To not tell work about pregnancy yet? (Teacher - timetabling)

I agree with this, depending on how discrete you think your HoD would be. It would be particularly important if you teach in an area such as science where good maternity cover is more difficult to find. It might be that they'll restrict your teaching next year to GCSE which would be easier to cover.
If you don't think it would be difficult to find good cover in your subject I'd wait until after the 12 week scan, which logistically would be at the beginning of the academic year now.

The only thing i will say is if you want to tell them so they can take it into account on the timetable you need to say something in the next few weeks, and definitely by mid June.

After that point things will start to be set in stone to some extent and be difficult to change if it would require rescheduling if it means they won't be able to have 2 exam classes on at the same time.

But like I say, timetables change frequently and schools deal with it. People are ill, resign, etc and those happen more suddenly than maternity leave so don't stress about telling them sooner than you actually have to.

But it's more than reasonable for a risk assessment to say no break/lunch duties after 30 weeks.
What the original post says isn't excluding the pregnant woman from work, it's supporting them.

I've experienced the food and bad of this. One pregnancy I told them early and they were totally wonderful and discrete about it. Another time it came out before I was necessarily ready for it to be company knowledge and they were really pushy about knowing my plans for mat leave and if I'd come back and on what terms etc. Which is why I hadn't wanted to tell them till later! appreciate it's helpful to know but it felt stressful. So would say it depends on the culture in your company.

I think it’s too early to say. 10 weeks, so just before you break up, would be better. They can’t start advertising for a maternity cover when you’re only 5 weeks anyway.

@miniworry as a woman and a mother, I find that rather offensive. Women fought hard to have equal rights and pregnancy is not an illness. Whilst there may be a need to make reasonable adjustments if a pregnant woman suffers difficult symptoms it is discriminatory to remove parts of a pregnant woman's role if she can fulfil them. When I was pg, albeit decades ago, I'd have been incandescent if a manager had said "oh don't attend that cpd seminar being rolled out at 6pm, or you've been taken off x team because the work will be hard. I'd also have had grounds to bring a sex discrimination case because my right to equal experience was being denied.

We have come a long way since 1960 when my MIL as a teacher had to leave at Easter, when the baby was due in July because it was unseemly to be pg in front of the children. She also had no mat leave and no job to return to, because women and mothers were treated differently and less preferentially than men. Not so long before 1960, married women had to leave teaching.

Functionally you will be telling them after the summer break at about 14 weeks, it will become obvious very shortly after. I think the only fair thing to do is tell them at the end of term at about 10 weeks- because telling them at 12 is not logistically possible, ask them to be discrete and not circulate the news until after the break.

@kmurray1 I should also add that i'd like my staff to tell me this info before timetabling because it would then mean we could give them a class that would be easiest for them to manage to support them during their pregnancy (e.g no behavioural needs, or maybe as an intervention role for the year so no late parents evenings or reports etc) but appreciate that might not be the case everywhere!

I'm a teacher who had this same scenario early on in my pregnancy; I did tell my HoD because I had a Year 12 class going into Year 13, and a Year 10 class going into Year 11. It didn't feel right to not say anything knowing I'd be going on maternity in January and potentially leaving them in the lurch!

Teacher here. I would probably tell the timetabler but ask them to keep it quiet.

@kmurray1 As a headteacher I would really appreciate you telling me, explaining how early it is just so that we had the heads up before we timetabled. Your headteacher should keep it confidential anyway and not tell anyone.

This is your job , you’re an employee, you die tomorrow, they replace you.

I’m an ex teacher who thought about this stuff too . But , this is your body, your personal life, and you deserve privacy.

Do not tell them until 12 weeks x

At 5 weeks, I wouldn't say anything yet. If you had a scan now, you wouldn't even see anything.

At 10 weeks, yeah, you're more in the clear.

Hello, also a teacher in a private school and about to return from mat leave! I waited until after the 12 week scan. In fact I waited until about 16 weeks. I told my HOD a couple of weeks before making it official with the Head and HR because we have a close relationship. However, schools are businesses and they will always protect themselves over you, so you have to protect yourself first and do what’s right for you, don’t feel pressured to reveal something deeply personal and private for the sake of their timetabling. I had the same thoughts about timetables but ultimately they just have to sort it out. You could always tell your HOD and Head on the last day of term if that felt like the right time.

I'd tell my HoD because you know it's difficult to get a good maternity cover and it will be those students exam chances could affected. The earlier they know the better chance of advertising and attracting a good maternity cover. Just tell HoD to keep it confidential until to tell people. Congratulations.

I understand the sentiment of this but it's not as straightforward as that for some people. I had losses, one late and just wouldn't be comfortable telling anyone early.

I’d tell them, but emphasise how early it is, so you don’t want the news to become general knowledge across the staff just yet.
That’d be the kind thing to do.

I told my headteacher and I am glad I did because when I miscarried at 10 weeks I needed time off and I was an emotional wreck for months. I couldn’t have gone through that in secret.

Just to put a spin on this. I told my lines managers at around 7 weeks with my second. I went on to have a miscarriage found at my 12 week scan. I had to have 3 weeks off for the medical management so told them about this. It was much easier talking to them about what I needed because they already knew.

Saying all this for my (hopefully) next pregnancy I plan on telling people early as I told everyone about the loss anyway.

Congratulations! As long as your work relationship is decent, I think it's ok to tell the HoD in confidence, as long as you are ok not having exam years and make that explicit (she may worry you'll then say it's discrimination).

I told those who needed to know early, and I think my subsequent career benefited for that. If something does go horribly wrong, your managers would need to know anyway.

Private school teacher here. I had to tell my deputy head because I was off sick at 5 weeks! This was in June and they still gave me exam classes for September (timetables are decided around April). I taught 11 and 13 for a term. They just changed the timetable in January when I left and found a mat cover who could pick up exam classes too.
I wouldn't tell them until 12 weeks if I didn't have to. But you might find you need time off for appointments or sickness.

For Me I wouldn’t tell them, but I have had more than one miscarriage and find it harder the more people know. You may find it easier so only you can judge.

Congratulations.

I don't think you should tell anyone until 12 weeks.

That's giving them a full 6 months to rearrange their timetable and if that isn't sufficient notice that's their weakness and their problem.

It's very weak management that haven't any ability to manage absences due to pregnancy.

There's no right or wrong. As someone who does the timetable, there's always someone handing in their notice in the first half term back, so it's not unusual to need to make changes so that shouldn't worry you.

That said it would be appreciated, at least your HOD, who would likely inform the timetable person of their preferred allocation to exam classes. They don't have to tell anyone why they want teacher X on such and such a class. And they may decide to put you on anyway, depending on how flexible the department is and they will cross the bridge with cover when you go on leave.

Best of luck with the pregnancy