Teaching Case Studies

Need some inspiration, or wondering how other parents have fitted CPD into their schedules? We hope these stories of real mums and dads balancing their family commitments with their professional development give you the tips and direction you need.  Just click on their lovely faces to read their stories in full.

Have a similar story? Help inspire other MaternityTeachers and PaternityTeachers by sharing it with the MTPT community.  We’d love to hear from you!

Dreams Realised

Kristy Turner (@doc_kristy) is a Chemistry teacher and lecturer at Manchester University, and a single mum to her daughter. She tells of how making bold decisions before, during and after her maternity leave gave her the opportunity to reassess her career and realise a number of professional dreams, including co-authoring a book of high quality, accessible resources for secondary Chemistry teachers.

Returning with Confidence

Hafsah Ahmed (@hafss00), 2iC in English and mother of two explains how she used the end of her first maternity leave to improve her KS5 subject knowledge through school visits made possible by her time out of the classroom.

Exploring Ambitions

Dawn Stow (@stowdawn), secondary English teacher, Head of Year and mother of two has just secured her first Associate Seat on her school’s SLT.  Here, she describes how she used volunteering and observations to take control and complete strategic CPD whilst on maternity leave, to support her ambitions of becoming a senior leader.

Put Your Own Oxygen Mask on First

Head of Geography and Pastoral Leader, Fiona Sheriff (@fiona_616) shares how she completed maternityCPD during her second maternity leave to develop her subject leadership and networks around her daughter’s naptime.

Something Important to Me

Sitara Amin (@MrsAminHistory), KS3 History lead, and mother of one, explains how the chance to listen to peoples’ stories on maternity leave led to a new job opportunity and a promoted position closer to home.

Focus and Clarity from the Sidelines

Now back in the classroom, English AST and Assistant Head Teacher, Carly Moran () tells us about how the personal and professional development she undertook whilst on maternity leave with her first son has improved her teaching and leadership. This post originally featured on her own blog,

Easing Back Into Gear

Science Teacher and father of two, Paul Hunter (@MrHBio26), describes how taking shared parental leave enabled him to enjoy time with his new daughter and develop his subject knowledge and educational networks.

Three Complimentary, Cohabiting Identities

Emma Sheppard (@emma_au_soleil), mother to two children, Lead Practitioner in English and Founder of The MTPT Project explains how refusing to accept the social pressures surrounding parenting and maternity leave enabled her to transform her maternity leave from a career break into an opportunity for positive impact.

An Amazing Feeling

Head of History and father of one, Tom Allen (@tomallenhistory) spent six months of shared parental leave with his daughter.  As well as supporting his wife and getting to know his new daughter, he completed subject-specific paternityCPD and travelled to Australia to strengthen family connections.

“Two Below Two” + One More!

With every subsequent child, Niki Kaiser (@chemDrK), secondary Chemistry teacher and mother of three, tells of how her skills and subject knowledge developed and career opportunities grew, and how creative part time solutions supported her leadership journey.

Navigating a Journey

Alex Mason (@babytismoffire), mother to one daughter, English SLE and The MTPT Project’s Adoption Advocate explains becoming a parent via adoption has helped her to prioritise self care and improved her pastoral approach with students in the classroom.

Falling Back in Love with the City

Head of English and mother of one, Holly Maguire (@hollymagr) describes how she used her maternity leave to explore sites of cultural and historical interest in London, and take advantage of walking tours to improve her subject knowledge and plan trips for students when she returns to work.

Lockdown: Babies and Books

FE Lecturer, Jonny Kay (@jonnykayteacher), explains how his period of furlough during the 2020-21 pandemic coincided with the birth of his second daughter and gave him the time to write a book, improving his own teaching practice in the process.

Challenge the Gap

Kate Hovell (@BMS_MissHovell), Assistant Head Teacher and mother to two children, explains how she used her second maternity leave to follow through on a project close to her heart, working towards closing the gap experienced by many disadvantaged students.

Feeling Like Myself Again

Sherish Osman (@sherish_o), Lead Teacher in English, mother to two boys and our West London Advocate  and member of our Diversity and Inclusion team explains how she used her maternity leave to improve her subject knowledge and pedagogy, structuring her CPD through our very own, flexible MTPT Project Accreditation.

Wellbeing: the Key to Sustainable Teaching

Charlotte Hobbs (@Lottefran), a Lincolnshire-based English teacher is preparing to return to work full time after maternity leave with her daughter.  She reflects on how spending time developing her understanding of her own wellbeing whilst out of the classroom may have the most significant impact on her teaching and learning.

Confident and Informed

Leanne Shaw (@leanneshawAHS), Maths teacher, mother to first baby, Oscar and our York Advocate, explains how she used her maternity leave to improve her subject knowledge, structuring her CPD through our very own, flexible MTPT Project Accreditation.

Confidence and Clarity

After four years out of the classroom and a sojourn in the US, Catherine Campbell (@CatCampbell15), primary school teacher and mother of two describes how inspirational reading and a strategic approach to CPD helped her to regain her professional confidence.

My Choices

Claire Neaves (@bristol_teacher), our South West representative, member of our Diversity and Inclusion team, SENCo, and mother to first baby boy, explains how she used her maternity leave to develop her leadership skills.

Every School is Different

Part time Lead Practitioner and Maths blogger, Jo Morgan (@mathsjem) is mother to two girls.  She explains how discovering Twitter on transformed her second maternity leave and empowered her to move to a school with a more family friendly culture to balance her passion for teaching and the time she wanted to dedicate to her family.  Check out some fabulous Maths resources on her award-winning blog.

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