am i entitled to better conditions in a school now i'm pregnant?

[Moomin]

i work 3 days a week in a secondary school. my head of dept and head know i'm pregnant but not many other people. since i had dd 3 years ago and went part-time i haven't had a classroom of my own, which is what i expect really, so no complaints there. but last pg i had severe spd and had to take sick leave well before i'd wanted to take my maternity leave. i'm hoping that won't happen this time as i know the signs to look out for now and will know when to take it easy. trouble is, this year i teach in 4 different classrooms, all of them flights of stairs and some a playground away from each other and it's quite hectic getting there and carting all my stuff to the rooms.

now i'm pg, is it reasonable to ask to be based in just one room perhaps from after easter? and i teach a full day on wednesdays and have to do break duty as well (two hours before break, two hours after before lunch time). would it be unreasonable to ask i don't do break duty any more, just because i need more wee breaks and a sit down as i'm pretty knackered?

[Nome]

It would be reasonable, but schools are rarely known for their niceness to pg staff...
Is it worth calling one of the unions' helplines and finding out what would reasonable? I seem to recall something about risk assessments needing to be done for pg employees, but the union would be able to tell you. I would have thought that carrying class sets of books across the playground is unacceptable heavy lifting for a pg woman.
Good luck.

[slug]

Could you get them to stump up for one of those boxes on wheels? (a bit like an old lady's shopping trolley). It's how we get around this problem at the college where I work. All those who are pregnant or who have back problems get one automatically.

[cazzybabs]

AS part of health and safety your school have to have a halth and safety plan for you - so you could ask to see this and it might address some of these issues. Also could you speak to your union about it.

[GhostofNatt]

Your school should be undertaking a pregnancy risk assessment. I would speak to whoever is in charge of health and safety and/or your union rep if you ahve one.

[Moomin]

thanks - will see into it. lol at the trolley idea, i'll end up in it myself with 2 year 7s pulling me along to my lessons!

more work-related issues today - have started new thread as i'm so bloody angry!

[Tommy]

I was given a designated parking space when I was pg so I didn't have to come in on the train so, yes, schools can put them selves out for pg women if they want to. When you speak to your H&S person, mention that you don't want to be moving about all the time and they will have to take it on board

[FairyMum]

I am suprised. I thought shcools would be a good place to work when pregnant just because so many women work there. I am obviously wrong. I cannot imagine being a teacher while pregnant.

[Whizzz]

Yes - a risk assessment of your job should be done which should highlight anything which may be harmful & then your employers need to take that into account (you should not be expected to lift heavy objects for example)
Heres a link HSE Website