We know that female teachers between the ages of 30 and 39 are the biggest demographic of those leaving the profession - the figure is more than the number of women retiring. So it is crucial that schools are targeting these teachers in their retention strategies.

To do just that, since the autumn term of 2021, the Chiltern Learning Trust has been hosting unique networking and CPD events for teachers on maternity, paternity or adoption leave.

The initiative aims to provide practical support for parents across the trust who are returning to work, helping them to navigate the transition to parenthood smoothly while staying connected with their professional community.

We have tweaked how we run these events since we first started, using feedback from those who attend. Here is what we do now, and why it works.

Helping teacher-parents coming back to school

Relaxed, informal meeting places

Our first event took place in a school classroom and was fairly formal.

Over time the events have evolved into more relaxed meetings, where parents and teaching practitioners can comfortably share experiences, eat cake and discuss their return to school.

We have diversified our venues, moving to more family-friendly locations, such as farms, leisure centres and soft play areas. The trust covers the cost, and our positive relationships with local businesses often result in discounts or free use of their facilities.

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We always ensure that the space is comfortable for both parents and children, and have found that if there is something to entertain the children, it helps to keep parents more engaged - so we provide toys and floor space for toddlers and babies to explore.

The layout of the venue is crucial. It’s important that it feels welcoming, so we arrange chairs in a way that facilitates easy conversation.

We encourage feeding and allow attendees to leave the space if needed, ensuring a stress-free experience. And we always choose venues that offer easy parking and pushchair access.

Building a community

Typically our gatherings involve three to seven parents, mostly mothers, accompanied by their children. This is a small percentage of the parents who are on parental leave across the trust,. However, the parents who do come often attend multiple sessions.

We run one event per term and are always trying to improve attendance. While we promote events on social media and through school emails, direct emails to parents have been more effective at encouraging attendance. This personal touch allows parents to ask questions and feel more connected.

In September 2023 we created a spreadsheet of the email addresses of past attendees to facilitate a “recommend a friend” scheme. This initiative has significantly increased awareness and attendance, as word-of-mouth recommendations have proven to be powerful for promotion.

Feedback from parents also led us to rebrand our advertising from “CPD” to “a networking event for teachers on maternity and paternity leave”, making it more inviting.

Structure and content

Our meetings are typically two hours long and feature two or three guest speakers, who discuss the latest pedagogical research or share their experiences of returning to work as parents. We are currently looking into how we can incorporate this event into keeping in touch (KIT) days.

One of the most popular topics has been the use of AI as a time-saver. We have had insightful discussions about its pros and cons in education.

The dual focus on CPD and the personal experience of returning to work as parents keeps the sessions both informative and relatable.

Empowering teachers

The events provide invaluable support to parents, foster a sense of community and help to maintain professional growth. Feedback from our recent summer event proves this: 100 per cent of the attendees would “strongly agree” that the event content was useful.

Some of the parents who have returned to work part-time continue to support the events and return to share their return-to-work stories as guest speakers.

Together we’re working to make sure that our teachers on parental leave feel supported, connected and empowered.

Katy Norsworthy is appropriate body adviser at Chiltern Teaching School Hub in Luton