The award winning period education programme, has announced that it has identified 27 schools in the Manchester area to donate free femcare products to as part of a drive to help tackle period poverty and ensure that all young people have access to the education they need to feel more confident and comfortable talking about periods.
The announcement comes as betty for schools celebrates its first birthday and a milestone of reaching half a million pupils and 3,700 schools in the UK by returning to the Education Show in Birmingham a year after it launched at the event.
The innovative programme aimed at boys and girls aged 8 – 12 is designed to highlight both the emotional and physical aspects of period education and combines PSHE accredited digital resources with experiential workshops delivered by a touring ‘betty bus’, to encourage open, respectful and honest conversations about menstruation.
The betty bus has previously visited three schools in Manchester and 210 schools in the UK and has had a significant impact on the 17,000 pupils it has reached.
Research commissioned by the betty team found that after a betty for schools workshop, 69% of girls said they felt less scared or worried about starting their period, and 81%] of boys stated that they felt they knew how to support someone if they were feeling unwell or emotional due to their period.
The betty for schools programme, which is provided free of charge to schools, plans to build on the year’s successes and elevate period education to the forefront of PSHE education and the curriculum, with the aim of reaching every girl and boy aged 8-12 in the UK.
The team will bring period education to more schools for another year, with 900 schools currently on the waiting list for a visit from the betty bus, and demand for the resources remaining high amongst teachers.
betty for schools resources – which have been downloaded over 60,000 times – are film-led and have been created with education experts and young people, to empower teachers to deliver sessions with confidence.
In addition, the programme will be donating over 40,000 pieces of femcare to schools in the UK, including those in the Birmingham area, to help alleviate period poverty. It is also offering free sample packs of betty pads to schools on request.
Becky Hipkiss, Education Manager at betty for schools comments:
“It’s been an amazing first year, we knew that the bus and resources were a step in the right direction but the success has exceeded any expectations we had.
“We’re all very excited to see where this takes us, and are looking forward to pushing period education to the forefront of the curriculum in 2018, working with teachers and schools to give this important issue a larger platform, in addition to helping to tackle period poverty.
“We know that there is still a huge amount more to do if we want the topic of periods to be totally normalised for the next generation, but the feedback we’ve received has proven to us that the appetite exists!”
To find out more about betty for schools or to download the betty for schools PSHE accredited free teaching resources, go to: www.bettyforschools.co.uk
