Posting this with a strong coffee, and I'm sure I'm not the only one needing that boost this morning! But, we're told that in order to survive perimenopause and menopause we need to sacrifice our coffee! Is that true? open.substack.com/pub/helencla...

1/2 Menopause ignorance costs money too. Most fundamentally, if people cannot have the conversations they need and the support they need they will walk away from the jobs they love. That has a financial cost on top of the huge personal one. #Edusky #EduskyUK

1/4 🧠Imagine your brain went to bed when you did 🧠Imagine it didn't randomly decide to switch bits of itself off 🧠Imagine it knew where it had put the words you needed to remember 🧠Imagine it remembered how to manage your mood #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

1/4 I use the word vulva in my talks too. If that means that other people never need to talk about it directly again, then great. But we take our vaginas and vulvas to work - and our bladders and urethras. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

Going through a difficult perimenopause, unsupported, alongside all the restrictions and pressures of working in a school can be devastating. We need our school staff in school doing their jobs to the best of their considerable ability. I help make that happen. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

You can't teach empathy. But fortunately you don't have to. Once you raise awareness and encourage understanding empathy takes care of itself - especially in an environment like a school, which is full of people who care. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

The last of the cherry blossom - in my garden at least. It always makes me feel sad. It's a reminder to notice. We can't hang on to it. We can't do anything with it. But we can take a moment to appreciate it.

Schools are a tough place to experience perimenopausal or menopausal symptoms. Here's why. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd open.substack.com/pub/helencla...

1/4 Conversations about menopause can be difficult. It's a very personal experience and still many taboos about talking about it. There can be embarrassment, emotional distress, a lot of mistrust and defensiveness and a very real tendency to make assumptions. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

1/2 For those of you who haven't met me yet, I'm Helen. I help schools support their staff through perimenopause and menopause - so that they can keep on doing their jobs to the best of their ability. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

1/2 Snowdrop didn't make it onto The Repair Shop! In the end she was just too big and heavy to move safely around their historic site. For those of you who missed the beginning of this story last year, Snowdrop is a mechanical elephant, created by members of my family around 30 years ago.

1/6 Has perimenopause given you mood poisoning? You know what I mean. Those little things that you used to take in your stride make you really annoyed. Those feelings of irritation that you used to take off, dig in and keep at you. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

1/4 Experiencing perimenopause and menopause in a school can be really isolating. Let's face it, you spend most of the day with lots of people - but not the people you can be honest about menopause with. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

1/4 Teaching is a tough job, and those who do it are enormously resilient. But sometimes I see an expectation seep into a school culture that they have to be impervious. That they have to keep going come what may. That they can't show weakness even to each other. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

Everybody's talking about menopause now, so we don't need to do anything to open up that conversation, right? Wrong. We need to push back on all those insidious forces which silence conversation about perimenopause and menopause. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd open.substack.com/pub/helencla...

1/4 One of the things that comes up in workshops again and again is that perimenopausal and menopausal women are sacrificing their health for the sake of those around them. Dealing with high levels of stress because they carry all the responsibility at home. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

1/2 That's where it starts. I talk to all staff about menopause, open up the conversation and help them to talk about it with each other and at home. All staff means all staff. It's really important that men are part of this conversation. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

1/6 Yes, you need a menopause policy. If your institution has more than 250 employees it will be legally required by next spring. But even if it doesn't, you still need one! #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

1/4 When I was a biology teacher I used to love teaching sex education - so I guess it's no surprise now I'm ancient that I'm supporting schools with perimenopause and menopause! #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

1/4 Even when we love our jobs that first day back can feel hard. Nerves can strike for the best of us, and when our amygdala is being buffeted on our changing hormones, then anxiety can be intense. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

I help school leaders support their colleagues through perimenopause. Because we all want all our school staff, in school, doing their jobs to the best of their considerable ability. These are some of the options and what they cost. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

As we prepare for another term, there's a real danger that you don't look up again until the next break. Waiting it out is not a strategy for surviving teaching - or for surviving perimenopause. We need to figure out how to be alive, now, not in a while. open.substack.com/pub/helencla...

1/2 Just in case you missed this wonderful article by Dr Hannah Ainsworth. She's spent the last few years researching the impact of menopause on the working lives of secondary teachers. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd theconversation.com/menopause-ma...

1/3 Going through perimenopause in school can be a perfect storm. - The challenges of working in a school can be hard work for any of us. - Perimenopause can cause a range of symptoms seriously affecting the body and brain. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

1/3 We'd all like the time to cook all our meals from scratch. We'd all love to spend our Thursday mornings queuing up at the artisan bakery for freshly made sourdough bread. Maybe we could wander through meadows and pick our own berries and herbs.

Been able to get to see Beneath the Wave at The Whitworth during this Easter break. I found myself drawn to waterfalls. Now I have to see if I can make time to see one in nature!

1/2 When I first watched Bill and Ted a VERY long time ago I thought this was naïve. Now I think it's difficult and complicated but worth a try! But, there's a big but... You also have to be excellent to yourself. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

Menopause can be really hard to talk about. I remember when I found it hard to talk about. But that's something that can change. It's my mission to change it! #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

What should it be like to experience perimenopause and menopause while working in a school? What could it be like? How can we make it better? #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd open.substack.com/pub/helencla...

1/5 I wish I could just fix menopause. Take this and perimenopause will be gone. Do this and you can stop thinking about it. Rub this lamp no-one will ever have to deal with any of this again. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

1/5 "If anyone has a problem with menopause they'll let me know". They might. Then again there are lots of reasons they might not. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

Maybe that doesn't involve eyes of newts. Maybe it doesn't involve flying on your broomstick. In my case it probably involves talking to cats. What if it just means doing your thing? In your way? For you? Go on!

Hello. For those of you that haven't 'met' me yet, I'm Helen. When I'm not helping schools support their staff through perimenopause and into menopause I'm messing with fabric and wool, and having quality time with my cats. I also really like feeding ducks! #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

My Menopause: Information, Awareness, Understanding talks make a difference. Once colleagues understand, once the conversation has been opened, it's the basis for real and lasting change. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

1/4 In an hour they'll hear About the ways perimenopause and menopause affect the body and brain. Why that can be so tough in a school environment. What our options are for helping themselves in and out of school. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

1/3 When we get a long awaited holiday the thought of doing nothing seems appealing. But of course it never works out like that. We end up with work to take home, perhaps to take some pressure off when we get back. open.substack.com/pub/helencla...

1/4 All the weird stuff that happens. Your words disappearing in the middle of explaining something to the class. A sudden burst of rage at things you would have take in your stride. The fatigue that sudden drains all your energy from you at the worst possible time. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

1/2 This is how it starts - with the staring. 8pm every evening. An hour before dinner time. Both of them. Staring. If I move they both jump up and rush to their food bowls. If I go upstairs they follow me.

1/2 Managing our workload and stress levels is really important when you work in a school. Perimenopause can have a big impact on this - it can make stress less easy to handle - and stress can also make perimenopause symptoms worse.

1/5 Going through menopause or perimenopause in schools can be tough - for lots of different reasons. It's the worry about getting to the loo - especially if bleeding is unpredictable. It's the memory loss - especially when you most need it. It's the mood swings. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd

1/5 Teachers have incredible bladder control. The working of a school relies on all the staff to train their bladders and reduce their water intake so that they only need to go rarely - and at set times. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

I've made some amendments to my price list so it tracks against the elements in the government's guidance for Menopause Action Plans - but basically what their suggesting is just some of the services I've been offering for the last five years. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

Perimenopause and menopause really do have a massive impact for people and work - and for those working in schools the impact is really specific. Here's a summary of the research together with my experience from working in schools. #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd open.substack.com/pub/helencla...

1/2 And that's just the teachers! Add in the TAs and all the non-teaching staff and that's a lot of hot flushes - and as we know it's not just hot flushes! #Edusky #EduskyUK #WomenEd

1/3 You wouldn't think it possible that someone in perimenopause or menopause could feel isolated - given all the other people experiencing the same. But it happens. A lot. #Edusky #EduskyUk #Womened

1/2 Menopause Action Plans are a thing! If your school (or more likely academy chain) has more than 250 employees it will be mandatory from next spring. #Edusky #EduskyUk #WomenEd www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/new...

1/4 Working in a school can be tough. Going through perimenopause and menopause is tough. When the too collide, it can get pretty crazy. Let me give you some examples. - Unpredictable menstrual bleeding and bladder issues when it's difficult to get time to go to the loo.

I've been knitting earrings! I found the yarn online - it's a silk covered steel wire - almost by accident. It keeps its shape in a way yarn normally wouldn't and because it's silk it can be painted or dyed. I've tried different shapes and now I'm experimenting with more complex lace patterns.

1/4 I bought myself flowers for Mother's Day. For many years it's slipped by without me noticing but this year I felt a little of the hurt. There was a time when the thought of not having children seemed unbearable. But age has softened it.

The government has introduced Menopause Action Plans. They are voluntary from April 2026. From Spring 2027 they will become mandatory for organisations with more than 250 employees. I'm here to help schools sort this out! open.substack.com/pub/helencla...