Heartbroken teachers are being forced out of the profession after having children, campaigners have warned.

Many have blamed a reluctance of schools to allow flexible working, and the DfE has promised action to improve the situation.

With the campaign group Pregnant then Screwed planning to hold a teachers’ social media event about the issue next Thursday, here's what you need to know.

What’s the problem?

Increasing numbers of teachers are finding it difficult to go back to work after becoming mothers because they ask for flexibility or “wiggle room” but that’s being denied, says the group.

According to a poll by the NFER (National Foundation for Educational Research), senior leaders see the complexity of timetabling as one of the most significant barriers to agreeing and accommodating part-time flexible working patterns.

Are schools simply not being flexible?

That’s the claim. Pregnant then Screwed spokesperson Aceil Haddad said: “Now that we have advertised this social media day we are seeing lots of teachers coming through saying, ‘Oh my God, I thought it was just me, I didn’t think they were being inflexible.’”

Even education secretary Damian Hinds said he was laughed at by some school leaders after suggesting, in a speech, that schools offered more job-sharing.

They were laughing, he said, because of the complicated timetabling involved, but said he was later told that women leaders in schools were more likely to find a way to make the timetabling work.

Is flexibility the answer to the recruitment and retention crisis?

Recent research has showed that having part-time teaching jobs is “critical” to tackling the problem.

The study, by the NFER, has identified “an unmet demand for part-time working, which drives some to leave” – particularly in the secondary sector.

Lead economist Jack Worth said: “The secondary school teacher workforce has a large cohort of teachers approaching their mid-thirties, which is when part-time working tends to peak, that we have seen in historical data.”

What’s the legal position?

Following maternity leave, a teacher is entitled to return to her post and if a school refuses to take her back this would amount to unfair dismissal and possibly sex discrimination (unless for redundancy reasons), according to guidance from the NEU teaching union.

Similarly, if a teacher returns on less favourable terms and conditions after maternity leave there may be a claim for breach of contract, constructive unfair dismissal, or sex discrimination.

Teachers with more than 26 weeks' service have a statutory right to request flexible working, according to Flexible Working Regulations. 

Teachers must make their request in writing, giving details including the change to working conditions they are seeking, and the date they would like the change to take effect.

Schools can only refuse them if there is a business reason for doing so, such as the burden of additional costs, an inability to reorganise work amongst existing staff, an inability to recruit additional staff, or a detrimental impact on performance.

The NEU guidance states: “The NEU advises that you make an informal request to your employer initially. Only if the employer refuses an informal request should you use the statutory scheme.”

Another option is returning to work on a job-share basis where you share a single full time post, including positions of responsibility, with another teacher.

What’s the DfE’s take on it?

The DfE is a big supporter of job-sharing.

In fact, Damian Hinds has said there needs to be the equivalent of a dating website for teachers seeking job shares – which he referred to as a "job share match.com". 

Mr Hinds has also highlighted that only 28 per cent of women in teaching work part-time compared to 40 per cent in the economy as a whole.

Ahead of the recent launch of the DfE’s teacher recruitment and retention, Mr Hinds said: “If people (are) talking about their careers and whether they are able to stay, or when maternity comes along, it's really important that everyone is doing as much as they can to facilitate flexibility."

When is the social media day?

Pregnant then Screwed will hold its teachers’ social media event from 10am to 6pm on Thursday 28 February on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter via the hashtag #PTSteachers.