Pregnant teachers - 28 weeks+

[Willowfalls]

Hi ladies,

Sorry if I have missed a thread here.

With the return of schools over the next few weeks, I just wondered if there was any updated guidance/advice for pregnant teachers past 28 weeks?

Thank you :)

@KHR1 do you not have an HR department/ person you can speak to? Also have there been any other pregnant women at your school in the last year? If so might make it easier if they also worked from home!

@Peaplant20 ah yeah, I assumed I'd need to email the other person as he was who I had been signposted to when I wanted to know about the risk assessment before, but I'll ask HR first, thanks.
Possibly but I'm not sure! I work in the tiny primary building of a through school so I'm guessing there are a few of the high school staff who have been or are pregnant but unfortunately haven't seen any of them due to covid.

Just checking back in to see how everyone's getting on?

@EdithGrantham I am 28 wks tomorrow and from Wednesday I am out of class (am only part time, 2 days a week) so I will be based in an office out of the way.

How's everyone else doing re the 28 weeks thing? X

Been working from home since 28 weeks- setting weekly cover, doing SOW, setting remote learning for those isolating etc.

I didn’t have a choice, I “had” to work from home. School have been strict about the guidelines.

So strange how different schools are dealing with it..

Our school (secondary) is doing their usual Pre covid risk assessment and those 28 weeks plus pregnant are having to continue as usual.

There’s only 2 int hat situation and they are happy to go in and work normally, well the new weird normal

I am 28 weeks tomorrow and will be working from home. It was my choice. I will be delivering lessons online with someone supporting in the classroom. This is secondary.

@EdithGrantham just came across this post but I’m in Scotland and I’ll be 28 weeks in 2 weeks. My local authority have already said anyone past 28 weeks will be working from home until at least the end of term (so end of June here). Works out well for me because baby is due a few days before we’ll be due to go back after the summer holidays 🎉

Agree it's so strange how different schools are dealing with it. I'm in a separate room with small groups who are supposedly meant to social distance but in reality they are 4 and 5, they come too close and want cuddles, I've explained I can't give cuddles at the moment and a simple explanation why but I don't want to put worries in their heads, especially the ones whose mums are pregnant.

Also, adults in school aren't socially distancing from me (I step back, they move forwards) so what chance us there of children understanding.

I have a feeling from 21st June I'll be back in full time, will probably do 2 weeks then go on maternity but haven't fully decided yet.

How are those who have been told to work from home feeling, has it been ok?

At 28 weeks it is your choice, if you don't feel safe even with the RA in place you don't have to be in. I get it, anxiety is high. At our school we have 4 pregnancies, 4 teachers, all wanting to work from home. So that will cost around 35K in cover costs, not covered by insurance or the government. With our budget that will probably mean we need to make staff redundant as we can't afford the extra cover. Unfair on everyone.

I’m now 30 weeks and been working from home since 28. I’m secondary and doing the same as @SpyroC teaching online with W cover supervisor in the classroom. It’s not a choice in my school but if it was I would choose to work from home and if I was now asked to go back in I would request to be signed off or go on early maternity which would be a lose-lose situation as if I’m not working then there is no one to set cover for my classes, and if there was then this is nowhere as good as teaching a proper lesson (even if it is online!) and there would be no one to mark the upcoming y11/13 assessments for my classes so I don’t think anyone would want this. We have permanent cover supervisors at school the same number we have always had so it hasn’t costed the school any more money and luckily all the women who are pregnant are very staggered so I started working from home just as the teacher before me went off on her proper maternity leave.

@EdithGrantham it’s 4 and 5 year olds I teach. I’m still in class for another 2 weeks but there’s zero social distancing whatsoever. I originally told the school I wasn’t comfortable being in my class with no safety measures and no classroom assistant when I was about 20 weeks so it was agreed I’d have a full time classroom assistant. Day by day that’s slowly being taken away and she’s been off sick without anyone to cover her as well as being sent to cover other classes, cover lunches etc so she’s in my class for about an hour of the day if that. I’m having to bend down to tie shoe laces with kids breathing over me etc.

Totally agree that staff don’t keep 2m either! I am literally the only person in my school who wears a mask at all times. People actually approach me then take their mask off and lean in close to speak to me 😐 My head teacher is one of the worst for it! Someone else obviously said to her about people in general leaning in to whisper to you so she put an email out reminding staff not to be too close to each other and not to remove masks or whisper and she’s the main person who does it! 🙈 I feel like now I only have 2 weeks to go til 28 weeks I’m just keeping everything crossed I don’t catch it rather than standing up for myself (again) and saying none of the things we agreed on my RA have been put in place!

@Rainbowcolours1 can you let me know where you've read it's up to teachers to decide whether they're in or not because that's not how guidance has been interpreted by my school at all, it's very much if we follow guidelines you can be in.

@sarah13xx totally the same, one of SLT came to speak to me, leant over, mask off then started coughing (she has asthma so not covid related but still!!) I've been told the way things are at the minute will be for the next week then they'll be reviewed again as guidance may change with the next step of lockdown easing. But that has been the message from school since I brought this up back at the beginning of March so I can't see things changing!

@Peaplant20 I can't imagine how difficult that is to be still teaching but not really there! I considered being signed off but I'm not sure with what and definitely don't want to take maternity too early, like you say it's a lose-lose situation.

@EdithGrantham I don’t see how any kind of easing of lockdown can involve us when most pregnant people aren’t being vaccinated and we should be forced to take it while pregnant purely due to the fact we have a risky job and they don’t bother to make it any safer for us 🙄

It's really unfair how schools are all interpreting the guidance in completely different ways.
Staff at our school are terrible for wearing masks, in a staff meeting the other day I was the only staff member wearing one. Then we had to mix with some of the high school staff for another meeting who started in masks then came and sat really close for an activity and put them down over their chins!
I'm 23 weeks and I've tried asking what staff at our school are currently doing if they are past 28 weeks but haven't had a response yet. The deputy thinks the head is waiting to see if any guidance changes on 17th May but I don't see how it can for us when we might not have been vaccinated yet

@sarah13xx and @KHR1 the not being vaccinated thing is the most annoying part, all of the guidance related to being more vulnerable is based on the assumption that people in these circumstances will have been offered the vaccine. At the speed they're going I think I will be offered it before the end of my pregnancy, I don't think I want to take the risk given there's limited data on pregnant women who've been vaccinated but I also don't want it to be a case from the school of "Well if you're that worried about it you should have the vaccine"

@EdithGrantham yeah I know, it’s a horrible position to be put in and it’s not because you’re out and about taking risks in your own time, it’s purely due to school. My friend who is 17 weeks just had the vaccine the other day. She’s a teacher but also does bank nursing shifts so must have decided to get it! My midwife did say to me they will now be offering pregnant teachers it because we have a high risk job but it goes through a discussion with a consultant to see if you’re happy to take it. I am only trying to get to my 28 weeks anyway then I’m going to be really careful all summer and barely even go inside anywhere so I don’t see the point in me taking the risk and getting it when very very few people have got it while pregnant and actually had the baby already 🤷🏼‍♀️

Yeah having the vaccine in pregnancy is a very difficult and personal choice. I'll be taking it when offered but can completely understand other people not wanting to and work should understand that too.
Do you think when everything opens/social distancing stops in June we will all be asked to go back into work or into the classroom ?

That's what my head is counting on, I'll have a month left before my due date at that point and really wanted to go as late as possible at work so I'd have more time the other end but if I'm in the classroom I'll probably do one or two weeks then start maternity, will see how I feel at the time.

@KHR1 Scotland seems to be following a slightly different approach but I see Boris wants to do away with it all by 21st June! The guidance for pregnant women still can’t really change I don’t think but it might be working from home only on a case by case basis. Luckily my council have said I won’t be back in the building before the summer holidays and I’m due right at the end of the holidays. I would imagine by our schools returning in August though it will be done away with here so if I was due any later I’d probably just start mat leave early

Wait til you hear this one! Had a new pupil today so her and her dad came in to meet me after school. None of the other parents have been allowed in to our classrooms all year. For some reason her and her dad were allowed in to see the class. Her dad was exempt from wearing a mask. Just before they came in my headteacher asked if I could remove my mask when they were in the room so she could see my face! I ignored this request and kept my mask on, as I have done all day every day up til now! I’m already in a room with zero social distancing and very little classroom assistant support but to ask a pregnant person to remove their mask in a room with someone else with no mask on?! 🤦🏼‍♀️

@EdithGrantham oh that's not good, wonder if mine is hoping the same. He just seems to be ignoring the whole situation. Hope you don't get put in a position where you feel you have to start your maternity leave early.

@sarah13xx I forget that the holidays are different in Scotland! It's good that you've been told you'll be able to work from home until the holidays, a bit of reassurance for you. Ridiculous that you were asked to remove your mask for the parent! We've had parents and pupils been shown round quite regularly but luckily the parents have all worn masks so far.

Over the last week or so we've had so many kids ill with coughs but barely any are getting tested. I get it's probably not covid as a few are sneezing but just makes me so paranoid and we haven't really had anything spread round the classes all winter so it worries me that they are all catching something now.

@sarah13xx that's crap!! Well done for ignoring the request!

@KHR1 I've got my postponed mid-year appraisal coming up next week so will see if anything comes out of that

Does anyone have any updates on how their schools are going forward with this? particularly with the new face mask announcement! I am 25 weeks and am yet to hear anything, starting to feel very anxious now.

My head is STILL counting on guidance changing, thinking it will now change with latest easing. Haven't heard anything concrete though.
I really feel for secondary teachers who are still expected to be in classrooms, it's an awful lot of children to be interacting with with no masks