Yes you are effectively starting your continuous employment from scratch.
I have copied the burgundy book guidance below - but basically you need to have been there a year on your due date to get full benefits which is category 1.
Hope that helps, you can google burgundy book. Of course if you work in an academy this may not apply to your situation.
CATEGORY 1
Teachers with at least 26 weeks' continuous employment with their current employer and at least 1 year's continuous employment with one or more local authorities.
Teachers who have by the qualifying date completed at least 1 year’s continuous employment with one or more local authorities will benefit from the full entitlements under the Burgundy Book scheme. If they have completed at least 26 weeks’ continuous employment with their current employer, they will also be entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay.
Eligible teachers will be entitled to the following benefits.
Ordinary maternity leave of up to 26 weeks which will be paid leave as follows:
• first 4 weeks of absence: full pay inclusive of Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP);
• next 2 weeks: 90 per cent of a week’s salary inclusive of SMP;
• next 12 weeks: half pay plus £128.73 SMP (not exceeding full pay);
• next 8 weeks: £128.73 SMP.
Additional maternity leave of up to a further 26 weeks, 13 of which will be paid at the SMP rate of £128.73 per week, with the remaining 13 weeks unpaid.
Such teachers can now remain absent for a total period of up to 52 weeks. They will also be entitled to take statutory unpaid parental leave at the end of this period, since they will satisfy the requirement for 1 year’s continuous employment with the current employer.
CATEGORY 2
Teachers with less than 26 weeks’ continuous employment with their current employer but at least 1 year’s continuous employment with one or more local authorities
Teachers who have by the qualifying dates completed at least 1 year’s continuous employment with one or more local authorities will be entitled to the full benefits of the Burgundy Book scheme. If, however, they have completed less than 26 weeks’ continuous employment with their current employer, they will not be entitled to all of the statutory provisions. In particular, they will not be entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay, although they may be entitled to the state benefit Maternity Allowance (MA) depending on their recent National Insurance contributions record in other employment. Teachers in this category are entitled to be absent for up to 52 weeks.
Eligible teachers will be entitled to the following benefits:
Ordinary maternity leave of up to 26 weeks, of which either 18 or 26 weeks will be paid leave as follows:
• first 4 weeks of absence: full pay, inclusive of MA if eligible;
• next 2 weeks: 90 per cent of a week’s salary, inclusive of MA if
eligible;
• next 12 weeks: half pay plus £128.73 MA if eligible (not exceeding
full pay);
• next 8 weeks: £128.73 MA if eligible, otherwise unpaid.
Additional maternity leave of up to a further 26 weeks, 13 of which will be paid to teachers who qualify for MA at the rate of £128.73 per week, with the remaining 13 weeks unpaid.
The Burgundy Book scheme allows mothers to take unpaid maternity leave for up to 29 weeks after the week of the birth. They may also be entitled to take statutory unpaid parental leave at the end of their maternity leave period provided that by that date they have at least one year’s continuous employment with their current employer. It may also be possible to agree additional unpaid leave for any teacher in this category on an individual basis with the employer.
CATEGORY 3
Teachers with at least 26 weeks’ continuous employment with their current employer but less than 1 year’s continuous employment with one or more local authorities
CATEGORY 4
Teachers with less than 26 weeks’ continuous employment with the current employer and less than 1 year’s continuous employment with one or more local authorities
Teachers who fall into category 3 will not be entitled to the occupational maternity pay provisions of the Burgundy Book, although they will benefit from maternity leave and pay offered under the statutory scheme. Teachers who fall into category 4 will be entitled to take up to 52 weeks’ maternity leave but will have only limited statutory entitlements to pay, depending on their National Insurance contributions. See Section 4 of this guidance.