Why Perimenopause and Menopause Support Matters in Schools

Think about the people working across a typical school. Teachers, teaching assistants, administrators, business managers, leaders, lunchtime supervisors, premises staff...

How many of them might be experiencing perimenopause or menopause?

Probably more than you realise.

Women make up 76% of teachers in England’s state-funded schools. They also account for 93% of teaching assistants and 94% of administrative staff. Meanwhile, 55% of school support staff are aged between 40 and 59.

The NHS says menopause usually affects women between 45 and 55, although it can happen earlier, sometimes due to medical treatments, including hysterectomy, oophorectomy and chemotherapy.

Put those figures together, and it’s clear that menopause isn’t a niche workplace issue for schools. It’s likely to be affecting people in your workforce right now, whether they’ve spoken about it or not.

What are menopause and perimenopause?

The words are often used interchangeably, but they don’t mean quite the same thing.

Perimenopause is the time leading up to menopause. Hormone levels begin to change, and symptoms can develop, even though the person is still having periods.

Menopause is the point when someone has not had a period for 12 months and is not using hormonal contraception. After this, they are described as postmenopausal.

Most people who experience menopause are women, but some trans men, non-binary people and people with variations in sex characteristics may experience it too.

Although rarer, young people, including your students, can sometimes go through menopause early. This is usually due to the medical treatments mentioned earlier or to an autoimmune disorder. Make reasonable adjustments to support them.

The experience is different for everyone. Some people have few symptoms, while others find they significantly affect everyday life.

According to the NHS, symptoms can include:

• Hot flushes and night sweats
• Difficulty sleeping
• Tiredness
• Anxiety or low mood
• Memory and concentration problems, sometimes called brain fog
• Headaches or migraines
• Muscle and joint pain
• Changes to periods
• Reduced confidence
• Palpitations
• Vaginal dryness and discomfort

Click each flipcard below to see how these common symptoms can affect people during menopause.

Hot Flushes. Description: Sudden feelings of hot or cold in the neck, face, or chest that usually last up to 10 minutes. Hot Flushes. Impact: Hot flushes make a person feel uncomfortable and may lead to feelings of dizziness, an increased heart rate, and sweating. Mood changes. Description: Low mood, anxiety, mood swings. Feelings of tearfulness, fear, anger, or agitation. Mood changes. Impact: These feelings can affect sleep, make someone appear irritable or antisocial, or lead to suicidal thoughts. Memory loss and poor concentration. Description: A person may forget where they put something, or someone’s name, and may experience brain fog. Memory loss and poor concentration. Impact: Both symptoms can lead to worry and anxiety or even dangerous physical situations. Poor sleep. Description: Sleeping can be difficult due to aches and pains, anxiety, or hot flushes. Poor sleep. Impact: A lack of sleep will affect concentration levels, negatively impact mood, and cause extreme tiredness. Skin irritations. Description: The skin may change during menopause and become dry or itchy. Skin irritations. Impact: Skin irritations can be distracting, uncomfortable, or embarrassing, affecting concentration levels and causing low mood. Palpitations. Description: A person will be more aware of their heartbeat and may feel as though their heart is thumping and racing. Palpitations. Impact: Palpitations can cause dizziness, or a drop in blood pressure which may lead to fainting. Aches and pains. Description: Headaches and migraines may be worse than usual. People may also experience joint or muscle pain. Aches and pains. Impact: Aches and pains can make it difficult to concentrate and may make completing even simple tasks impossible.

Symptoms usually last seven to nine years, although they can continue longer. They may also change throughout that time.

That’s a long time to struggle in silence.

What might menopause look like during the school day?

Schools are demanding places to work at the best of times.

Staff may spend long periods in classrooms without an opportunity to take a break. They might have limited control over the temperature, need to wait before using the toilet, or move rapidly between lessons, duties, and meetings.

Now imagine doing that after a night of broken sleep, or while experiencing a sudden hot flush in front of a classroom. Or trying to remember a name, deadline or familiar piece of information when brain fog arrives at exactly the wrong moment.

Symptoms can affect confidence, concentration, comfort and energy. For someone in a highly visible role, the fear that pupils or colleagues will notice can add another layer of anxiety.

That doesn’t mean someone experiencing menopause is less capable of doing their job. It means they may need understanding and practical support while managing symptoms.

Why schools need to talk about menopause

Perimenopause and menopause remain difficult to discuss in many workplaces. People may worry that they’ll be seen differently, treated as less capable or dismissed as “just hormonal”.

Some may not feel comfortable speaking to their manager at all.

A CIPD survey of more than 2,000 employed women aged 40 to 60 found that 73% had experienced symptoms connected with the menopause transition. Among those who had experienced symptoms, 67% said they had a mostly negative effect at work. More than half could recall a time when they couldn't go into work because of them.

For schools already facing recruitment pressures, absence and heavy workloads, losing experienced people because they didn’t feel supported makes little sense.

These are experienced teachers, leaders, experts, and support staff with years of knowledge, strong relationships, and valuable skills. Small changes could help them remain confident and successful at work.

And often, those changes really are small.

How can schools offer better menopause support?

There isn’t a single perfect menopause policy, conversation, or adjustment that works for everyone.

The most important thing is to listen to the individual rather than assume what they need.

Here are some sensible places to begin.

1. Create a culture where people can speak openly

Nobody should be forced to discuss personal symptoms. But staff should know that they can ask for support without being embarrassed, mocked, or treated differently.

Menopause can be discussed alongside other wellbeing and inclusion topics, helping it to become a normal part of workplace conversation rather than something only mentioned when a problem reaches crisis point.

It also needs to be handled maturely. A few careless jokes can undo a great deal of work to create an open culture.

Make sure staff know:

• Who they can speak to
• That conversations will be handled sensitively
• What support may be available
• Where they can find trustworthy health information
• That any agreed changes can be reviewed as their needs change

Some schools may also benefit from having a menopause or wellbeing champion who can offer an initial point of contact.

2. Give managers the confidence to respond properly

A supportive culture depends heavily on the person receiving the request for help.

Managers don’t need to become menopause experts or offer medical advice. But they do need to know how to listen, respond sensitively and explore what might help.

Training can give school leaders and line managers a clearer understanding of:

• Menopause and perimenopause
• The different ways symptoms can affect somebody at work
• How to begin a respectful conversation
• Practical adjustments the school might consider
• Relevant policies and legal responsibilities
• Where to signpost someone for further support

It also reduces the risk of a manager saying something unhelpful because they feel awkward or don’t understand the subject.

3. Consider practical adjustments

Support should reflect the individual’s symptoms, role and working environment.

Possible adjustments might include:

• Access to cold drinking water
• Improved ventilation or a fan
• A seat near a window that opens
• Additional or more flexible breaks
• Easy access to toilet facilities
• Somewhere quiet to rest briefly
• Temporary changes to duties
• Flexibility around start and finish times where practical
• Time to attend medical appointments
• Reviewing uniforms or dress requirements
• Adjustments to absence triggers where appropriate

Not every option will be practical in every school or role. A teacher responsible for a class can’t simply leave whenever they choose. But that makes it more important to discuss what could work, rather than deciding that nothing can.

Any changes should be agreed with the individual and reviewed regularly. Symptoms and support needs can change throughout menopause.

4. Look at the working environment

Employers are responsible for protecting the health, safety and wellbeing of their workers. ACAS advises employers to consider whether the workplace or ways of working could make menopause symptoms worse.

For schools, that could mean looking at:

• Classroom and office temperatures
• Ventilation
• Access to toilets and drinking water
• Availability of rest areas
• Uniforms or required clothing
• Opportunities to take breaks
• The physical demands of particular roles

These considerations can form part of the school’s existing workplace risk assessments. They don’t necessarily require a grand new process with seventeen forms and a subcommittee. Instead, schools need to develop their understanding of the potential needs of perimenopausal and menopausal staff. Then they can take steps to meet those needs.

5. Review your policies

Schools don’t necessarily need a long, standalone perimenopause and menopause policy, although having one can make support easier to understand.

At a minimum, perimenopause and menopause should be considered within existing policies covering:

• Health and safety
• Staff wellbeing
• Equality, diversity and inclusion
• Flexible working
• Sickness absence
• Performance and capability
• Occupational health

ACAS recommends that menopause-related absence be handled sensitively and that employers consider whether performance concerns may be linked to symptoms before acting.

Menopause is not a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. However, treating someone unfairly because of their symptoms could potentially result in discrimination related to sex, age, disability or gender reassignment.

Larger MATs should also be aware of changes introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025. Employers can now publish voluntary menopause and gender pay gap action plans, and these are expected to become mandatory for organisations with 250 or more employees during 2027.

Awareness is where better support begins

You can update policies, appoint champions, and offer workplace adjustments, but people need to understand the subject for any of those measures to work.

Staff may not recognise the full range of menopause symptoms. Managers may worry about saying the wrong thing. Colleagues may not understand why somebody needs additional support.

Awareness must never become assumption. Managers shouldn’t decide that someone is perimenopausal or menopausal because of their age, sex or behaviour, or ask invasive questions about something they haven’t disclosed.

The aim is to create a safe environment where cis women, trans men and non-binary people feel able to request support when they need it. “Is there anything affecting you at work that we can help with?” is very different from “Are you menopausal?” One offers support; the other applies a label that could reinforce existing age and sex-based discrimination.

Awareness training gives everyone a shared starting point.

iAM Academy’s menopause training explains what menopause and perimenopause are, challenges common myths, and shows staff and managers how to offer appropriate support. There are several menopause-specific and menopause-adjacent courses, with more planned.

It can help your school begin a conversation that people may have been putting off for years.

Menopause support isn’t about making assumptions or treating experienced staff as though they’ve suddenly become less capable. It’s about giving people the understanding and flexibility they need to continue doing their jobs well.

Is your school ready to start the conversation?

Menopause is already part of working life in schools. The question is whether staff feel they have to manage it alone.

By improving awareness, training managers, and offering thoughtful, individual support, schools can create an environment where experienced people feel valued, understood, and able to thrive.

If you already use iAM Compliant, upgrading to iAM Academy gives your organisation access to our complete course library, including engaging courses in health, wellbeing, KCSIE, Incidents, and workplace training.

Upgrade to iAM Academy today and give your staff the knowledge to support themselves and each other.

This blog was written and reviewed by a team of subject matter experts of different genders to help ensure the content is accurate, inclusive and sensitive.

In the blog, menopause is mentioned more often, but it is sometimes used as an umbrella term for the whole transition to keep the language clear, specifying perimenopause whenever the distinction matters.