Six Months on and #ChooseToChallenge – IWD 8th March2021

Written 8th March 2021 and sent to my newsletter subscribers – to subscribe click HERE

Six months into my new challenge of launching Bright Lead Ltd, I felt it was time to let everyone know what I’ve done and achieved.  The fact this coincides with the upcoming International Women’s Day (IWD) on 8th March is fitting, with this year’s theme being #ChooseToChallenge.  Those who know me very well, know, I much prefer having, developing and writing about new ideas to writing about my achievements, so this is a #challenge for me! IWD 2021 is all about choosing to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements, choosing to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality, to help create an inclusive world.  From challenge comes change – AMEN to that!  Is it ironic or prophetic that schools go back in England on this day – a day to celebrate the achievements of women, many of whom have held down their jobs while home-schooling and shouldering much of the burden of running their homes – perhaps IWD 2021 is truly a day of emancipation?! Or a cruel twist of fate…! Those I’ve worked with will recognise my passion for engendering a life-long love of learning, and my desire to create schools as ‘learning communities’.  Throughout my career I’ve always tried to model this thirst for learning, and so I’ve continued to keep abreast of ideas, reading and attending webinars surrounding leadership and the pedagogy of remote learning, and I enjoyed hosting a webinar on ‘Girls and Hybrid Learning’ back in September. Towards the end of 2020 I became an accredited EmergeneticsTM Associate allowing me to use psychometric profiling alongside my work with individuals and teams.  2021 began with me becoming a Mental Health First Aider, and I’ve now embarked upon the Resilient Leaders ElementsTM training, allowing me even more tools to help support my group and 1:1 work.  Given my watchword at Bruton was ‘resilience’, this toolkit should make the girls and staff smile! Resilience is key in this challenging, chaotic time we’re all living through, and so I’m extremely proud that the Senior Leaders’ Group Coaching Programme, supported by the Girls’ Schools Association, is having such a positive impact upon participants.  Originally designed for Heads, it was clear very early on that Senior Leaders, from Assistant Heads to Deputies, were even more eager for the opportunity to work together to develop their leadership skills. We follow a ‘curriculum’ designed to develop high performance leadership, looking at a range of skills from self-awareness to presence and persuasion.  The focus is ensuring sustained and consistent high performance across all aspects of work and life rather than high achievement in one or two areas at the expense of the others leading to dissatisfaction and disillusionment – so important at this time.  One of the participants said ‘It is by no means easy however, Nicky runs this course with energy and enthusiasm allowing you to feel 100% supported throughout.  This has been an opportunity for me to really connect with a fantastic group of like-minded people but also to reconnect with myself. When the world around you is chaos, the opportunity to sit and think for an hour a week has been brilliant.’  Cohort 2 starts March 23rd, so do get in touch if you’re interested or know someone who might be! I’ve also loved developing and delivering a wide variety of leadership development programmes, working with educators and those in the video games sector.  For one large studio a Leadership Training Programme (LTP) is run over six months, a mixture of monthly sessions and self-study.  The initial focus is upon self-leadership, and then building great teams, culminating with building a high performance culture within the organisation.  Based around classic and modern ‘primers’, the self-awareness ‘piece’ uses an EmergeneticsTM profile.  It’s a great programme which has translated extremely well to Zoom, and can be adapted to the needs of any leadership team. I’ve worked with other games studios on shorter programmes to help them build trust and establish themselves and their parameters for working together, including development work on constructive and successful challenging conversations. Running parallel to this is 1:1 coaching which has also transformed into group career development and interview coaching. Again, bespoke solutions have been developed, tailored to the specific needs of the team.  I’ve found this work to be highly creative, and hugely satisfying given the positive impact on a wider variety of leaders than was possible to me previously, and have really enjoyed working with fantastic associates.   Developing the courage and culture for courageous conversations and managing conflict underpins this leadership development work.  I’ve run two webinars for the GSA on successful challenging conversations with parents and staff and a similar session for the Southwark Schools’ Learning Partnership.  I’m booked with JAGS, Jersey College for Girls and Queen’s College, London for later this year.  I‘m finding appraisal feedback training and conducting appraisals for Heads and Senior Leaders hugely worthwhile and this an area I want to continue expanding.  Hosting Bea Wray’s talk “What Harvard taught me but my kids made me learn” was also impactful, and a great way to start 2021.  I’m looking forward to challenging myself to do more to bring interesting women to speak about their leadership experiences in future. At the same time I started vaccination volunteering which has been great fun and good for my mental health in equal measure.  A legitimate way of ‘breaking-out’ of lockdown which has suited my rebellious streak, it’s rather like managing a really positive (if huge!) lunch queue and I’ve relished the human contact. Having spoken at the GSA Heads Conference in November 2019, I’ve also continued my ‘passion project’ work to raise menopause awareness, both generally and in schools with colleagues and pupils.  Menopause is not an issue that affects women in isolation, and everyone knows someone at that stage of life.  The ONS statistics show that menopausal women are the fastest growing demographic in the workplace so awareness is important for all leaders – an increasing number of whom are in this demographic themselves.  I’ve had my blog published by #DiverseEd Menopausal Musings: What to expect as a Senior Leader with the menopause | Diverse Educators and am a contributor to the upcoming #DiverseEd book with my chapter in the AGE category of protected characteristics.  I’ve spoken on the We Lead Well podcast with Vicki Maguire and been mentioned in @JPJourno’s 29th January 21 ‘Menstruation taboo’ article in the TES.  I’ve also submitted an article for inclusion within #WomenEd’s Innovate journal about ways in which women leaders can be supported in education and ways we can retain women leaders at all stages of their career, involving male colleagues in this change as well.  I was invited to speak with the Bristol Education Partnership schools by Badminton School in November and St Mary’s, Cambridge have asked me along to speak to staff and pupils in the future too.  As the many girls I have taught will know, helping to create an inclusive world is so important to me, and allyship runs alongside this quest, which was why I was honoured to be a panellist for the inaugural Boarding Schools Association Diversity and Inclusion Conference.  Having found this a #challenge to write, I must thank Hannah Wilson, @Ethical_Leader, for the encouragement.  Her #IAMREMARKABLE workshop I attended, a Google initiative empowering women and underrepresented groups to celebrate their achievements in the workplace and beyond, is to be recommended.  I’m also extremely grateful to my former GSA, Bruton, Calne and Putney colleagues, my mentors (you know who you are!), my friends and family, and the ever patient Rob for your total support with this journey.  It’s exciting because I’m learning so much and it’s having such a positive impact!  About VAT returns, accounting and Mailchimp (!) of course, but also about developing myself and others.  This has been a period of huge growth, and more is to come! I’m pleased I’ve taken the plunge to write this #choosetochallenge update and would encourage you to #choosetochallenge yourself this IWD 2021!  Do tag me in on Twitter or LinkedIn using #choosetochallenge or contact me on nicky@brightlead.co.uk or via the Bright Lead website. I’m looking forward to developing the business further, focusing upon my mission of serving and inspiring others, and myself, to be our ‘best selves’ with courage, compassion and optimism.  This is an optimistic time of year, with the snowdrops giving way to crocus and daffodils, and there’s a Bright future ahead (sorry, that’s corny I know!).  I’m now publicly challenging myself to not leave it for another six months before sharing progress with this great venture, and hope you’ll continue this journey with me and hold me accountable to this commitment!

Written 8th March 2021 and sent to my newsletter subscribers – to subscribe click HERE

Leadership lessons from sport – rethinking ‘failure’

This last month has been one of sporting highs and lows, or of ‘agony and ecstasy’ as the papers like to say. 

It’s humbling to hear of the sacrifices and passion of not only the sportsmen and women but their families and supporters too.  We have superb examples in Tom Daley, our most decorated diver, finally achieving his childhood dream of an Olympic gold medal with his diving partner Matty Lee after years of dedication, determination and medals elsewhere, and Bethany Shriever getting gold in women’s BMX racing, despite her funding being withdrawn and so working as a teaching assistant and crowdfunding in order to continue her passion. 

The messages for us are clear – hard work pays off, commitment is king, passion can overcome obstacles, and so many more.  But who cannot have failed to have groaned with despair for Katarina Johnson-Thompson, pulling out of the heptathon after a calf muscle injury while competing, the GB women’s hockey team conclusive loss, and Jessie Knight, a former primary teacher turned 400m hurdler who firstly had disrupted training and preparation as she had to isolate as she had been in close contact with someone on her flight to Japan who had tested positive for Covid-19, and then tripped as she approached the first hurdle in her heat, shattering her Olympic dream.  They all ‘failed’ to achieve their dreams despite considerable efforts.

Given the fantastic achievements (and some heartaches) this Olympics we might be forgiven for forgetting about the Euros which dominated the previous month – was it really only 3 weeks ago that the England football team reached the final of the Euros?  Of course, this was followed the very next day with the spotlight on the pernicious racism from some sections of ‘supporting fans’, who preferred to focus negatively upon the individuals responsible for 3 missed penalties rather than the best team outcome in 55 years.  As Gareth Southgate said, we’ve been fourth, then third, now second, in major championships – and next year is the World Cup so watch this space…

Thomas Edison said failure taught him 10,000 ways not to make a light bulb. Making failure work for us instead of against us, starts with acknowledging and owning what we have done or has happened.  Henry Ford also said that ‘Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently’ . 

One missed goal, messed-up project or set of A level results does not define you as a person.  I ‘failed’ my A levels and eventually became the Head of an independent girls’ boarding school.  The experience of ‘failure’ made me the determined and tenacious person I am today, with a life-long passion for learning and a determination that the young people and adults I was responsible for had the opportunity to learn how to learn in a way I didn’t, and saw learning as their life’s work to be ready for change, not just to pass through hoops society determines is necessary at one moment.  It is what makes me passionate about leadership development, reframing our experiences as learning opportunities.

How we handle our setbacks, the mindset we bring to them, is the starting point of making us stronger as leaders and people.  If I had sailed through aged 18 perhaps I wouldn’t have had the passion and drive for what I am doing now, wouldn’t have understood those students and adults finding their challenges hard, would have been less patient with them trying, and trying, and trying, until they got there.  One of the highlights of my teaching career was seeing the GCSE grade C Maths result of a girl in her Upper Sixth year – finally achieved after diligently taking it every November and June sitting since Year 11 until she managed it. 

As the great Stoics would say – and probably Edison, Ford and no doubt Southgate too – when faced with setbacks we need to ask ourselves, ‘what can I learn from this? how will I do things differently next time? what qualities and values will I be grateful to have developed as a result of this experience?’  We truly learn more from things not going quite to plan than things going smoothly and, if we acknowledge our difficulties and own them and reflect upon our learning, we will be better leaders as a result.  That being said, I hope things go as smoothly as possible for as many as possible with both A level and GCSE results published next week!

Oxygen masks on!

We must get our oxygen masks on quickly and prioritise wider personal and professional development for staff!  We owe it to our young people to ensure CPD isn’t just about our technical IT skills, as important as they are.

Like myself, many people didn’t make the transition they might have expected to this summer.  Many teachers and leaders decided not to hand their notice in at Easter or May because of a sense of loyalty to the school and the pupils they serve.  Indeed Teacher Tapp research suggests that retention of teachers due to the pandemic will resolve the often previously discussed teacher recruitment crisis for now, which is excellent news for our young and their education.  Many skilled younger staff cannot afford to take the risk of a step away into a new career , when there is so much uncertainty in the job market and, frankly, little else available.  This year, many middle and senior leaders decided to stay in their current post rather than look for promotion elsewhere, perhaps also because of uncertainties over the housing market.  And, in truth we all know how exhausting job applications are and how much time they take – not many had the stamina and emotional energy left for the demands of an application process in the thick of things during the Spring and Summer. 

Those of us who did leave had very mixed emotions about the way things ended.  I had been planning my move out of headship and into my coaching and leadership development business for 18 months and was excited about it.  Being a Head, even if I had wanted to stay and ‘see things through to the end’, there was no way back from handing in my notice, as my successor was appointed back in January, well before we were aware of the impact that  COVID would have.  Once it was clear this was going to be a longer haul than just the Spring/Summer, like many, I felt torn.  Any good leader wants to see a crisis through to its conclusion, and in some senses leaving in August felt like an abdication of the duty and service I had given myself to, more than wholeheartedly, for the last eight years as Head, 30-ish as a teacher.  The huge relief I felt in enabling my successor to plan properly for September with the team, much earlier than she would have done under normal circumstances, only heightened that feeling, and I know I am not alone in this.  The growing realisation that ‘seeing this through to the end’ will take years made me feel much better, and reduced the feelings of guilt at leaving ‘part way through’ and being excited about my next move.

What has become abundantly clear now is that it is essential for middle and senior leaders, and heads to prioritise their own wider personal and professional development, which has perhaps been left on the back-burner as they understandably grapple with honing IT skills and familiarity with the technology. The skills in providing excellent blended learning lessons with students at home, sometimes overseas, and in the classroom, and simultaneously.  The challenges of delivering an excellent education for our young are, and continue to be, huge, and our teachers, senior leaders and heads are exhausted. I felt @curriculumNI put it brilliantly in a recent #UKEduStories session on blended learning when she said she thought we’d been focusing our efforts in developing ourselves and our teaching upon Maslow’s hierarchy of needs rather than Bloom’s taxonomy. What I took that to mean was our planning of lessons, curriculum and school systems have understandably focused upon physiological needs, our needs for safety, love and belonging, which have taken precedence over developing ourselves and our lessons in terms of the pedagogy at this stage. Our need to know HOW to do things technically has taken precedence over the WHY are we doing it like this and WHAT are the best ways of enabling higher order thinking and development, both for ourselves and our pupils. I think we are on the cusp of moving into the next stage of perhaps a more ‘Bloom’s focused approach’ – and some have done so, which is really exciting.

Development of our personal leadership skills, and skills necessary for the next career move, have been put on the back burner by many at the moment, perhaps understandably.  But, it is no good if we manage to achieve great things for the school, only for the flame of our inspiration to go out because other areas of our life have been neglected and we are exhausted and dispirited.  We need to look at how we can perform highly and sustainably across the board, because there is a difference between high achievement and sustained high performance, and this isn’t going away anytime soon.  More than ever before, now is the time to bring this personal and professional development forward and spend time developing our sustainable ‘best-selves’.  The airline analogy of needing to look after ourselves before looking after those around us has never been more appropriate. 

These last few months (is it really only months?!) have also been a time when people are taking stock and reassessing what is really important to them.  I am speaking to many leaders who are thinking differently about their futures and they need help to work things through, to people who want to develop themselves in order they can be the best leader possible, both in their current role and in the future.  There is a growing realisation that personal development is key.  We owe it to our young people to put our oxygen masks on first, to look after ourselves and prioritise our wider personal and professional development, so we can provide them all with the best run schools and therefore the greatest opportunities for them to have their brightest futures. 

If you liked this……  Starting mid-November, I am running a 12 week group coaching course for senior leaders in a safe, confidential online environment to support you to develop your personal balance, energy and leadership skills, enabling you to lead your school as well as you possibly can. You will find the group provide support and challenge to you to enable you to be your best self at this difficult time – I know this works, and wish it had been available sooner when I was a Head! Do contact me asap to have a conversation to find out more about it via my email nicky@brightlead.co.uk or via my Calendly link on the http://www.brightlead.co.uk contact webpage. I look forward to speaking with you.

Take a deep breath… all change…

So much has happened in the past few months it’s difficult to know where to start!  Time has, on the one hand, whizzed by with barely a moment to pause and think (before a new change  has been made or guidance document written or updated), and on the other it’s gone really slowly – is it really only just over 2 months since our ‘normal’ became completely abnormal?!

Change is the only certainty in life – some would also say death and taxes, of course.  And the size and frequency of the changes have, in my mind, been the key challenge for us all.  The magnitude of the change to our liberty, willingly kept to by the majority, is mind-blowing.  The frequency of the ‘rules’ changing can be confusing and disruptive, particularly if there is debate around who is following them (or not as the case may be).  The impact of these changes is going to be huge for everyone, particularly the younger generations.  With the intensity of impact of these changes I’ve learned a lot about myself, and those around me; how we react under pressure, need a sense of community and collegiality, and have different approaches to loyalty, service and responsibility.

I’ve been bowled over (though am also unsurprised) by the dedication of my colleagues to do the best by their students, having had huge change thrust upon them with very little time to prepare.  I’ve had to find new ways of thinking and operating, and draw on sometimes rusty tools in order to cope.  Most people have.  I’ve spent more time trying to understand myself and those around me, and how I can be my best self in this new world, and am now getting excited about the opportunities this will bring for us all.

Because as schools and businesses reopen and we start to emerge, I mostly feel really grateful for these changes, for being forced to think in new ways, and to visualise life differently.  Of course there have been moments of despair and frustration and, at the other end, joy and elation.  There is so much to learn from this experience.  It’s been the best of times and the worst of times, but as the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius said “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”  Take a deep breath, and lets enjoy the new chapter of our changed world, instead of hankering over re-reading the previous chapter…

Digital Detox?

Before Christmas I met up with family to go skating at Somerset House – which was a wonderful start to the holiday season and two holiday weeks away from home.  Between there and going back on the train and bus to my brother’s home for some supper, my phone disappeared….  And so began my enforced Christmas digital detox. 

We tried to locate it using ‘find my phone’, but to no avail – it had already been switched off.  I disabled everything I could.  But, I couldn’t remember my password to my Apple ID, and so, having tried several times, was locked out of my account until the help services could get in touch with me.  I was told by auto-generated email that this would take 3 working days – which would take us to Christmas Eve, and my account was protected until then. 

The next day the phone shop were brilliant, immediately giving me a replacement SIM card but, alas, I had no phone in which to put it.  Assuming the phone was stolen, I was very kindly given a phone for Christmas, and was excited to think I would be back operational in a couple of days, once the account was unlocked. 

I hadn’t realised how reliant I was on my gadget until this point.  I hadn’t brought an Ipad or a laptop, because I can do everything on my phone I need to over a holiday period. 

And then I received the email from Apple which said that I would be contacted on January 3rd regarding my Apple ID password, so that the process of verification could take place, during working hours.  2 whole weeks away!  No access to a gadget in that time!!  Suddenly, I couldn’t keep checking my bank balance, vital at this point of the year! Or send whatsapp messages to friends and family.

So, I had to borrow others’ devices in order to check anything at all, which involved lots of extra verification and was a pain for all involved.  I couldn’t remember the individual passwords for my various email accounts in order to get into them.  I hoped that friends wouldn’t think me awful for not sending ‘Merry Christmas’ whatsapps.  And so, I had to accept the situation.

I realised the extent of my digital addiction with the anxious feelings linked to disconnection that welled up from time to time – but these wore off as the two weeks went on.  It was a really relaxing period and changed my relationship with my phone extremely positively.  Since Christmas, I have been religious about charging it in the office rather than the bedroom, and getting up and on in the morning more mindfully, without first checking into electronics and disrupting my brain.  Until the last few days of this week.   

With the current anxiety surrounding COVID-19 and the preparations being made as a leadership team to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all in our care, I’m finding myself sucked in again, checking in immediately first thing, and it crept back into the bedroom without me even noticing – however, at least I did this morning.  The underlying anxiety levels around me are rising.  Is it the unprecedented situation we are dealing with, or is it also a function of relying on, and being sucked into, my device more?  At least I’ve realised what is happening so I can do something about it.  We’re potentially about to have all our young people learning remotely on their devices, preparing for their examinations in relative (if not digital) isolation.  We’ll need to keep educating and reminding ourselves about digital addiction, so that we self-regulate properly….

Outside my comfort zone…

This week was an exciting one, and one in which I felt tested, challenged, and at moments completely outside my comfort zone – something I regularly encourage our girls to do @brutonschool (easier said than done?!).

It was a privilege to present an interactive session at the Girls’ Schools Association Conference in Bristol #GSAUK2019 @GSAUK on ‘The M word – managing the menopause in our schools’ with Inspector Julie Knight of Avon and Somerset Police @ASPolice .

Julie is one of a number of menopause spocs (single points of contact) for the police and anyone who wishes to be signposted for further information can contact her. She also organises workshops and support sessions for line-managers and women experiencing menopausal symptoms. As there are 35 of them, all experienced to different degrees of severity, each woman’s experience is unique. And so, unlike making adjustments for someone with a broken leg, it can be complicated to understand and support individual needs, and requires empathy and creativity.

We had a press call with the I, the TES and Independent Education before we spoke, and I was rather nervous, having not done this before. It was really interesting to hear from Julie about how she had managed the press in the past in far more challenging situations, as you can imagine! Three great articles transpired and Twitter went mad as far as I could see. I had a lesson from the lovely Simon Noakes at Interactive schools @intschools which helped me to understand better how to get our message out to those who might like to hear it.

The other most challenging thing has been revealing some of my personal experience, which left me feeling rather vulnerable. However, I would like to thank all those who came and supported our talk, and for the positive reception we have had, both at the conference and on social media. Knowing that we have helped even one or two others has made it worthwhile. And as one of my senior staff said, in the spirit of #daretolead @brenebrown , ‘you’ll kick yourself if you don’t have the courage to do this!’

Menopausal Musings

What to expect as a Senior Leader with the menopause (in response to the TES article ‘what to expect as a Senior Leader with pregnancy’)

I originally wrote this article last Easter and tore it up as being ‘too close to home’.  A taboo subject, and one that has only really been raised more widely over the last 18 months or so, I worried how it would be received, and I would be perceived.  But Emma Seith’s TES article on 19^th July 2019 emboldened me to have another go.  I had only recently sought help for the symptoms I had been experiencing with increasing intensity for about 18 months, without really realising that a) they were symptoms and b) help was available.  Instead, I thought I was simply not coping well with increased pressures of work, but not wanting any signs of weakness or vulnerability to show.  How wrong I was.

Menopausal women are the fastest growing demographic in the workplace (ONS 2018) and with a retention and recruitment crisis, and our profession being dominated by women, albeit with proportionately more men in senior roles, we should take note, whether we are personally affected by the menopause or increasingly surrounded by those who are.  For every ten women experiencing menopausal symptoms, six say it has a negative impact on their work (CIPD 2019).  We cannot afford to lose highly skilled and experienced staff who simply need some support, and perhaps don’t realise it themselves.

I now realise that I was not alone in feeling like this, as the menopause was relegated to a cursory mention when I was at school.  Our biological education really only emphasised understanding your cycles sufficiently to avoid pregnancy.  The portrayal of menopausal women until recently has been derogatory and laughable, providing Les Dawson and others with endless comic material.  Women of a certain age are ‘washed-up’, ‘over the hill’, ‘a little neurotic’ and so on.  Kirsty Wark’s 2017 BBC programme on Menopause raised the tone of the debate and is one of the pieces of journalism of which she is most proud, understandably in my opinion.  Now everyone is starting to talk about it, and even more so with the announcement of a procedure to delay it for 20 years or longer (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cxwkx729dx2t/menopause).  As Liz Earle said in Stella Magazine (21 April 2019), ‘If you ask any Head of HR ‘What’s your maternity or paternity policy?’, they’ll produce a document.  If you say ‘What’s your menopause policy?’ there’s silence.’ 

As a senior leader, I’m not advocating yet another policy for us to have to update annually, but there does need to be some discussion to ensure that this vital and growing part of our workforce are not unfairly disadvantaged because of ignorance, and simply leave.  We all know women who have taken earlier retirement than they may have originally envisaged who have simply ‘had enough’ and are exhausted and don’t even think to ask for help, because they probably don’t realise that, in many cases, they can be helped.  Some women sail through without any difficulties, but if increasing numbers of women are working longer, and also reaching leadership positions, we need to help those who aren’t sailing through, so we can all benefit from their years of experience and talent.

Sleep deprivation is known as a tool of torture, and many young parents suffer from it.  However, it is less commonly known that fatigue, through disrupted sleep patterns, heightened anxiety and hot flushes, is very common to menopausal women too.  With the right support in place we can make the most of their experience and talents in the same way we do for young parents.  What about rearranging a member of staff’s timetable for a year or two, so they can come in later if they have been awake half the night, or letting them go slightly earlier if their exhaustion kicks in at the end of the day.  Not always possible or indeed necessary, but everyone is different and without a conversation who would know what might help?  Giving staff more individual control over ventilation in classrooms can be difficult in very old buildings or new ‘climate controlled’ green buildings, so providing a fan is a simple way to help.  Ensuring staff teach in classrooms close to toilet facilities is another relief for those who suffer from ‘flooding’ or need to go more regularly.  Much is made of mental health support for staff these days, quite rightly, and the increased levels of anxiety and depression some women suffer can be supported too.  CIPD and the NEU produce great guides for HR teams, people managers and materials to get people talking about their experiences so they can be helped, and direct others towards the right help for them.

With the benefit of HRT, more exercise because I have more energy again, talking therapies support and lots of reading and discussion with empathetic others about this, I am now feeling much more myself again – my new older self.  On my journey, I have come across lots of work being done in other industries and professions to support this fastest growing working demographic, and so on Monday 18^th November at the GSA Head’s Conference in Bristol I will be running a seminar with Inspector Julie Knight of Avon and Somerset Police to discuss how we can better support our staff (and ourselves?) in education.  The Constabulary have had overwhelmingly positive feedback about the menopause awareness days they run, and the support networks they facilitate – we can learn from this.  Women make up nearly half of their workforce with 34% over the age of 46. They have an open and proactive approach to supporting individuals and managers in order to support and retain talented staff.

I’m pleased to hope that younger women won’t ‘not realise’ what is happening to them for as long as I did, because this taboo is now being properly discussed, and so they will be prepared mentally and physically to ask for and accept help if necessary.  I’m also hopeful that we can help to stem the loss of valuable talent to our profession, because our staff will feel respected and supported.  And who knows, perhaps younger women won’t even need to go through it at all….