’d become aware of a worrying pattern among some of our pupils.
I was concerned about the impact this could have on their long term engagement (Picture: Victoria Archer)
Teachers had quietly told me they’d noticed some children wearing the same uniform for days and that this was having an impact on them in the classroom.
‘They don’t raise their hands due to concerns about body odour,’ one explained. Others said they’d seen certain students avoiding PE, after-school clubs or choosing to stay home altogether, because they felt self-conscious.
Naturally, I was concerned about the impact this could have on their long term engagement with school but also their relationships with their peers.
Bullying isn’t tolerated at our school, but kids can be cruel, even if it’s unintentional.
We tried to help where we could – running a food bank for families, including hygiene products, keeping spare uniforms on hand, even taking washing home ourselves – but it never felt enough.
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So when I read about the Suds in Schools programme in December 2024, it stopped me in my tracks.
The email outlined the findings from smol and The Hygiene Bank charity’s 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 – that’s over 23-million lost learning days nationally.
It also found that 91% of teachers say hygiene poverty harms children’s long-term confidence, and three-quarters believe it affects mental health and self-esteem.
I’d become aware of a worrying pattern among some of our pupils (Picture: Victoria Archer)
Knowing that applied to some of my students made me desperately sad and I knew we had to act.
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.
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).
Suds in Schools
The Suds in Schools programme installs free mini-launderettes in schools.
This programme has been helping schools since 2021, starting in Blackpool, before expanding across the UK.
With 100 laundrettes already installed, smol is now calling on the public to nominate more schools in need.
You can nominate a school by emailing [email protected]
After that, we alerted families through newsletters and one-to-one conversations and assured them that its location – near a side entrance – was private but accessible. Word spread quickly after that.
Seeing the room in action made me feel extremely proud. The relief on both parents and pupils’ faces was plain to see. And while we’d continue running our Christmas food and hygiene bank, the washing machine also meant we’d be able to keep our free school uniform shop fresh and well stocked, too.
But the best thing was seeing the shift in the children.
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.
Children who had started to become a concern due to low attendance were now not missing school and children weren’t afraid to put their hand up due to body odour issues anymore. Their confidence had been restored in ways even I hadn’t anticipated.
Their confidence had been restored in ways even I hadn’t anticipated (Picture: Victoria Archer)
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.
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: ‘It’s all ready for tomorrow.’
It’s a small moment, but one that quietly shows the difference this small resource can make to a family’s day-to-day experience.
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.
Comment now Should more schools have facilities to combat hygiene poverty? Share your thoughts belowComment NowThankfully, the Government has set up a Child Poverty Taskforce and promised a Child Poverty Strategy, due to be published anytime now. What I’d be reassured to see is for it to explicitly acknowledge hygiene poverty as part of the work and that support is needed at scale for children and schools.
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We need to treat hygiene as a basic need – it’s just as vital as food or heating – but schools cannot fix the problem alone. Partnerships like Suds in Schools show how practical, immediate support can make a huge difference.
Our laundrette can’t fix every hardship, it won’t solve hygiene poverty, but it does remove one barrier that can make the difference for inclusion and help with isolation.
Most importantly it has given families and students their dignity, confidence and their place in the classroom back. For me, that’s worth every single spin cycle.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
Share your views in the comments below.
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