‘We must improve education around menstrual cycles in schools’ – vows Deputy Minister for Social Partnership

'Rhaid inni wella addysg am y mislif mewn ysgolion' – yn ôl y Dirprwy Weinidog Partneriaeth Gymdeithasol

‘More must be done to improving education around menstrual cycles if we are going to tackle period dignity in schools,’ Deputy Minister for Social Partnership Hannah Blythyn has vowed.

The Welsh Government’s Period Proud Wales plan sets out the ambition to embed period dignity in schools and improve appropriate education resources around menstrual cycles.

Menstrual well-being and learning about the menstrual cycle is mandatory within the new Curriculum for Wales. The Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) Code sets out the learning which should be taught over time as children grow.

It is hoped improving the availability of educational resources and learning around menstrual cycles will remove the stigma of talking about periods, improve the understanding of them and dispel the taboos and myths around them.

This includes the likes of the Hwb - Busting the Myths educational resource, which is primarily aimed at secondary school pupils.

Two core aims of the Welsh Government’s Period Proud Wales plan are to tackle period poverty, by improving access to period products, and ensuring period dignity, by removing any sense of stigma or shame associated with periods.

In 2022 the Welsh Government increased funding to ensure that period products can be accessed free of charge by learners in schools, Further Education Institutions and to those in need in communities to £3.9 million.

A research report into the Period Dignity Grant found that progress is being made in improving the availability of period products, including through schools, for those who struggle to access them.

The report also recommends there should be more information provided to people, alongside education, about periods in a bid to overcome the stigma and taboos around talking about them.

Work has also begun to co-produce education resources on menstrual wellbeing as part of the mandatory learning within the RSE Code. We are working with others to ensure practitioners are able to draw on professional support and resources that are publicly available and shared with other schools and settings across Wales.

Deputy Minister for Social Partnership Hannah Blythyn visited Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni’s Gellihaf campus in Caerphilly to see their 'Period Dignity Drive', which aims to inform pupils about the reality of periods, dispel myths and empower young girls to talk about their bodies in a confident way.

The school is also taking shared ownership of period facilities being developed across two sites.

Deputy Minister for Social Partnership Hannah Blythyn said: “Tackling period dignity is a key part of our Period Proud Wales plan. We must do more to improve education around menstrual cycles if we are going to tackle period dignity in schools.

“It has been a privilege to see first-hand the ‘Period Dignity Drive’ being carried out at Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni and their efforts to empower young pupils to talk about their bodies in a confident way.

“If we can remove the stigma of talking about periods and dispel the myths and taboos that surround them, we can improve the menstrual wellbeing and awareness of pupils in schools across Wales. This will in turn benefit their health as they become adults.”

Education Minister Jeremy Miles said: “We are striving to improve education resources around periods and ensuring period dignity is considered in guidance for schools, local authorities and colleges.

“Menstrual well-being is included in our curriculum through the Relationships and Sexuality Education Code, which is currently being rolled out in our schools. We’re also working with the Higher Education sector to promote period dignity as part of institutions’ well-being policies and practices.”

Tracey Neale, Assistant Head of Welsh-medium secondary Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni, said: “We are proud to showcase how we are embedding period dignity in our curriculum and how we are supporting young girls and families across the borough.

“It is imperative pupils are taught about the reality of periods and we remove the stigma of talking about them, so they aren’t afraid to reach out for help and are better informed about them.”

Notes to editors

Pic captions

Deputy Minister for Social Partnership Hannah Blythyn in front of a wall display about Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni's Period Dignity Drive
Deputy Minister Hannah Blythyn talking to pupils in the classroom at Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni
Deputy Minister Hannah Blythyn discussing the Period Dignity Drive with pupils from Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni
Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni
Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni's wall display about their Period Dignity Drive

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It is a legal requirement that the learning in RSE should be developmentally appropriate

A copy of the Period Proud Wales plan is available here:

https://www.gov.wales/period-proud-wales-action-plan

https://www.llyw.cymru/cynllun-gweithredu-cymru-syn-falch-or-mislif

Hwb - Busting the Myths

o Welsh Government worked with Keep Wales Tidy Eco Schools to provide this resource to promote open discussion with young people and help break down the myths around periods and period products.
o Although aimed primarily at secondary schools, the resources also include information about sustainable alternatives to single use period products and the impact these can have on the environment which may also be of use to community groups.
o Busting the Myths is accessible to all (not just schools), free of charge and can be accessed on Hwb via the link below:
o https://hwb.gov.wales/repository/resource/686e315c-2f6c-428e-8425-2740bcf3da74/en

o Keep Wales Tidy is a registered environmental charity working to protect our environment for now and for the future. Visit our website for more information: www.keepwalestidy.cymru
o Eco-Schools is run in Wales by Keep Wales Tidy and funded by the Welsh Government. For more information on the programme, please visit: www.keepwalestidy.cymru/eco-schools
o The Eco-Schools programme is owned by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) and is the largest global sustainable schools programme on the planet, running in 70 countries world-wide.
o It is designed to empower and inspire young people to make positive environmental changes to their school and wider community, while building on their key skills, including numeracy and literacy, and encompassing Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship.

o The Period Dignity Grant ensures that period products are available in every school in Wales and across a range of community venues including foodbanks, libraries, leisure centres, family centres, community hubs and youth services.

By 2027 we will live in a Wales where:

periods are fully understood, accepted and a normalised topic of conversation. It is widely recognised that periods are not a choice and period products are not a luxury
women, girls and those who have periods have easy, respectful and open access to good quality and safe products of their choice, when and where necessary
equitable access to provision across Wales exists, whilst allowing for local arrangements
the stigma, taboos and myths which exist have been challenged through provision of information and educational resources. No-one is ashamed or embarrassed about periods and can speak openly and confidently about them, whether they have periods or do not
understanding of periods will extend beyond the bleeding part of the cycle to the whole menstrual cycle, recognising that people who menstruate experience cycle-related impacts (physical and psychological) and needs throughout their cycles
the potential impact of periods and how they may change during the peri-menopause, menopause and as a result of broader health issues is widely understood and
this impact is responded to safely and non-judgmentally within education, employment and health based settings
women, girls and people who menstruate feel able to access health-based services around their period and related matters and are confident that these services will be sensitive and informed by sex and gender
a broader range of period products are in use, limiting the negative environmental impact of many disposable products
women, girls and all those who have periods:
- o fully understand their period and know what is normal for them
- o are confident to seek help and medical advice, if necessary
- o do not face health inequalities when seeking medical advice or help
- o know how best to manage their period to ensure it does not negatively impact on their life
- o have an understanding of the different types of products available, their correct use and disposal, and can choose the most appropriate product for them
- o have access to appropriate facilities to enable them to manage their period in privacy, with dignity and in a healthy way.
the historic normalisation of what might be medically concerning symptoms in relation to periods is challenged

The research report provides 12 recommendations, with some applicable to Welsh Government and others to be progressed by organisations working with the Period Dignity Grant.

Recommendations for Welsh Government:

- Map out the community networks and grassroot organisations within communities to make sure the grant is reaching those areas most in need.

- More flexibility in how and when money is spentg. carrying monies over, using more of the grant on information and education etc. within a given financial year is needed, alongside the range of items the grant can fund.

- Due to the growing amount of resource required to manage the grant, the Welsh Government should look to include administration costs especially for local authorities.

- Provide a standardised training and educational offer which all organisations can adopt. But within this, offer tailored, accessible information to suit those with literacy or language barriers.

- Look at offering a centralised ordering system, but this offer would need to be scoped out and co-designed by organisations for it to work effectively.

- Improve the way the grant is monitored – in terms of the outputs - and the overall feedback – in terms of more regular, meaningful shared learning sessions - process from organisations. Overall this would improve the quality of data and consistency of data collected in order to track outcomes and impacts for both organisations and end users alike.

Recommendations for organisations

- Make sure that there are trained and dedicated staff in educational settings that learners are both comfortable with, and are aware of, and capable of supporting more complex needs.

- Period products should be freely accessible across all settings, without the need to ask staff for products.

- Improve the levels of co-design and co-delivery of free period products and education in academic settings.

- Organisations should look to improve the availability of items including the range of absorbency levels for both reusable, plastic free and standard disposable period products.

- Information, alongside education, needs to be offered as wraparound e.g. education, information, financial support across all organisations, both with people who do and don’t menstruate to help overcome the stigma and taboos around periods. This ideally needs to be started at a young age e.g., the later years of primary school.

- Learners' experiences with using reusable products need to be offered to other learners in an educational setting. This would potentially help to overcome people’s concerns around leakage, hygiene concerns etc. and encourage people to give these products a try.