Claire Baker

Everything you need to know to live in sync with your menstrual cycle. We're taught not to discuss periods in public. Society doesn’t celebrate the menstrual cycle. Instead we say it's 'that time of the month' when 'Aunt Flo is visiting' and we've 'got the painters in'. But the truth is that it can be bloody hard living in a body that bleeds once a month. Have you ever stuffed a tampon up your sleeve on your way to the office bathroom? Avoided eye contact with the cashier as you paid for your sanitary pads? Felt overwhelmed, exhausted and annoyed by your hormones? Well, you are not alone. It's time we started speaking up about our menstrual cycles, and now everyone's friendly neighbourhood period coach, Claire Baker, is here to start the conversation! Taking you through her 50 best pieces of advice, Claire explains the ‘four seasons’ of our menstrual cycle and how they vary hormonally to affect everything from mood, motivation and memory, to energy levels, confidence, focus and stress. You’ll learn how to chart your cycle to identify your unique superpowers in each hormonal phase, the tools you need to work with your body rather than pushing against it, and that you’re not crazy: it’s completely natural to feel different from week-to-week. Illustrated throughout, 50 Things You Need to Know About Periods is packed with straightforward science, cycle-syncing suggestions and relatable real life advice that encourages you to experiment with a whole new way of living and bleeding. This simple and empowering book is the perfect gift to remind someone you love – or yourself – to join the menstruation conversation, see 'the curse' as the superpower it can be and #AdoreYourCycle.

Children in public care complain that they have too many placements. Professionals agree but little is known about the reasons for this instability or how it affects different groups of children. The Pursuit of Permanence explores this core issue for children's services. Based on the largest study of the English care system in recent years, the book examines the children (what they need and what they want), their movements into, out of and within the care system, the nature and quality of their placements and the outcomes (whether the children are settled or happy). It analyses the reasons for movements and outcomes in different groups of children, and the relative impacts of the departments, social work teams and placements. It concludes with suggestions about how the care system should work, what it should offer and how it should be managed and inspected. This detailed, innovative and comprehensive study is essential reading for all professionals and academics involved with fostering, leaving care, adoption and children's services, as well as policy makers and students on social work courses.