Clyst Vale Community College Case Study . November 2021
Working with Clyst Vale Community College we ran a series of Period Empowerment Sessions for their year 7 students. This case study looks at the delivery day and feedback.
Delivery Day
Over the course of two days we delivered 6×1-hour sessions at Clyst Vale Community College. By the end of the second day the whole of year 7 had received this session on Menstrual Well-being. The sessions were delivered by our team of ‘Transitioneers’ – menstrual well being specialists in the transition through puberty.
The information below is the outline of the lesson plan, pupil and teacher feedback.
The Lesson Plan
The session is split into three parts:
- Warm up – active ‘brain games’ and brainstorming period related words
- Splitting into smaller groups for focused activities on period products, truth/myths debunking, cycle awareness and how periods affect different people
- Finishing up session together with whole group
Feedback
We gave students of all genders a simple before and after questionnaire to measure what they had learnt in the session. There was a clear increase in confidence.
| Question | Average at start of session | Average at end of session |
| On a scale of 0-10 how confident do you feel talking about periods? | 4.9 | 6.9 |
| Please tick which, if any of these period products you have heard of: Disposable Pads, Tampons, Menstrual Cups, Washable pads, Period pants | 3.4 out of 5 products | 4.9 out of 5 products |
Three words to describe the menstrual cycle? | 0.9 number of words | 2.0 number of words |
Before the session: Three words to describe the menstrual cycle
After the session: Three words to describe the menstrual cycle
There was an increase in the variety, as well as the number of words.
25% of students put the same words before and after the session (either already knowing about the topic or not knowing anything/leaving blank) however 31% put nothing at the start of the session and put in some words after the session, implying an increase in knowledge.
Here are some specific examples of changes in words before and after sessions:
- Gross > once a month
- I have no idea > blood, tampons, period pants
- Blood, girls, babies > eggs, hormones, blood
- ? > natural, feminine, normal
- Annoying > menstrual cycle
- Blood, pads, tampons > blood, high & low energy, emotions
- Blood > interesting, life changing
- ? > blood, mood, nature
- I have no idea > spring, summer, ovulation
- Time of the month > food cravings, sleeping more, emotions
- Painful, annoying, unpleasant > ovaries, eggs, vagina
- ? > normal
Teacher Feedback
| Question | Average score out of 5 |
| How suitable was the content for students? | 4.75 |
| How successful was the structure of the session? | 4.25 |
| How well did the volunteer team communicate with the students? | 4.5 |
| Overall rating for the session | 4.5 |
Teachers said:
- “Really informative, paced well, lots of opportunities for the students to ask questions.”
- “Informative, inclusive, friendly atmosphere”
- “It was a session designed for all young people which allowed them to ask questions openly about the topic.”
- “One noticeable thing is that the students can now openly talk about periods and ask questions which they were more embarrassed about before.
The Transitioneer Team
Our specialist team of facilitators are ready to come into your school and help not only fulfil statutory guidelines but create lasting positive change by teaching about menstrual well being as a skill for life. Find out more HERE or get in touch below. We are looking forward to hearing from you!
