period education
for your school…
for teachers
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everything you need for your class..
Our education packs are downloaded every single day globally!
We believe it’s not enough to just increase access, we also need to increase knowledge and awareness too.
We have created comprehensive lesson plans for teachers to use with students of all ages about periods.
These range from games like “period bingo” to more detailed information about female anatomy.
Simply download the pack that corresponds to the age of student you teach and find all kinds of lesson plans for you to use for free.
We always love hearing how you get on with running your own period workshop, please give us any feedback you receive from your students. Email education@heygirls.co.uk if you need any further support.
the primary school pack includes:
- Teachers’ Guide Plans for 2.
- Activities and 4 Lessons for use with pupils aged 8+.
- Full Learning Spiral linked to Curriculum benchmarks in Scotland, England and Wales.
- Hints and Tips for Assemblies, Extra Curricular Activities, running a Period Poverty campaign and distributing period products in your school.
- We’ve created an educational animation for primary school students, take a look here.
the secondary school pack includes:
- Teachers’ Guide, including advice on integrating period education across your school.
- Plans for 5 Activities and 7 Lessons for use across the school.
- Full Learning Spiral linked to Curriculum benchmarks in Scotland, England and Wales.
- Hints and Tips for Assemblies, Extra Curricular Activities, running a Period Poverty campaign, and distributing period products in your school.
- We’ve created a primary and secondary school educational animation video as a useful tool to understand periods.
the youth group pack Includes:
- My Period Bingo Activity, including activity information and bingo cards.
- Period Product Testing Activity, including activity information and advice, suitable for all ages.
- Planning a Period Poverty Campaign Guide, detailing how to plan and run a campaign in your community.
- We’ve created a primary and secondary school educational animation video as a useful tool to understand periods.
train the trainer
Hey Girls runs free Train the Trainer sessions for schools that buy Hey Girls period products. Get in touch with your Local Authority to find out about training in your area or email education@heygirls.co.uk
Distributing period products in your setting…
Since March 2018, Hey Girls has been working closely with partner schools, colleges and universities to help distribute period products. We have seen some amazing examples of best practice. As free period products become more and more available, we thought it would be helpful to bring together recommendations into an easy Step-By-Step guide.
This guide is for anyone responsible for distributing period products. We hope it is helpful for decision-makers in schools, colleges, universities and Local Authorities across the UK. It is designed to share best practice in product distribution that is emerging in Scotland, and give you ideas for how providing free products could work in your setting. We want to support you to support your students.
Download the pack
helpful links to other organisations
We hope you will find the below external resources helpful…
need extra support or found an opportunity for us to fill? Say Hey!
contact@heygirls.co.uk FAQs
Why is period education important?
In 2018, Hey Girls undertook consultation to find out what the gaps were in period education. We spoke to pupils, teachers, schools, stakeholders and the general public. Our research showed that current provision of period education at the end of Primary School is often quite good. The problem is that learning is often delivered only once, and often only to girls. We’re calling on Secondary Schools can do more to continue the conversation and create positive environments for pupils to ask questions about the changes happening to their bodies.
What learning resources do these resources meet?
The Primary and Secondary School packs provide full Learning Spiral linked to curriculum benchmarks in Scotland, England and Wales.
My Period is intended to achieve the following overarching learning outcomes:
- Stimulating discussion to reduce stigma
- Empowering people and boosting confidence
- Sharing practical tips
- Conveying biological facts
Hey Girls supports the following key messages when having conversations about periods with people of all ages and genders:
- Being positive about menstruation
- Acknowledging a range of experiences
- Encouraging body confidence and body positivity
- Including everyone in the conversation (those who have periods and those who don’t)
- Interrogating our attitudes towards periods
- Dismantling stigma and taboo
- Making period education fun!
How do the cards support learning across the school?
Hey Girls My Period cards were designed to help start conversations about periods. We’ve found that one of the best ways to tackle this previously taboo topic is to get students talking and asking questions. The cards can be used by themselves during small group work or as teaching aids within lessons.
My Period comprises 50 cards covering every aspect of menstruation. Each card has an image on one side and an explanation on the other. They are an ideal resource to use whenever the topic of menstruation arises, constantly reinforcing the message that it’s OK – everywhere in school – to talk about periods. We have devised a range of activities you might want to use in either mixed or single gender groups, both large and small.
Shop online for My Period cards. For bulk orders contact orders@heygirls.co.uk
How do we roll this out?
We strongly recommend that all schools build period education into their existing PSHE / RSHP curriculum. One of the main problems with past period education is that the topic was often only covered once (often when pupils were very young, and often with only female pupils in the room). We feel it is very important to return to the topic at least annually in mixed-gender classes from the age of 8. Read why here.
These resources provide Lesson Plans and Activity ideas for use across the school. These can be adopted directly into your provision, or selected and adapted to complement your current offering. Lessons focus on the basic practicalities and biology in the early years, with older pupils examining how messaging in the media can shape stigma and taboo, exploring reusable period products, and learning about related medical conditions and when to seek help if something is wrong. My Period includes a range of activities from 10 minutes up to a full double lesson, to allow full flexibility in integrating periods across your existing curriculum. You will know what your school already delivers in terms of puberty and menstrual education and whether there are any gaps.
Best practice network
We are in the process of creating a Best Practice Network to share learning and ideas – both in the distribution of free period products, and in providing empowering education. Please get in touch at education@heygirls.co.uk
