Should teachers fall pregnant at Times to suit their classes?

[winterplease]

I'm pregnant, I haven't had my scan yet, and so didn't want to tell my workplace until I've had the all clear at the first scan. I've been suffering morning sickness so felt like I needed to tell someone at work, so told my head of department . She keeps saying that I must inform the headteacher right away as I'm teaching GCSE AND A Level classes, and if they knew I was going to have a baby I wouldn't have had that timetable this year. She suggests I tell the head teacher and senior leadership team now so they have as much time as possible to sort my replacement.

This got me thinking, should teachers try and fall pregnant at times to suit the classes they teach? For me this wasn't possible as we had been trying for a while.

Name changed in case my manager is on here and can work out who I am from previous posts!

Ha ha ha ha ha, as if it's that easy for people to plan their pregnancies. I teach year 11 and sixth form every year, should I never have been allowed to have children? As it happens, when I did go on mat leave (10 years ago) the timetables were switched around when I left, so established members of the department were given my top set year 11, and my mat cover was given a bottom set (not entirely fair on them, but she wasn't confident in teaching higher GCSE). My A Level class was given to another experienced/established teacher, while their lower school class were given to the mat cover.

If management expect women to plan their pregnancies to be convenient for their timetables, that basically means you would have to tell them when you start TTC, then you could just not teach any GCSE or A Level classes until you manage to have a baby, for however many years that takes. So the excellent teacher who has fertility problems could spend many, many years only being allowed to teach KS3. That doesn't seem like a fair or sensible system.

If you want to and are able to plan your pregnancy to fall at a convenient time then go for it. I know lots of teachers whose children are September/October babies, so maybe some people do try and plan it that way, but equally, September is 9 months after Christmas and there are statistically more September babies than other months across the population.

Pregnant not pregame

Absolutely not. Talk to your union if they are being tricky. Schools have to manage this all the time and it’s perfectly possible. In the same way that if you leave your job someone else will have to take over your exam classes. It also shouldn’t affect your timetable.

I once read something along the lines of if you die, your job ad will be in the paper before your obituary.
Family first always and your HoD is an idiot. Think no more about this fool and enjoy your pregnancy.

I don’t think you are actually required to tell anyone until you get to the point about giving notice for going on mat leave. Check your mat leave policy though.

H&S / risk assessments are different and you may choose to disclose sooner if you need significant adjustments.

Not a teacher...My DS has gone back 3 of his teachers are pregnant.. One came back last 1/2 term after maternity leave.

I have no idea how long they will be in school. two have told class.DS said one has a big bump..

I have no idea when they go off but would not expect any of them to time there pregnancy for my child..They are people too.

My only concern is I don't want a run of supply for English as he has an uncommon SEN which most teachers haven't come accross and affects his writing subjects but that is not the responsibility of his English teacher.

Good luck in your pregnancy.

What does the H oD think the school is going to do? Give you reduced duties for the whole pregnancy?
You announce your pregnancy whenever you want. The Ho D will probably already have told the Head anyway. But it's unlikely they will be arranging cover this early - they don't know that the pregnancy will continue to term.
So long as you comply with legislation, and follow the school's written policy, you will be fine.
Your Ho D does not appear to have had training in the correct procedure here.

What about paternity leave? Would your HOD feel the same about a male member of staff and expect them to tell the school when his partner was 8 weeks pregnant that he would need to take paternity leave at an important time of the school year? I doubt it!
If you wish to tell your HT about your pregnancy then that's cool, but to suggest that you should and that your timetable would have been different if they'd know this would happen is discriminatory.

Obviously you can't time it exactly although I did try but I agree that the more notice you give the school right now would be better for the kids.
If you are going to be absent at the crucial A'level/GCSE time then it's better they replace you now at the beginning of term than later on when it will be so disruptive for the kids. It won't matter so much if you are teaching the younger years instead.

Obviously you don't have to - but I hope you will for the kids sake.

I teach GCSE and A Level and will be going on maternity in a couple of months. Work will find a maternity cover and move some staff around in the department for the exam groups.

People can't, and shouldn't, plan their lives around a job. It's not the individual teacher's job to be stressing about timetable. That's what senior leaders are paid to do. Anyone could get pregnant, fall ill, need leave for their child or elderly relative, suffer a bereavement and need time off.

Your school sound really shitty. There's a teaching shortage by good schools look after their staff and that means they retain them in the long term, which is shown in schools like mine with low turnover.

Of course you shouldnt plan your pregnancy around your job! What if you miss the window to get pregnant in? Do you then wait a year to try again? Then another year? How many years do you give before you god forbid had an October baby!

It's a job it's not your life. They don't own you. They will find a replacement. If the replacement isn't good as someone said above that's not your fault but the fault of the replacement and the people employing them.

Tell the head when you want, but wait for your scan. No one can expect you to tell work colleagues before your scan.

I wonder when employers will finally learn that women get pregnant, and they need to accommodate it. It's not like it's a new thing.

Your head of dept need to stfu. Clearly you shouldn't have told her, it is likely she'll tell your head anyway. Please don't feel guilty about this.

No you shouldn't
But it's not just a teaching thing.
I told my boss I was pregnant. I had been there 9 years. He treated me like I had personally betrayed him. I took great delight telling him a few weeks later that my no.2 was pregnant as well.

You need to tell your employer either at 25 weeks or when they need to make adaptations to protect you and your baby.
As a parent I witnessed a real act of stupidity by a head. He had an excellent HOD who was male and took shared paternity leave as his wife is a deputy head and that worked best for his family. He applied for flexible working to be part time on his return to work that head felt had HOD had to be a full time role. But kept him on as part time teacher role.
Employed a new female HOD who fell pregnant quickly went on maternity and requested part time on her return. However, there was a change of head and they made to HOD a job share between the two excellent teachers. As a parent sometimes we see and judge the stupidity. The new head has created an excellent strong department with great staff.

The short answer is: No, get pregnant when it suits you!

Slightly longer answer: I am in Higher Education and most of the women - assuming no fertility issues - try to get pregnant so their due date is at the end of the teaching semester. That is mostly for our benefit, though, because it makes planning lectures and tutorials much much easier for us. Also less stress handing over, you just leave an exam marking guide and that is it (and no exam marking, double yay!).

There is a reason the children in my last department were almost all born in December/January: 6 months paid maternity leave + the really quiet summer term, when nobody checks or cares what you do as long as your course prep and publications are ready = 7 to 9 months baby time with pay.

Teacher here. Tell them to get lost with their guilt tripping bollocks. It is up to the school to provide for your classes not you. They sound poor tbh.

Of course not! It's your choice only as to when you get pregnant (and you have fairly limited control over the exact timing anyway!).

It's up to schools to manage transitions for mat leave smoothly and in a way that minimises disruption to kids.

NO! Absolutely not. You can't plan when you get pregnant (unless you're my SIL!)
If you haven't done so already, do go read the rules for maternity (the union websites is a good place for this). Some headteachers really don't understand that laws around maternity are very clear and you do not bend the rules to suit them.

My head wanted me to come back in September rather than July after maternity leave as it was 'more convenient for them'. I pointed out that as long as i gave sufficient notice, I could choose when I came back and came back in July as planned (and then obviously got paid for the holiday).

I hope you’re documenting these sorts of behaviours, it doesn’t sound like they aren’t going to be very accommodating. You need to make sure they are being accommodating as far as employment law goes.

Absolutely, under no circumstances should they be making you feel guilty about not being there for your classes. It is their job to make sure they have a solid plan b in place for instances when a teacher is not there. You could very easily have ended up with an extended absence for any number of reasons, out of your control.

This doesn’t bode well for what type of employer they actually are and that SL sounds unprofessional. Don’t disclose until you are ready.

Sounds like bullying to me,tell her you will tell the head when you have had your first scan,make sure you document everything she says to you just in case.

It's a job, you are probably passionate about teaching but at the end of the day people go to work for the money. No other professions would expect women to plan having children around certain things, YANBU. Reason 627383883 not to be a teacher. Congratulations!

I think in the context of teacher shortages and massive need for results to be just right, for a HOD to be concerned about the implications of what that a missing member of staff will mean for her department isn’t unreasonable. For her to openly express that, very unreasonable. We cannot be expected to get pregnant to a timetable, nor be made to feel guilty or uncomfortable. Women get pregnant and are entitled to maternity leave and all business and organisations have to manage that.

I teach part time contract and part time supply. I have worked every supply day this year so far. For those not in the know, getting day to day supply work before October is usually difficult - teachers are refreshed after the break and winter illness not yet kicked in. Many supply teachers take September holidays. That one of my agencies phoned me 4 times the other morning and then texted me to say they had work is unheard of - usually you miss the work if you don’t pick up the phone the first time. Things are very bad if that is happening around here - not Londonor the South East and a deprived area where teacher shortages have been felt but not been unmanageable. It is a worrying time for HODs expected to get results when good staff are off on extended leave.

No! You work to live, not live to work! I am a teacher too. (Not high school though) Although it shouldn’t matter, it’s your life. I did however kind of plan my youngest 2 to benefit from maximum maternity leave/pay. You have no obligation to inform employer of potential family plans. If I remember correctly you must inform employer 15 weeks before due date. It’s a hard job, especially when dealing with morning sickness. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad at such a happy time in your life. Congrats!

This thread has reminded me of the comments about Charlotte Cambridge’s first day at school photos. People were saying about her teaching being pregnant, and how awful that was, because Charlotte wouldn’t have much time with her anyway, and what was that woman thinking, etc etc...

Fucking hell, we are human beings, too, and need to be allowed to have human lives.

No. Teaching is an important job, but still just that - a job. It doesn’t trump your personal life and maternity rights, and it is very much your right to not say anything about it yet.