Parental Leave
When The MTPT Project was founded in 2016, we empowered colleagues choosing to complete personal or professional development during their parental leave. Our coaching programmes, coffee mornings and networking with professional development providers has helped to transform the inclusivity of many professional learning spaces since this point. Here, members of our community share how they enjoyed combining both parenting and teaching identities during their time away from school.
Waking Up Parts of My Brain
English Teacher, ECT Induction Tutor and Teaching and Learning Impact Lead, Katherine Cummins, explains how she embraced the opportunity to complete her NPQML during her first maternity leave, and shares top tips for those who want to do the same.
Chartered Status
Gemma Campbell, English Teacher, Teaching and Learning Lead and mother of two explains how she used her second maternity leave to complete her CTeach qualification and use her mentoring skills to support the growth of this exciting new pilot.
An Amazing Feeling
Head of History and father of one, Tom Allen 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.
Put Your Own Oxygen Mask on First
Head of Geography and Pastoral Leader, Fiona Sheriff 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, 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.
Two Mums, Two Boys, and a Whole Lot of Sugar
Trust Director of Teacher Development, Tracy Goodyear, shares her experience of maternity leave and the ways she maintained a sense of herself alongside raising her second son.
A Complete Mental Shift
Naila Missous, Primary Teacher and RE Lead, shares how she struck a balance between switching off and taking things at a slower pace, and staying in touch with the RE and teaching world during her first maternity leave.
Time to Rethink
Further Education ITT Lecturer and mother of two, Kayte Haselgrove explains how her experience of becoming a mother of two prompted her to rethink and evolve her career, whilst balancing her ambitions around her new priorities as a parent.
This case study comes with a trigger warning: it includes brief details of pregnancy loss, which some readers may find upsetting.
Feeling Like Myself Again
Sherish Osman, 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, 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.
The Start of a Great Adventure
Simon Beale is a Head of History and Assistant Headteacher in West London. He is passionate about sharing classroom resources on social media, which lead him to co-found the History Teacher Book Club. He is dad to Florence and Felicity, twins conceived through an IVF donor after a long fertility journey with his wife, Alex.
Challenge the Gap
Kate Hovell, 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.
Falling Back in Love with the City
Head of English and mother of one, Holly Maguire 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.
Three Complimentary, Cohabiting Identities
Emma Sheppard, 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.