Supporting Maternity Returners

Returning from a period of maternity, adoption or shared parental leave is a highly vulnerable time for our parent-teacher colleagues and a period where they are most at risk of poor wellbeing, burnout and attrition.

As their immediate line manager, a senior leader setting school culture and deciding on policies and their implementation, or an HR lead ensuring that legal procedures are adhered to, you can make a huge difference to your colleagues' experience.

What will you get out of this 30 minute workshop?

• A clear understanding of the legal entitlements of returning colleagues - your responsibilities as leaders, and what you can expect from them as employees and team members
• An understanding of direct and indirect discrimination on the grounds of sex, pregnancy and maternity, and sexual orientation - how to spot it, address it and avoid it in your leadership and across your setting
• An insight into the varied experiences of returning parents and suggestions on how to structure supportive communication
• An understanding of how policies and their implementation may empower or penalise returning parents

How will this benefit me, my school and my students?

• Improved wellbeing amongst returning colleagues
• Increased sense of loyalty and appreciation from returning colleagues
• Ability to identify and solve any issues early on for the benefit of staff, teams and students
• Improved equality, diversity and inclusion policies and practices
• Fairer policies that create more positive and inclusive school cultures
• Reduced risk of staff burnout and attrition in the immediate return to work period

The workshops and additional resources will be available on our online Eventbrite page for you to complete at your own pace.

Going Further

The Supporting Maternity Returners workshop is part of The MTPT Project's Life Friendly Leadership programme - a five session programme providing training and support on the parent-teacher demographic, creating positive school cultures, reducing teacher attrition and improving staff wellbeing.

Participants completing the Supporting Maternity Returners programme can access a discount code on the online Eventbrite page to complete the full Life Friendly Leadership programme.