Any pregnant teachers out there?

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Hi there,
Was just wondering how everyone copes with feeling rubbish in class (having to run to the loo etc).

Just discovered I'm pregnant and want to sleep all the time - not looking forward to going back to school tomorrow particularly!

I guess with any job it is exhausting being pregnant, but just ater some advice from people who have been there.

Thanks!

Oooh I had 2 parents evenings in my 1st trimester laurieleigh, good luck, I was a zombie when I got home, our first one finished at 9:30pm!!

Risk assessment - seems to vary by local authority - ours have introduced one since my last pregnancy - seems someone fell putting up a display and lost the baby so of course the LA rushed in with a screed of paperwork.

I just laughed bitterly at the part on "undue stress" - a paperwork mad HT and an inspection aaaaaaaaargh!!

Science teachers - there is a useful guidance document published by CLEAPPS which tells you about the things that should be in your risk assessment.
Yes you should have one (any preg woman, not just sci teachers!) so if your school have not got their act together please insist on it. Particularly if teaching Chemistry.

Just wondering if any of you have actually "asked" to be taken off break duty?

I'm 30 weeks now and I do duty only once a week. We run a 2 week timetable and once a fortnight I find my duty really hard because I'm teaching before and after - after being difficult classes where I cannot sit down. Finding myself in pain these days. I just don't want to ask if it isn't a reasonable request.

I should be at parents evening right now but we only got one appointment (it's for Y13, it's been rescheduled and nobody ralised it was on) so I left my co-teacher there and have come home . He doesn't even know I'm pregnant yet! It will be a relief after my scan next week when I can tell a few more people - only one colleague and my HoD knows and I'm getting so tired it's hard to cover up. My stomach is another thing that's getting hard to cover up - I'm 9+4 and in the pencil skirt and top I put on this morning it was VERY obvious I was pregnant, so I had to put a baggy blouse over it all. Don't have many baggy clothes though so that might be a problem!

@ Caz10 That sounds very familiar to me. We could be working in the same school!

Paperwork madness froggy81?

I am just sitting down to start work after getting DD1 to bed and tidying up a bit - really don't have the energy!!

1catherine1 when I told me head I was pregnant, at 5 weeks, she took me off break duty for as long as I need her to... Then when we did risk assessment, she wrote that down also. I have past history of miscarriages so guess she may be more cautious, but I still think there is a risk of being run into, pushed over etc on the playground so well within rights to ask...

Can't remember who asked, but your head or person who does your performance management should do your risk assessment, and this should be reviewed every few weeks. My head has been great about all this, I would not have had a clue!

Have spent all evening planning, dreading school tomorrow, only because have to leave my poorly little son who may have swine flu... Oh well, off to bed now as will be up in the night!

petalouda and caz, I cried this morning in front of a class when reading the last chapters of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas :(

(Mind you, I cried when reading Oscar Wilde's The Nightingale and the Rose to 6th formers once. They thought I was mad! And I wasn't pregnant at the time.)

I've had the last two working days (mon and Tues) off - wasn't planning to come in today, but HoD rang last night to say we have a dept Ofsted next week! Could the timing be any worse?!

I will def be seen, but the good news is that only one of my working days is an inspection day, and I only have 3 yr 13 classes and one yr 11, so some duplicated planning, plus planned presentations on Macbeth already organised. I'm gutted though - if I don't do well, it might be cos I'm a rubbish teacher!

An witches, when I offically notified the school, I had regular meetings (once a month) with the only female assistant head, where she filled in a short form to say we'd met and, generally, there were no issues. I assumed all schools did this as a matter of course. It's the law...

Thanks sophielouise

I've been in today - am going to do the last week of July in my normal full time hours (I'm a control freak, I want to make sure my room is tidy! I know, I know...) Then, in Sept, I'm doing x3 days per wk until the wk before Xmas when I'm doing a full time week to get paid.Than, back to full time as normal in Jan - phew! x

HAve been at work today(only work part-time) as a primary school teacher and the school was very hot by this afternoon. My feet are all swollen and even my wrists were too. I hat e tuesdays as i teach the entire school during the course of theday and never seem to be able to sit for longer than 5 minutes at a time in the classroom,

I am so tired!!!! I thought it was supposed to get better at 12 weeks so I hoped I'd be ok this term, but I've been in bed by 8 every night this week, virtually crawled in this morning & then fell asleep in the dept staffroom on my free period. Is this normal? Any tips on dealing with it? (my colleagues' approach has been to feed me jelly beans, which is lovely, but I'm not sure of the medicinal value!)

I was 11 weeks when term started in september. I didn't get over the tiredness till half term (and as a result got hideously behind with my marking, but hey-ho).

I found that having at least an hours nap before I got home and then being in bed by 9 latest helped.

Plan as many 'easy' lessons as you can. Eat well & sleep well.

It will pass! (eventually!)

Hi everyone! I'm in secondary and just discovered I'm having twins! Yikes! Have been exhausted so far (now 13+5) and am dreading getting bigger and more waddlesome! On the plus side, am feeling less sick now (I found sucking cherry drops eased the periods 1 and 2 waves of nausea!).

My Head said they're not obliged to do risk assessment (this was when I assumed I was carrying one!). Should I ask for one in light of the new news? Not told them about twins yet - still getting over the shock!

I'm confused about when to say I want to take maternity leave, given that twins are often early. Any experience with this anyone?

I didn't overcome my pregnancy tiredness until about 16 weeks and then it only got slightly better because I was working so hard - or at least trying to and not succeeding. Hopefully you will start to feel better from about half term jenga.

I'm not sure if what your head has said cake4breakfast is true. I'd speak to your union rep before speaking to your head again just to check. I spoke to deputy head today about losing one of my fortnightly duties and he seemed more concerned about my risk assessment and if I'd done the second. Although he did say he could see what he could do about taking me off one of the fortnightly duties though which was nice, I'm not asking a lot, only to be covered on a total of 3 duties before my ML starts.

Just read my post from last night.

Obviously I didn't mean having a nap before getting home, that's nuts! I meant as soon as I got home, before DH got home and we had dinner.

3rd trimester sleeplessness has set in and I've gone mental! Better last night tho!

I was getting a bit jealous of your nap before you got home, Petalouda! I was just imaging curling up on the staffroom chairs with a blanket...

Don't think it hasn't crossed my mind some days.

I plan to nap in the staff room when I go back (it's our long holiday at the moment, S hemisphere!) so go for it, coast.

Still no official acknowledgement of anything . Makes me very concerned that they're in denial...

I told my head yesterday and he (with my permission) told the deputy in charge of "staff well-being" (! I work at a big school, obviously!) who has emailed me this morning to arrange a time to meet up and go through risk assessment etc, so they're quite on the ball. I am the fifth pregnant member of staff ( found out about another one today!) though so I think the system is well-tuned. Was amazed that the head managed to seem genuinely happy for me even though I'm the fifth!

Yay!!! It's Friday!!!! At least, I can sleep all day for two days! Am finding it quite hard to cope with tiredness at the moment. Have been booked for an early scan as spotting and sore tummy (stabbing pain from time to time). Has anyone had that? Am fairly early on (7+1).

@ Caz10: Paperwork is driving me nuts and all the "compliance" stuff, just mindless ticking boxes! Grrrrr

Hi All,

I'm a teaching assistant at a special school, in a challenging behaviour unit. because of the numerous physcial interventions we do every day i had to tell my teacher and some members of senior management as otherwise would be putting myself at risk.

luckily the guy that is going to be doing my risk assessments etc has just had his 3rd kid, and couldn't be more accomodating eg - "if you're too tired, just go home" and "anytime you need a break just sit in the staff room and we'll cover you" ha so lucky I know!!

:)

Out of interest... If you thought your ML replacement wasn't really interested in the progress of your kids what (if anything) would you do about it? My y10s and 11s have exams while I'm on ML and having met me ML replacement I'm worried.

Obviously meant to read "my ML replacement, I'm worried". My written English isn't great but it is better than that, ofc it was a typo.

Hmmm tricky one 1catherine1 i have been in a similar position with a colleague and its a very awkward one as you do not want to be petty but they should really be pulling thier weight for your students. It managed to drive me slowly mad and worried that one day I would just explode!

Unfotunately, I think you might be labelled a 'control freak' as lets face it most of us are in teaching ( sorry for the gross generalisation) and i'm not sure how much they would take your views on board. Very frustrating situation particularly if you have been working very hard throughout the year. Maybe speak with a head of dept?
Not much help sorry.

Can I ask about risk assessments again?

I've just received some info from the council regarding my mat leave etc. and there's a note which says: "If a risk assessment has not been undertaken by your manager and/or Risk Assessor for you as an expectant mother in your workplace, please contact them and advise them of your condition so that a specific risk assessment can be completed.

Managers/Risk Assessors can obtain the New and Expectant Mothers Risk Assessment Form, PD47, electronically at..."

I've just forwarded this to my HOD/Line Manager who has responded by saying that he thought he gave me a general expectant science teachers document (hmm, not that I'm aware of), and that if not it's in with the cleapps stuff (yep, I looked up that document myself). That it only really means be careful with radioactive sources and don't use borax, and that the council one will be a general workplace one which is covered by the cleapps document.

Now, I'm not sure that counts as a "specific risk assessment"!

Not sure whether to ask him about it again, or to ask someone else (SLT?). I've forwarded his response to the 2nd in department for her thoughts (she's also pg).

What do you reckon? And how much trouble can I get in for relaying this to you?!

Hello all, I am a teacher who has just found out I am pregnant again. I only returned from my previous mat leave in December . My best friend who I told early last time has left my department - do you think it is worth telling someone? Can't decide. Did have a MC and D&C in 2008 but last pregnancy was fine. I am also teaching all my lessons in different classrooms this time so might need some help with moving things. Hmm not sure (thinking out loud really).