Think back to the way you first learned about periods. Was it from a parent? A well-meaning sibling or friend? A doctor or nurse? A teacher?
The classic response is that, as adolescents, all the boys were taken off to one room while the girls went to another for “the period talk”. The boys sometimes had an extra PE lesson, or learned about wet dreams, or simply wondered why all the girls seemed to have been given a free gift.
Interviews with teachers and graduates show that this approach left pupils with more questions than answers, and it still goes on in many schools.
In a co-educational environment, however, mixed-sex classes will support learners to have a healthy attitude to periods now and in future, and it’s easier than you think to create an atmosphere that supports everyone.
A good start
Delivering only single-sex lessons about menstruation unwittingly entrenches taboos.
Time is tight in schools and curriculum topics fight for space. If pupils see staff going out of their way to schedule separate lessons, this singles out periods as a touchy subject that should be kept secret, when actually we should be sending the message that menstruation, and talking about it, is completely normal.
Mixed lessons on menstruation and puberty are also an excellent jumping-off point for other sex and relationships education. It’s worth getting this right, because it could be the first (and possibly only) time that pupils see healthy mixed-sex conversations around reproductive health being modelled.
Good quality menstruation education can set the tone and expectations for how these conversations are conducted in future: with partners, in medical settings, among friends, and when interpreting media messages around periods, fertility, pregnancy and birth.
This doesn’t mean that withdrawal groups don’t have their place. Mixed-sex schools at both primary and secondary level have a duty of care to support protected groups under the Equality Act 2010.
Teachers may need to provide extra support for trans pupils, students with English as an additional language, and those with special educational needs.
Additional withdrawal groups can be offered for vulnerable girls, early menstruators or students who “opt in”, perhaps over lunchtime or as part of a weekly drop-in clinic run by the school nurse. But mixed-sex classes should be the first port of call and the professional standard we’re all striving towards.
Lesson tips for mixed-sex groups
- Focus on physiology and addressing period taboos in mixed groups, but remember also to allow pupils to explore the different options for menstruation management. The Menstrual Product Mambo is one way to teach students about these - it’s a dance created by #periodpositive as a way to talk about internal, external, reusable and disposable products.
- Make sure to include trans and non-binary pupils.
- Ensure that all pupils analyse the packaging and advertising of disposable menstrual products - you don’t have to experience periods yourself to help friends or family manage them. Acknowledge menstrual taboos and look at the ways in which reusables are promoted as compared to disposables, and how that has changed over time. The Ad Access Archive is a great online resource of old advertisements.
- Teach girls what happens to boys during puberty just as sensitively.
Single-sex lessons
Things to consider when you’re teaching girls:
- Remember that even a single sex group won’t definitely all be menstruators and that assuming otherwise can alienate or panic pupils.
- Remember also that physiological and chromosomal conditions can mean that some young women never menstruate. Illness, mental health crisis and other trauma can delay the onset of menarche or stop periods for a while, too.
- Some girls start puberty very early and you need to use language that reflects this. Periods may not be a “future thing” but a current issue - or even old hat. You might set aside dedicated lesson time to discussing menstruation management or to answering questions, or schedule an additional withdrawal group for students facing these issues.
Things to consider when you’re teaching boys:
- Not all boys have sisters or mums at home, but all deserve to learn about periods in a school setting, and sooner rather than later.
- Some boys (or their parents) may argue that they will rarely come into close contact with menstruation now or in future. Nevertheless, they might one day become healthcare or childcare professionals, and should learn the facts about fertility and menstruation management, rather than continuing to believe the myths (for example, that periods are dirty, or even that menstruating women have to go to A&E).
Final thoughts
It may seem daunting to teach a mixed group, particularly if you don’t happen to menstruate yourself. Just think, though: not all geographers have been to the Jurassic coast, RE teachers can subscribe to any religion or none, and most French teachers were born in the UK.
Expertise is usually learned. Teachers who have periods but no menstruation education training aren’t necessarily any better at delivering these lessons, and pupils will respect the opportunity to learn and grow together.
Chella Quint is a menstruation education researcher, a former head of PSHE and founder of #periodpositive (www.periodpositive.com)
Find a wealth of engaging resources to help you teach period education here.
