Pregnant teacher in covid tier 4

[Luckynumber5]

Hi all,
I’m just wondering what precautions are being put in place for pregnant teachers in schools in tier 4 (am in London) with the new more contagious covid variant? RCOG (and my doctor) says strict social distancing and doctor also advised wearing a mask. Currently 24 weeks pregnant but very worried about getting sick with covid after CDC research showed pregnant women 4x more likely to go to ICU, especially in 3rd trimester. Midwife also said pregnant women with covid need to be checked for blood clots. Local authority and Union will support working from home after 28 wks. School have said they will support this too. Wondering if there have been any changes for anyone with increased risk in school? Legally, the workplace must not pose any additional risk to staff than outside the workplace so I’m interested to see what schools are doing to meet this obligation.

P.S please no posting of replies saying ‘pregnant women at no higher risk’ as my doctor has clearly told me this is not the case.

My school in tier 3 is allowing pregnant women in third trimester to work from home

I guess strict social distancing and mask wearing for next four weeks. Well 3 as a week is Christmas holidays and then work from home. Possibility to teach in same room? Not sure if you teach secondary or primary but to avoid less movement in corridor? Reduced duties at break and lunch to lower exposure. Hand over form group?

I am in tier 2 and already very anxious about the new variant and the increased infectivity amongst children, so I can completely sympathise with how anxious you must be feeling in tier 4. Pregnant women aren't at greater risk of catching C19 but if we do get it, there is a greater risk of becoming seriously unwell. I am also 40 and overweight, making the risk even greater. I will definitely be asking my union to support WFH from 28 weeks if there is no change by then (I am currently 16 weeks so a while to go for me).

I’m wondering the same thing.
13 weeks pregnant, primary, in Tier 4.
I won’t be 3rd trimester until mid April but worrying with this new variant too. Thought the worst was over when I fell pregnant and would be able to work until 38 weeks like I did with my previous pregnancy! Unfortunately, looks like things will still be uncertain in April.
Watching this thread!

I am working from home from Jan as I will just enter my third trimester as term starts. I can see your worries at 24 weeks in tier 4. Last term I was given my own antibacterial and antiviral spray to take with me to classrooms so I could spray the teacher desk etc and computer cables. We have are own work laptops so there was no issue of shared equipment, but your school should have wipes for IT rooms that you could use. My risk assessment was regularly updated. I was removed from cover, break duties and detention supervision to minimise contact with students. All work meetings were online. My classrooms had 2m taped areas that I was careful not to leave. Are you in a primary or secondary? Feel free to pm if there are any really specific details you want.

I am in tier 3, currently 30 weeks pregnant, consultant advised she thought I should be working from home or on site non-contact admin tasks, but my Head teacher replied to my email saying “I have advice from HR which contradicts what your consultant has told you” Counting down the days until February half term, that’s when I start Maternity Leave.

Slightly different as I work in a hospital but I will not be patient facing from 28 weeks (work with covid patients and in ITU).
LittleRa you can ask your consultant to write a fit note saying you have to do ammended duties if the consultant thinks you should. The school should not be putting you at extra risk against your doctors advice.

Even though my granddaughter was entitled to return to school after the first lockdown my daughter kept her at home because she was pregnant.

My daughter enquired at her school with regards to keeping her daughter at home in September because she was nearing her third trimester. She was told that she would have to de-register her daughter. So she had to reluctantly send her daughter to school.

My daughter tested positive for covid at 28 wks and was put on blood thinning injections as a precaution.

She gave birth 3 wks later - midwives say due to covid.

She's been asked to take part in research into pregnancy and premature birth due to covid.

We think that she got it from her daughter's school as her 'bubble' was closed during half term (October) and her class ended up having three weeks at home instead of one. There were six positive cases in that class and then further positive cases amongst immediate relatives during or immediately after half term.

I think that the research will shortly show how dangerous covid is if contracted during the third trimester.

Baby is now six weeks old and due date is next week.

Mum and baby now doing well after a very scary start - and another 42 days worth of blood thinning injections for mum.

@withadivinebeatlesbaseline

Slightly different as I work in a hospital but I will not be patient facing from 28 weeks (work with covid patients and in ITU). LittleRa you can ask your consultant to write a fit note saying you have to do ammended duties if the consultant thinks you should. The school should not be putting you at extra risk against your doctors advice.

The consultant said they don’t put anything in writing, just to follow the RCOG advise, but I would guess she didn’t imagine I’d encounter any issues (obviously hasn’t met my Head 🙄). It really took a lot for me to write the email to my Head about my concerns, and I didn’t state out and out working from home but to explore other options such as reduced timetable, working with small groups to lessen number of contacts, carrying out admin tasks to lighten other staff’s workload etc. I don’t really want to keep going back and forth now that my Head has made her feelings clear as I worry it will cause bad feeling and make me look like a shirker. My next consultant appointment is 12th Jan so I will talk to her about it.

I finished at Christmas at 30w because of all this. With my previous pregnancies I worked till 37 and 38w but just felt I couldn't risk it this time as also got told no wfh from 28w necessary. I'm really glad I'm not going back after the holidays but I'm so sad and angry at the lack of protection any of us are afforded in school (pregnant or not!).

@ClockSpanner

I finished at Christmas at 30w because of all this. With my previous pregnancies I worked till 37 and 38w but just felt I couldn't risk it this time as also got told no wfh from 28w necessary. I'm really glad I'm not going back after the holidays but I'm so sad and angry at the lack of protection any of us are afforded in school (pregnant or not!).

Do you mean you’ve started your Maternity Leave?

Published on 23rd December
www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-pregnant-employees/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-pregnant-employees

Before 28 weeks:
Your employer should ensure they are able to adhere to any active national guidance on social distancing.

Some higher risk occupations such as those with greater public contact or in healthcare may carry a higher risk of exposure to the virus.

After 28 weeks:

If you are 28 weeks pregnant and beyond, or if you are pregnant and have an underlying health condition that puts you at a greater risk of severe illness from COVID-19 at any gestation, you should take a more precautionary approach.

This is because although you are at no more risk of contracting the virus than any other non-pregnant person who is in similar health, you have an increased risk of becoming severely ill and of pre-term birth if you contract COVID-19.

Your employer should ensure you are able to adhere to any active national guidance on social distancing and/or advice for pregnant women considered to be clinically extremely vulnerable (this group may previously have been advised to shield).

For many workers, this may require working flexibly from home in a different capacity.

All employers should consider both how to redeploy these staff and how to maximise the potential for homeworking, wherever possible.

Where adjustments to the work environment and role are not possible (e.g. manufacturing/retail industries) and alternative work cannot be found, you should be suspended on paid leave. Advice on suspension and pay can be found in HSE guidance.

At all stages of pregnancy your employer should ensure social distancing can take place. Extra precautions after 28 weeks.

I’m working from home (pregnant primary teacher) from January. Third trimester.

@ClockSpanner you should not have been made to take mat leave early!

@LittleRa you must make more of a noise about this. Your head might not give a shit about your health, but you need to! The unions will back you on this.

Fairyannie I’m so sorry your daughter went though this and your daughters school didn’t listen to her concerns, this must have been very scary for you all. Really hope mum and baby are ok! This is the very thing I’m scared of and not the first time I’ve heard an experience like this. What worries me at the moment is that at 24 weeks my baby’s chances wouldn’t be great if preterm labour happens and as we know.. it can! Love to your family

Would your GP write an amended duties note? Or if not I would get signed off until you can work from home, I know a lot will disagree, but there's no chance you can socially distance, and you're only pregnant for a short period of your working life, for the sake of 3 weeks or so I would put myself and my baby first in honesty. I know some will say other occupations do it etc, but that doesn't make things any better for you.

Interesting post OP. I didn’t think it was to do with tiers I thought it’s about the risk of Covid itself to you and the baby? So that’s the reason you are allowed to WFH after a certain point because I don’t think anybody really knows regarding an unborn baby.

Very worrying hearing that some schools seem to be doing nothing to protect their school staff.. I think this virus will make us all look back at our school and rethink if it is the right place to be. If they can’t support us at a time like this, I’m not sure they are. It’s good that most schools are supporting working from home.

I’m not scared to make a lot of noise about this sort of thing... If my school won’t support wfh after 28 weeks I would seek legal advice for sure (going beyond union/HR). If no luck here, signed off. Why should some schools not support this when most do? The unions will back anyone wanting to WFH so please contact if a school doesn’t support. It really doesn’t matter what your Head thinks.. what matters if your safe pregnancy.

I think some reasonable adjustments moving forward then could be strict 2 meter distancing and reducing having different children. I am 2-form primary so don’t mix much anyways beyond my year group. The only thing with distancing is how can I help children with their work when I’m not right next to them- anyone have any ideas?

No your right WFH isn’t to do with tiers.. it’s recommended for all pregnant teachers after 28 weeks. Because I’m not quite there yet I was just wondering if there was anything extra safety-wise for pregnant people still in school who are in areas like tier 4 with the new variant because as we keep hearing... it’s more transmissible and has high rates of infection in children. Therefore i think the workplace becomes even riskier for those teachers in particular, especially without any extra precautions. I do feel there should be something put in place, either an optional wfh until local infection decreases, strict social distancing, optional mask wearing for teacher, temporary change of duties etc. Shouldn’t just be nothing when risk of transmission has changed, it should be addressed. It seems like no one has had this though?

Even before 28 weeks that new guidance I linked to is saying strict social distancing. I do not believe this is possible in lots of schools. I was not able to social distance in my school before 28 weeks.

[quote Glitterynails]Published on 23rd December
www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-pregnant-employees/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-pregnant-employees[/quote]
Thank you for sharing this, I hadn’t seen this yet but now it’s in writing it would be hard for schools not to follow through with social distancing and wfh from 28 weeks right?

I agree OP. You all should have the same rule. My friend has recently just had a baby and her midwife advised her she shouldn’t be working because it’s risky I’m sure if anybody is struggling the schools/head teachers would be brave to over ride medical advice.

Intrigued to know, those wfh and in primary. Do you still have your class full time, are they off? Wondering how it works? Thanks

@NYNY211

I agree OP. You all should have the same rule. My friend has recently just had a baby and her midwife advised her she shouldn’t be working because it’s risky I’m sure if anybody is struggling the schools/head teachers would be brave to over ride medical advice.

Unfortunately my Head appears to be that “brave”. Imagine your employee coming to you and saying “my medical consultant has advised this” and having the balls to say “nah, I have other advice from HR so not going to listen to medical advice”. As I said, the midwife and consultant do not put anything in writing on this, I will ask again at my next appointment but it’s still really just advice and recommendations, not “rules” or “law”. They’d hope reasonable managers would want to follow the advice and keep their staff safe but not everyone thinks that way. Also it’s easy to say “it doesn’t matter what the Head thinks” but it does really, I still have to work there after Maternity Leave, she can make life very difficult, I’ve seen many staff come and go. I might want to request part time working when I return, if I’ve got her back up about this and caused bad feeling then she’s going to less inclined to want to be flexible and help me out with anything. I will speak to my consultant at next appointment on 12th Jan, but I can’t see her being willing to put anything in writing.