So much gets stuffed into this summer break. And a lot of it is about other people, spending time with them, catching up with them, and making sure they're ok. But get some me time. It gets squeezed out in term time and it gets squeezed out in holiday time. It's more crucial

It’s Day 4 of #4for40 40 days until the end of August-40 chances to share 4 photos each day from the summer They can be anything: 🌿Sights 🍦Snacks 🏖️Adventures 📚Lazy moments Post your 4 photos below-use the hashtag #4for40 so we can all see & enjoy them! Please share/repost!

Is this peak prudery? My spell check doesn't like the word 'breast'. I can talk about breastfeeding without it changing the word to something else. But not about breast pain, or breast cancer or, as in this particular case, the paint colour on my chimney breast! Most of us have

HeadteacherChat Patrick Ottley-O'Connor Toria Bono FCCT John Magee 🇬🇧UK Kindness Schools' Ambassador Sphoenix- Nic Owen 👂🏼 Louise Pennington FCCT (She/Her) Sarah Johnson (was Dove) Dr Poppy Gibson B Yusuf FCCT👩🏾‍🔬 FRSA | Whole School Wellbeing Lucy Williams FRSA MCCT Rani Tiwana TheTattooedHeadteacher Deputy CEO 🏳️‍🌈✊🏾she/her Step Up Network CIC Lorraine Schofield 🙋‍♀️ Helen Clare, Menopause in Schools Mr G Lisa Fathers OBE FCCT

Six weeks sounds like a long time, but it can take a good few weeks to change pace, to prioritise ourselves and to get the rest we need. But what is the rest we need. It's not doing nothing. And it's not carrying on regardless either. How do we figure out what it is we need to

tidycal.com/haclare/quick-… I'm still around during the summer break. I'll be working on a menopause art project, making a fancy dress for my 60th birthday party, and running round after mechanical elephants - but I'm happy to take calls. And if you'd prefer to think about

You're in front of the class in full explaining mode. You know what you're going to say. You've said it a hundred times before. All your words are stacked up ready to come out. And then they aren't. You've forgotten what you were going to say. You've forgotten what you just

I'm making a new dress - for my sixtieth birthday party! This is just the toile. It's a good job I made one because it was far too big and had to be altered. I'm going to go and get the real fabric later - a cobalt broderie anglais! Which leaves me 4 and half weeks to make it.

I hear horror stories. Standing in front of a class and feeling blood trickle down your legs. Sitting down and not being able to stand up again because there's a mess on your skirt and on the seat. Having to wait until the class has gone and then call for help to clean up.

It's often middle leaders who find themselves on the spot dealing with colleagues who are struggling with peri/menopause. They find themselves having really important conversations without really understanding what's going on or knowing how they can support. Offering those

You wait for this holiday for weeks, months even. And then when it happens it's tougher than you expected. Your memory's worse. Your sleep's up the Swanee, you still find yourself stressed and peri/menopause is not giving you a break. What if routines are your friend not your

Laughter won't just brush away the cobwebs from the heart, it'll clear some away from that perimenopausal brain! It helps you relax, gives you clarity, reduces your blood pressure and bonds you to other people. I hope you're doing plenty of it! #Edutwitter #WomenEd

It's August. But perimenopause and menopause haven't gone away - and neither have I. Going through peri/menopause in a school is tough. Hot flushes, mood swings, memory loss, brain fog, toilet emergencies, joint pain. No way to escape, no way to hide, nowhere to cool down,

Here's Minnie-paws having a snuggle. But this calm, happy cat is not the cat that came to me 10 years ago. She'd been passed on when her family got a new baby and a new dog, but made her way back to her old house. Unfortunately her humans had moved and she ended up on a building

It's so important that the whole staff have that understanding of menopause. It's not something to be whispered about in corners. It's the reality of many people's lives and they need to speak about it and be heard. Other staff need to feeling confident and comfortable around

Suddenly our brains don't work like they used to. Things get forgotten. Our attention strays. Managing all the different strands of our lives seems harder then ever. Our mood shifts unpredictably. Anxiety comes from nowhere. And the rage! Perimenopause happens in our brains.

Making progress on the dress for my 60th birthday party! Next I need to 🪡 attach the sleeves 🪡 elasticate the top and bottom of the sleeves 🪡 cut and attach an 8 inch tier to the bottom 🪡 trim the bottom so it has the zigzag edge like the sleeve. Wish me luck!

I'm curious. We tend to think that perimenopause and menopause symptoms will improve in the break because there's less stress than during term time. But sometimes there's a whole load of different stresses - or other ways we aren't looking after ourselves as well. Or sometimes

I guess this one is a Science teacher joke. I know Maths teacher jokes too. There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary and those who don't. Remember laughter is good for you, even when the jokes are bad.