The Pupils' Voice on Menstrual Education and PE
Through listening to pupil voice, this research aimed to understand young people’s perceptions and experiences of menstrual education received in schools.
This included perceived gaps in their own understanding, alongside levels of comfort experienced when having conversations with teachers, peers and parents. A secondary aim was to explore first-hand how girls felt their periods affected participation in Physical Education (PE) in school.​​​​​
Nine focus groups across 6 schools in England and Wales were completed. Participants were pupils assigned female at birth who were in years 6 to 10 (ages 10-15), or equivalent. Pupils were not required to have started their periods/reached menarche.
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​Overall, the findings of this study highlight the expansive impact menstruation and menstrual cycle-related symptoms has on school and PE participation, particularly linked to 1) lack of education received in school 2) negative experiences of menstruating at school and 3) lack of comfort talking to teachers. The abundance of information requested by pupils highlights the deficit in education provided to pupils to understand and manage periods in school and in relation to staying physically active.
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Published research article: 'Everyone needs to be educated': pupils' voices on menstrual education. Brown, N., Forrest, L. J., Williams, R., Piasecki, J., & Bruinvels, G. (2024). Reproductive health.
