By Mrs. Sarah Mullen @BCAMrsMullen In 2007 I was diagnosed with unexplained infertility. At the time I was a middle leader, newly married and the diagnosis hit me hard. What followed was 5 years of fertility treatment, miscarriages, ectopic pregnancy and a gruelling adoption process, all whilst still trying to forge a career in education. Tod...
by Vi Gandhi @V1Gandhi Earlier this month, I reached out and found #WomenEd, a global grassroots movement of women leaders in education. When I read about how the organisation started and spoke with founding member, Vivienne Porritt, I noticed that although they were not aware of the science behind it, they knew the benefits of seeing stress ...
by Punam Mohandas @PunamMohandas Two years ago, I had a female student who was just so contrary and sly. She complained about me to her father for no reason, who then complained to the Director of my Faculty. A few days later, the student sent me a message saying she's always mentally and emotionally disturbed around the days leading to her m...
By Esther Mustamu-Daniels @EstherMDanielsI had never considered the impact of a miscarriage until I had my first loss four years ago. As I began to share my story, I realised that so many of my colleagues had experienced a loss of some kind at some point. My first three losses were missed miscarriages where I lost the baby before three months...
By Punam Mohandas @PunamMohandas Of late, I've been coming across some interesting discussions on Twitter among UK-based female teachers, on the subject of menopause. Clearly, it's an issue that deserves serious consideration in the workplace, among employers. Whilst pregnancy is seen as a naturally occurring condition where women deserv...
By Sam Fuller, Director & Founder of The Wraw Index
Navigating the Covid-19 pandemic has dialled up the pressure on employees in all sectors, but for those working in education the challenge has been unprecedented. Now, as schools break for the summer, the invitation is to take stock. How has the pandemic impacted staff wellbeing, and what can we learn from this to continue to support those in education to perform at their best? We recently conducted a study of employee resilience and wellbeing across the UK, analysing data from almost 9,500 working people. The findings, laid out in the Wraw Resilience Report 2021, give a detailed breakdown of resilience in the workplace today, and provide important insight for leaders in education.
by Anna Zyla
I used to teach at a school that had 55 minute blocks. My prep periods were bundled together in the morning leaving me with an afternoon of four back-to-back classes. Any woman around 13-55 can likely spot the potential issue here. Forget about peeing. When was I supposed to change my tampon? I taught seventh grade so while many of the students knew about periods I definitely didn’t want them knowing anything about mine! The thought alone was horrifying.
by Fertility Issues in Teaching @fert_teaching
Women make up 75.8% of the teaching workforce. It’s time we do more to support the majority. Supporting wellness for women through huge life events such as menopause and even infertility can increase staff retention and save a lot of money.
Here's how businesses and organisations can support women’s health in the workplace!
by Gwawr McGirr @gwawrmcgirr
As lockdown in March 2020 became inevitable I can remember feeling a sense of shock. At times like this – being a musician – I draw on the tremendous resource that is music, and I felt a really strong sense that as a Music Department we should share a few occasional pieces of music to the staff team, to keep people’s spirits up, whilst also providing a means to connect with other staff. My HOD, as ever, was very supportive of the idea and told me to work away!
by Lisa Camilleri @HappierHead
Well, here we are in 2021. I think it's safe to say that for the vast majority of the human race, 2020 was not the year we were expecting. In many ways, I would have been quite happy to hide my head under my duvet and sleep the new year in. However, on this occasion I chose to stay up till the early hours just to ensure it really did leave us….and kick it up the bottom on the way out!
by Nichola Lynagh @nicholalynagh
My stand out moments, some of which have shaped who I am in the world..
At 32 I was diagnosed with a treatable non-curable cancer: Non Hodgkins Lymphoma; a word I am very familiar with now as 51 year old woman.. – how did that happen? I still feel 30, lol!! Cancer brought such a challenge to me and my family; words cannot describe the fear and devastation I and they felt.
by Lisa Hannay @lhannay1
Recently at the #WomenEd book launch for our second book Being 10% Braver I was talking about my hopes for my chapter. There are loads of reasons I wrote my chapter but really the ultimate reason was to loosen the grip that shame often has on my heart and soul.
by Tara Harding
The menopause can trigger both anxiety and panic attacks, followed by fatigue. However, there is no need for women to feel helpless as there are some remedies available. This article will shed some light on what to expect when these symptoms occur and how they can be kept at bay.
by PeriMenopausalMe (real name withheld) #WorldMenopauseDay
Sometimes, actually quite often, I feel that my sparkle has stopped sparkling and a dullness has taken over. What the hell has happened? This feeling throws me into a panic and then I start to consider doing things to boost the spark; get a tattoo, dye my hair red, learn to ride a motorbike, take a solo trip to Barcelona, dance all night to disco tunes. All these boosts are fine, they certainly get me sparkling again but they’re not long-lasting and I can be thrust back into the ‘dull’ place again, especially when I am at work.
by Victoria O'Farrell @vjofarrell #WorldMenopauseDay
We were in a queue at Universal Studios in LA, (yes LA ,California! Trip of a life time and all that!) when I said ‘I’ve got to go!’ With blood streaming down my legs and filling up my denim shorts, I locked myself in a toilet cubicle in shame. I tidied myself up, tears welling up. ‘What the hell is going on? I’ve just finished my period and now this, blood, thick clots, so much blood!’.
