Pregnant with a 6 month old. ANY TEACHERS??

[Tobycat1]

Hi everyone.
I’ve just found out yesterday I am pregnant, I already have a 6 month old baby. Me and partner were using condoms and have only had sex a handful of times since he was born. I am also breastfeeding so haven’t had a period since I had my baby. This means I have absolutely no idea how far along I am.

I have just trained to be a teacher and haven’t yet done my NQT, I would be doing that this September and have been looking for jobs. However I will be at least a few months pregnant by September.

I am not sure what I want to do if I want to keep the baby or terminate, I am really not sure me and my partner are ready for another baby.

Does anyone have any words or wisdom for me?

You may struggle to get a job as a teacher if you are pregnant. Obviously, this is wrong but they won’t want to start your training and then leave part way through. Could you maybe get a maternity cover position? You really need to find out when you’re due because that may impact on your decision whether you keep the baby or not.

Just reread my post and it sounds quite harsh. I didn’t intend for that. Just trying to be realistic.

When I was applying for jobs, I didn’t get any where I mentioned my DD (she was 2) and the one I got, I didn’t mention her. Now, that may be a coincidence but I remember a head only showing interest in the interview after I mentioned her. He asked how old she was and then lost interest again. He clearly thought I was a risk of going on maternity leave again soon. As it is, I have been working at my current school for 4 years now and will only just going on maternity leave in September.

I’m thinking it would be January at the latest I would be due but could be as early as November I suppose. I’m so stuck with what to do. If I ended up having 2 years between my PGCE and my NQT am I likely to find an NQT position?

Employers can't discriminate against pregnant women.
However, to be entitled to SMP you have to be working at the school for a set amount of weeks (I can't remember what my schools is).
I would really think about everything before making a decision abd the pros and cons.
I am a teacher, I have a 9 month old and am 3 months pregnant but we planned it that way. We wanted a small age gap between siblings. But obviously, you have to think about finances and your mental health. Good luck!

You wouldn't be unlikely to get a job if you left it two years. Employers understand that life happens and sometimes you need a career break. I know a few people who completed their PGCE and then travelled and completed their NQT one or two years later.

There are a few things to consider. You can take a break from NQT induction for maternity leave and you can complete induction in more than one school if they are happy to support you, but you get one shot at NQT induction and if you fail then you can never retake it. Consequently it’s sensible to give yourself the best possible conditions and this may affect whether you want to start it in September.

There is no time limit on when you must complete induction after QTS (unless you’re in Wales, in which case it’s five years). School recruitment is very slow at the moment and the schools that I’m aware of which are recruiting are only offering one-year fixed term contracts due to the constraints on the recruitment process.

Unless it’s feasible for your partner to be a SAHP you will need to calculate the cost of full-time childcare for two children.

Sort of same position here, fifteen month old, breastfeeding so hadn't had a period, fell pregnant, currently 12 weeks. I will be due October. With the virus the way it is lots of schools are offering temporary contracts with a view to going permanent when they've seen you deliver a satisfactory lesson however the agency I spoke with today said they're also seeing an increase in schools enquiring for cover staff from September. The recruiter made a good point that you should fit the school as well as the school fit you and taking a job based on the recruitment process most schools are undergoing at the moment isn't ideal. Would cover be something you'd look at doing? That's my aim with cover in September and then returning either for cover or to maybe a permanent post in the January.

As it's been correctly stated an employer isn't allowed to discriminate based on you being pregnant however the agency I spoke with today had a real honest heart to heart and said places would probably use a different excuse to not hire someone who's going to be there all of a month before going off on leave (he did say however stranger things have happened 🤣).

Feel free to PM me, would be nice to chat to someone in the same boat x

Having them so close together ain't so bad mine are 14 months apart now 3 and 4 and iv got to say they are amazing together wouldnt haven't anyother way I am currently 5 weeks and 4 days pregnant with my 4th my daughter is also 13. Good luck

Following on from my earlier post about heads not wanting to hire pregnant women, of course it’s illegal (as PPs have said) but that doesn’t stop them. It’s quite easy for them to say that another person was a more suitable candidate.

If you are pregnant when you start a new job you won't qualify for SMP. (I found this out last year but sadly miscarried so it became irrelevant to me).

It would be harder to get an NQT job after a couple of years out of teaching, but certainly not impossible. You could do Supply teaching to get up to date classroom experience on your CV/work history, and then apply for NQT jobs once you're back in the game. Bonus of supply is that you can specify the week days you'd be available to work around childcare and chose to go part time hours if needed, although you might get less bookings and may have days where you have paid for childcare but end up not given any supply jobs for the day. Income would fluctuate though too as some times are busier than others on supply, so you'd need to factor that in. You get to test the water in local schools and decide which ones you might like and more importantly - which ones you really don't! If you're in the UK you can do complete your NQT year on supply through long term contracts (e.g. at least a whole term, as long as the school would support you). You can do short term Supply teaching for up to 5 years (at least, it was when I did mine) without having completed your NQT year. After that 5 years, any supply teaching will need to contribute to your NQT year. As someone else said there is no time limit on doing your NQT year though (only whether you can do supply).

I had a horrific intro to my NQT year in what ended up a horrid school. I left part way through, did short term supply to regain composure for a couple of terms, then finished off my NQT in a different setting on long term supply. The whole thing was really tough, emotionally as well as all the workload expectations, and that was without me being a parent!!

Permanent teaching jobs in my area are like hens teeth and have been for years, regardless of the current situation.

Whatever you decide to do, it'll be tough but you'll do it and you'll succeed. Good luck!!