What would be the most useful when it comes to thriving through perimenopause and menopause while working in a school? 1. Menopause policy and reasonable adjustments. 2. Understanding of colleagues 3. Support group 4. Advice/mentoring/workshops etc. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

Celebrating and supporting women in education leadership! A great event from Step Up Network this Sunday 10:00 to 11:15. It's free but here's the booking link! See you there? #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/step-up-in...

Each year I look out for the blackthorn blossom. For me it's the first sign of spring! Even better, I know that wherever I find this blossom in March, in October I'll find sloes. Sloe gin....mmmm.

1/4 We all need to keep our cool in the classroom! All teachers and classroom assistants do it. You stay calm in difficult and challenging situations. You manage children and young people who are often poorly emotionally regulated. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

A Menopause in School SOS workshop puts participants on the right track - whether that's solving problems in the classroom or taking the necessary steps to improve their own peri/menopausal health. It's a small investment for a big impact! #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

Perimenopause and menopause can cause real problems with our health, our mental health and our cognition. We're already doing a job that's challenging. Put those two together and you've got a recipe for 'just too much to keep on'. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

Has you school got a menopause champion. Is it something you've considered. It's a really good way of ensuring that the needs of perimenopausal and menopausal colleagues are considered and met. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd open.substack.com/pub/helencla...

No-one wants peri/menopause to disrupt their working life. No-one wants to watch their colleagues struggle. We're all trying to give the children and young people we work with the best possible education. Lets stop peri/menopause getting in the way! #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

1/4 This is never more true than for menopause. You're never going to stop it. You're never going to turn the clock back. It's going to keep marching on, doing what it does and you're going to keep working out how to deal with whatever it throws at you.

Good morning to anyone going through perimenopause and menopause while working in a school. Hang on in there! We can help! #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

If we want to make the lives of our colleagues going through perimenopause and menopause in school easier there's a simple starting point. We make more of their colleagues aware of what's going on. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

Going through perimenopause and menopause while you work in a school is tough! I know that through personal experience and from the many school staff I've worked with over the years. That's why I'm here to help. Drop me a line! #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

1/3 It's a horrible feeling. The word won't come. You had it. It was there. And now it isn't. None of the other words are quite right. It's one you use all the time. And it's not there. So you end up replacing it with something that's not as good - or even ridiculous. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

10 Reasons Everyone Needs to Know about Menopause. Everybody? The whole world? Pretty much. But definitely the whole school needs to know about menopause. Here's why! #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd open.substack.com/pub/helencla...

1/5 Why Menopause in Schools? I work with schools. I've worked in, alongside and with schools all my working life. I've talked to hundreds possibly, thousands of people who work in schools about their work and about their struggles with perimenopause and menopause. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

I love it when my work in schools creates a chain reaction! Helping just one person - or a small group of school colleagues can create a change that goes so much further. The conversation starts to spread and more and more people can be supported. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

1/2 I hope you're all enjoying your half term break? We popped along to Manchester Art Gallery to see the Trading Stations exhibition - all about hot drinks - and of course to drink coffee and eat cake.

1/2 Some days it's exhausting just thinking about it. Eat right. Sleep right. Exercise right. Manage your stress. Do your mediation. Advocate for yourself. As well as do your job and keep your family on track. Phew! #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

Going through perimenopause and menopause when you work in a school can be tough. It's the hot flushes when you've no control over your environment. It's needing the loo when you can't leave your class. It's brain fog when you've so much to remember. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

1/4 We're having a by-election. It seems we're having THE by-election. And it's exhausting. I shalln't say who I'm voting for - I'm not exactly sure yet, anyway. What I can tell you is... I'm tired of choosing the least worst option. I'm tired of politics that isn't about policy.

One of the things that comes up in my sessions in schools is tummy trouble. But it turns out that looking after your gut is not just about preventing digestive problems - it might also help keep our oestrogen levels more stable. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd open.substack.com/pub/helencla...

1/5 Sometimes, when you've a moment away from thinking about the practicalities of perimenopause, the practicalities of working in a school, there's a feeling that starts to bubble up. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

Perimenopause and menopause can be extremely challenging. Working in a school can be extremely challenging. Put the two together and you have a difficulty which can overwhelm people. We don't want that to happen!

1/2 Imagine mornings weren't like this. Imagine you didn't wake up groggy and underslept. Imagine the anxiety didn't kick in as soon as your head clears. Imagine you felt like your old self - imperfect but on top of everything. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

How do you get to grips with perimenopause and menopause in your school? How do you make sure all your colleagues understand what it's all about, so they can build empathy? tidycal.com/haclare/quic... #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

1/4 The best kept secret about surviving peri/menopause in a school? It's all about you! Yes, really. In lots of ways. Firstly, this experience is unique to you. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

1/2 I think training my bladder was the most important thing I learned in my first week at school! We're really good at timing it, holding it, ignoring it. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

Appraisals can be a big source of anxiety for teachers as they go through perimenopause. And yet a constructive appraisal process could help. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd open.substack.com/pub/helencla...

1/4 Struggling with memory hits really hard in perimenopause. Especially if it's your words or your plan failing you when you're in front of a class. Teaching can feel very exposed. It's the thing my clients in schools talk to me about the most. But just a thought. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

1/5 Shout out to all physiotherapists and to the practice of physiotherapy. I love you! Even when I hate you! Even when you've got your elbow in a pressure point. Even when I'm doing boring exercises that leave me sore.

1/7 Does tech have the answer to menopause? There are cheaper, if less attractive, ways of dealing with a hot flush when it happens. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

If your colleagues are going to hear about menopause or talk about menopause then they need an atmosphere that's comfortable, relaxed and fun. They also need to be able to trust the information they're given - and there's plenty out there that's not to be trusted. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

1/3 Someone once complained that the work I do is political. But isn't not helping people through menopause political? Isn't underinvesting in female health for centuries political? #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

1/4 I work in different ways with different schools. Sometimes I go in for a talk or a workshop and that's it. Sometimes I have a longer relationship with a school where I return termly - or we set up regular meetings over the length of a term. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

We often assume that anger is something that gets bottled up and causes trouble if it's not released. What if that's not the case? What if there's a different way of looking at peri/menopausal rage that will help us manage it better? #Edusky #WomenEd #EduskyUK open.substack.com/pub/helencla...

1/6 This is one of those kind of remarks that's said to me from time to time. I don't like it. There's no doubt that the way you think about menopause affects your experience of it. Those grieving for children they never had often have a worse physical experience. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

1/5 Of course you know what you're doing with pregnancy. You know what to say and you know what needs to be done. But perimenopause and menopause? It's a lot harder to know how that's going to play out and what needs to be done. Three incontrovertible facts. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

1/6 Anyone else finding business as usual hard at the moment? Does it seem weird to carry on with our every day lives while we're watching videos of people being murdered by their government? Does reality feel a little unreal?

If you haven't met me yet, I'm Helen and I help school leaders support their colleagues through perimenopause and menopause so that they can get on with the jobs they love. Working a school while going through perimenopause or menopause can be a challenge too far! #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

1/3 Dental drills don't seem much to celebrate do they? Although I guess there are worse ways to deal with cavities and caries. But it does give me opportunity to remind you to see plenty of your dentist while you're in perimenopause.

1/6 When it comes to perimenopause and menopause it's really important we talk about all of it - even the icky bits, even the embarrassing bits, even the bits that make your eyes water. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

Perimenopause can be tricky to recognise - especially if it shows up in weird ways, which it almost always does! On top of that, if it gets misdiagnosed and mistreated things can spiral downwards very quickly. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd open.substack.com/pub/helencla...

I love the opportunity to travel and see different schools and connect with people face to face - but to be honest Zoom sessions are really effective and they're a lot cheaper for you! If you need to know before you decide - I'm in Manchester. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

A great article about the difficulties faced when teaching through perimenopause - particular when it affects the brain causing memory loss, mood shifts, fatigue and brain fog. I can help schools with everything that's mentioned here. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

1/3 Don't you wish you could just find a nice spot and curl up for a nap any time you fancied like Minnie-paws can. Maybe in the store room or prep room or in a corner of the staff room? Maybe just at your desk. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

1/3 Sometimes it helps to look at things differently. Instead of asking the question "do perimenopause and menopause make working in a school tough?" we could ask the question "does working in a school make perimenopause and menopause tough?" #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

1/6 Blue Monday's been well and truly debunked right? But what it shows is just how something can get shared, discussed and gather credence even when it's total hokum. That happens in discussions about perimenopause and menopause too. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

None of us want educators struggling because of perimenopause and menopause. None of us want them leaving because of it. None of us want the price of coping in school to be their health and their life outside of school falling apart. Drop me a line! #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

Peri/menopausal rage is definitely a thing. It's not a great thing in the classroom and it's not a great thing if it damages relationships with our colleagues. But what if it's justified... open.substack.com/pub/helencla... #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

1/5 Imagine going through menopause in schools wasn't a big deal. Imagine that everyone was prepared to recognise it and no-one got blindsided or misdiagnosed. Imagine everyone knew how to ride out the mood changes so that nothing blew up. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd