TTR0053

Written evidence submitted by Period Positive

  1. Period Positive is an organisation that promotes quality education and positive attitudes towards all aspects of menstruation. It was founded by Chella Quint, formerly a Head of PSHE in a Sheffield School. Period Positive’s start up came from support from Sheffield Council, and has since grown to a UK wide, and international, movement. From its beginnings, Period Positive developed its programme of work by working with students and teachers. It grew into a campaign, a trademark, a charter programme and a movement. Period Positive is committed to challenging and pushing the menstrual discourse forward so that it is in line with social justice and human rights values of equity and inclusivity.

 

  1. Period taboos and the habits that uphold them lead to negative consequences like period poverty, late diagnoses of reproductive health problems, sustainability issues, unsafe behaviour, gender discrimination, and social exclusion all around the world, including right here in the UK. Period Positive exists to improve education in schools and to eliminate those taboos through accurate education, comedy and the creative arts. We promote period positive information and practices across education, businesses and the public sector. We wish to submit evidence to the Education Select Committee based on the feedback we have received from teachers across the UK regarding the specific question of “How well does the current teacher training framework work to prepare new teachers and how could it be improved?”

 

  1. Period Positive is currently campaigning for ‘Menstrual Literacy for all’. This is based on the feedback young people gave to Period Positive when the project was being developed. Menstrual Literacy has four aspects:

●        Body Literacy – understanding how our bodies work and the physical and emotional changes involved in puberty and menstruation

●        Product Literacy – Knowing what products are available, including a full range of reusable menstrual products

●        Media Literacy – the skills and abilities to critically analyse the messages received about periods from the media and to be able to identify when shame and taboos are promoted as a way of securing specific goals, for example marketing

●        Cultural Literacy – the ability to understand and critically analyse the cultural norms that exist in all cultures, including your own, that promote certain negative messages about menstruation

 

  1. Importantly, Menstrual Literacy is about teaching and learning about menstruation, but it is not about retaining that subject solely in Personal Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Education and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE). Menstrual Literacy is about delivering menstruation education across the curriculum to make it a normal part of everyday life. With RSE now a statutory subject and with the increasing emphasis from Ofsted on empowering students to leave school equipped to live healthy and safe lives through a fully embedded whole school PSHE curriculum, this cross-curricular approach to menstruation demonstrates what the future of quality education could look like.

As Founder Chella Quint notes:

“We’ve all heard that ‘All teachers are teachers of English’. What if we also consider that ‘All teachers are teachers of menstrual literacy’?”

  1. Period Positive has worked with pupils, teachers, parents and health experts to consolidate a curriculum program of study which we recommend for use as statutory guidance within the National Curriculum. The document has been circulated widely for review and very well recieved.It was shared as a draft in 2018 with the APPG on Women’s Health, reviewed by young people at the Big Bang Fair 2019 with support from WaterAid UK. It was passed as a motion in the Sheffield NEU in JUne 2022, launched in Parliament in July 2022 with support from Olivia Blake MP and The Rt. Hon. Baroness Shami Chakrabarti It was also very well received at the APPG on the Teaching profession in February 2023/ It is recommended that teachers are trained within the Period Positive Pledge framework which is a document that supports best practice in menstruation education, training and advocacy. The curriculum document can be found here:  https://periodpositive.files.wordpress.com/2022/07/a-period-positive-national-curriculum-chella-quint-20-july-2022.pdf

 

  1. Period Positive is currently working with educators and subject experts to design examples of such work. These examples include:

●        Physics – Periods in space and being an astronaut on your period

●        Business studies – creating and running a menstrual products business

●        Physical Education – Understanding the impact of menstrual cycles on athletic performance

●        Design and Engineering – Innovating and designing new menstrual products and learning about the ones that have already been created

●        Art – Using art to express the experience of menstruation and to challenge taboos around periods

●        Drama – Using theatre or comedy to invite people in to share education about menstruation and challenge taboos 

One of the students we work with explained their perspective:

”I think it's important for all teachers to teach about periods, because some people might not feel comfortable with a specific teacher. So if everyone teaches then everyone will be comfortable.”  A 12-year-old focus group participant

How well does the current teacher training framework work to prepare new teachers and how could it be improved?

  1. The teachers Period Positive works with often tell us they do not feel adequately trained to deliver accurate education about periods. They would like education about the subject as part of a wider, improved training programme on RSE. Many subject teachers, for example those going into Physics, find that there is often no consideration for their interests in delivering any menstruation education, yet they are personally keen to do so, and again would like training on this subject.

As Frankie Arundel, Head of PSHE and Citizenship, at Firth Park Academy, Sheffield, said:

“It is essential every member of staff feels comfortable and confident to answer questions about periods because they involve everyone.”

  1. One strong theme fed back to Period Positive from teaching professionals is that their schools need funding to offer quality CPD on menstruation and other aspects of RSE and to integrate the topic of menstruation across the curriculum. A lack of funding, initial teacher training, and subsequent CPD has left the teachers we work with feeling ill equipped, and unable to meet the needs of their students. In our opinion, this in turn reduces morale and a sense of wellbeing amongst the teachers we have worked with. Nina Gunson, a Headteacher stated that is currently participating in the Period Positive badge scheme noted,

“We’re really excited to be a Period Positive school! Seeing how much this means to our students and how empowered they felt to have a lead voice in this area, I would encourage other schools to sign up for the Period Positive badge and become Period Positive Schools!”

April 2023