The average age to be menopausal is 51, and perimenopause most often starts in the early 40s*.  ‘The majority of teachers tend to be 40 or over’, and according to data from the Department of Education, 83 per cent are female.

And, given the demands of teaching, it can be harder to manage than in many other jobs as there isn’t the option to work from home, and you can’t leave the classroom whenever you want to nip to the loo or take a breather.

You may not ever experience menopause yourself, or perhaps you’ve been lucky enough to breeze through it, but now really is the time to learn more about it to help you understand that, for a lot of women, it can be a difficult time. Many even consider leaving work because of debilitating symptoms and are even more likely to do so if they don’t think they will be supported at work.

*It is important to note that there are women who experience menopause sooner due to premature ovarian insufficiency or surgical menopause

Here’s what it's like to be in menopausal shoes

Scenario 1: You’ve just arrived at school to discover you have ‘flooded’ and have noticeably bled through your clothes.

Reality: “It’s that constant fear that you might have a stain on the back of your skirt that you don’t know about,” says Helen Clare, a former biology teacher 

Scenario 2: After years of experience and feeling confident in your teaching, you are suddenly experiencing extreme self-doubt and anxiety. A parent emails you to challenge how you have interacted with their child and asks for a meeting to discuss. You feel paralysed and unable to reply.

Reality: Among women who had taken time off due to menopause, 39% had cited anxiety or depression as the main reason on their sick note rather than sharing their menopause status.

Scenario 3: Night sweats often wake you in the early hours, and then you can’t get back to sleep. This constant interruption, sometimes having to change the bedding, is causing tension between you and your partner and you often arrive at work running late and feeling tearful.

Reality: It used to be said that menopause-related hot flashes fade away after six to 24 months. But for many women, hot flashes and night sweats often last a lot longer—by some estimates, seven to eleven years.

Just a few of the real issues that those going through menopause can struggle with in the school environment. So what can you do?

How to know if menopause could be affecting your staff

Good leaders will maintain close relationships with their people by having regular check-ins and are therefore more likely to notice any changes in behaviour or performance, such as appearing:

• Less organised
• Forgetful
• More tired than usual
• Low mood
• Tearful
• Less tolerant of, well, everything

But you won’t always notice there’s a problem if someone is putting up a good front, which is why it's important to create the right environment for women to be able to tell you they are experiencing symptoms that are affecting how they work.

Create the right environment to talk

School leaders need to lead by example. Make your school menopause-friendly, starting with your language and behaviours. Talking openly about menopause in meetings and in the staffroom makes it a welcome topic, and how it is talked about makes a difference.

Try flipping doom-laden phrases to positive, solution-focused language.

For example:

“I’m dreading the menopause!” can be flipped to: I’ve heard it can be challenging; let’s find out more.

“My Mum went through hell” can be flipped to: “My Mum had a really tricky time. I wouldn’t want anyone here to suffer in silence - please reach out if you are struggling.”

Practical support

Start with the basics to make an impact:

• Make sure there’s easy access to drinking water
• Plan a system for toilet break cover
• Create a menopause hamper, which can include such things as pads and tampons, painkillers, emergency chocolate, and a list of well-researched reputable resources, such as those from CIPD, Menopause Matters and Rock My Menopause.

As a school leader with many responsibilities, you could understandably see menopause as yet another one to add to your never-ending to-do list. A good leader empowers, though, so help people help themselves and each other. Here at HCS, we’ve worked with lots of organisations that have chosen to set up their own menopause hub or support group for people to get together (online or in-person) to share stories, challenges, ideas, and solutions.

At your next staff meeting, can you raise the topic of menopause and ask staff what would work for them, and task them with taking the next steps?

Humour

No doubt you will have heard poor attempts at humour around the menopause brought to you by the creators of such gems as: ‘Smile love, it might never happen’ and ’Women’s problems, eh?’

Good humour around topics that bring challenges can really bring people together, break down barriers and help demystify. Share the funny stuff so that people can connect over the often-frustrating symptoms to bring those who are going through menopause together, taking their colleagues and partners with them.

Our very own Kerry Leigh and her comedy partner, Mandy Tootill, a.k.a. comedy duo Toots and Leigh, wrote a song parody about menopause and shared it with an audience of mixed genders and ages. It went down a treat. Go and take a look!

And if you want to treat your school to some Menopause Awareness training - delivered the Happy-Centred Schools way - please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Now go and open the windows!

Kerry Leigh has been a professional comedian and compere for over 20 years and is one of our most experienced and sought-after consultants and facilitators. She has a talent for quickly building rapport with any group and is a captivating trainer and host. Not only that, but she was the child star of the Operation board game TV ads and has a deep appreciation of stationery, being particularly happy when she has a good-quality notebook in her hand.