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!

I’m a teacher and both of my dc have September birthdays. We planned it this way because it worked out well with maternity leave, but we were just very lucky that it worked out. Lots of other members of staff have had babies various times of the year, including prime exam season. No one ever said anything to them, school just managed the situation and everything was fine. Life happens, and as others have said it is only a job. Your HOD doesn’t sound terribly supportive, maybe talking to the head would help.

I like what a pp said. if you die your job will be in the papers before your obituary.

I have spent most of my life being grateful for a job. Yet i work bloody hard.

Enjoy your pregnancy. There will be contigencies in palce for such events. Worry not.

That's crazy. If only we could all get pregnant on schedule. Teachers are people with personal lives, that should have the same protection as non-teachers.
As a parent, of course I want continuity in the classroom for my children, but that's not how life works, and when dd3 ended up with 4 different teachers in reception, it was really fine. The school were obvs not thrilled it worked out that way, but events were beyond their control and dd did not seem the least negatively affected by it.

No absolutely not. I didn't manage to time my pregnancies all that well to suit me and my mat leave but I certainly wasn't thinking about doing it for the school and the timetable. I was ultimately just relieved that I was pregnant after struggling to conceive. My SLT were very good and congratulated me as they do with all my colleagues.

Just NO!.How on earth could anyone possibly time their pregnancy to fall in line with School Timetable ?.Also this could surely be seen as sexist?.Congrats on your news ,enjoy your pregnancy and dont worry! My friends husband had to cover for teacher on mat leave GCSE year no one even commented!xx

If anyone thinks it’s acceptable to plan pregnancy timings can you please start avoiding due dates in September. My fellow midwives and I will thank you greatly!

Oh just absolutely not!!!

I'm a teacher. I'm pregnant with my second. First was a February baby. I had 2 year 11 and a y13. I was HOD. everything was fine.
This baby will be born march/ April. Bad timing for the kids but not much I can do about it. As someone said, lack of stress in summer probably helped.

And even telling people early is pointless with some subjects. Really good teachers aren't generally waiting around to do a maternity cover. I told the head about my first pregnancy in September. We advertised widely. 2 candidates, the one they appointed wasn't great. They had to reappoint after a while.

Your life, your body, your family. It's a shitty job and that's all!

I teach in a primary school and on the first day of term a little girl asked me if I was pregnant! I looked at her quite surprised and she told me her mum wanted to know as the class have had so many teachers due to maternity leaves/job shares etc and they just wanted one teacher for the whole school year. Nosy sods.

No, it doesn't work like that. You can ’try’ to schedule a baby but that's about it. You have no control over when it will actually happen and in my case, I've had multiple miscarriages and so trying to time a baby just seems pointless.

This would be impossible unless you were having IVF and decided to only implant set months. If you’re actually TTC the usual way it would be bizarre to stop during certain months so you don’t ‘affect students’.

I teach, my DS was born at the end of October so I started my mat leave technically early September (obviously the summer holidays merged with it too). I did do that so I wouldn’t meet new classes then fuck off after a month. I wouldn’t have purposely tried for a baby at that time though, I had a missed miscarriage with a baby due May which would’ve been awful timing with exams. Still wanted the baby though.

Telling them once the first scan is done is absolutely fine. If they can’t sort out a replacement and adequate hand over in that time you are not the issue.

I'm a teacher, due next April. Told a couple of colleagues as it effects the topics we'll be teaching between us. Not told the head or slt yet, waiting til the 12 week scan. My thinking is I'll have pretty much finished teaching the spec so cover teacher will mostly just need to do revision. April is far more convenient than November or January. There is no perfect time for maternity leave in teaching.

I would make a note of the comments and when they were said, just in case.
I'd also get a copy of your maternity policy, which the HOD should have provided or pointed you in the right direction when you told them.....read it thoroughly and there might also be a section on employers (ours has what my employers duty is during a maternity/pregnancy period).

Please don't tell anyone earlier than you want to either, not unless there is a particular H&S situation you could face, try and enjoy your pregnancy and don't let work pressure you.....pregnancy is a protected condition so they HOD really needs to be careful, if you feel confident enough I would mention that.

Congratulation xx

Absolutely not. Work needs to work around you, no matter how important your job is

Your HOD is v out of order for saying what she did. I would be mega pissed off about that tbh.

Teacher and parent here. What an idiot your HoD is. Don't feel obliged to tell anyone until you're ready. I didn't consider the impact my pregnancy would have on my students because my concern was getting through the pregnancy.
Congratulations!

Your HOD needs to tread very carefully. You would be within your right to raise her comments with your union. They would have a field day (at the tribunal)...