The joy and elation of my wife becoming pregnant was swiftly followed by the serious business of facing the practicalities of having a tiny person in our lives.

At the time, I was head of English at a fantastic school in East London, working the usual 12-hour days. My wife was self-employed.

Shared parental leave

I had heard about shared parental leave (SPL), but only in a vague “something Clegg did in the coalition” way.

But as I’m a fully fledged “trailer” (the term used for teachers who earn less than their partners), we decided to explore the option further.

Find government advice on shared parental leave

Financially, the lack of meaningful maternity leave for self-employed people made taking the option a no-brainer. And my lower salary, coupled with the memory of colleagues moaning about all their money going on childcare, made the decision for us.

How to split the time

We decided that I would take leave from three days before the due date - which was fortunately in July, just days before the end of the school year.

My wife took a few weeks off, but I took the full nine months of statutory leave, plus a couple of months unpaid, so I could take a whole school year in total.

‘Incredibly supportive’

My school was incredibly supportive. The novelty factor created some intrigue but, overall, it was about making it work in professional terms. My school had a simple policy that was easy to follow and my HR representative took me through every stage.

The only downside of the decision was the surprisingly antiquated reactions from other parents and bystanders.

It’s complex but, to simplify attitudes, a father taking SPL is thought to be “playing” at parenting and a mother returning to work so soon is considered heartless and cold.

Both attitudes are wrong and I was lucky to have the opportunity to share this very important time with our daughter - it would be good if more fathers could.

I would offer these tips if you do:

1. Speak to your head and line manager as soon as possible. They should be supportive but will appreciate notice in advance.

2. Male teachers get statutory paternity leave in addition to SPL, so work out when you want to take all your leave.

3. Your policy will determine whether you can take it in one chunk or spread it across the year - make it work for the school and for you.

4. Plan how you both will return to work, but prepare for different feelings after the little one arrives. You can change your plans at any stage.

5. Brace yourself for people being unsure about how to take this challenge to gender stereotypes. Even your liberal friends are likely to judge.

Sam Draper has been head of English in three inner-city London schools and has been teaching for 15 years. He is a member of The Maternity Teacher/Paternity Teacher Project