Teachers are one of the more affected groups when it comes to infertility. So why are adequate and supportive policies few and far between, asks Devon-Louise Oakley-Hogg
It’s been nearly two years since I undertook three rounds of egg collection for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) in the hope of having the baby we were desperate for.
While I have certainly tried futilely to forget it, every appointment, every disappointment still lives within me, on a cellular level.
Every phone call taken in-between lessons. Every smile fixed in place so my students wouldn’t see the cracks. Every cover lesson put hastily together, still there. Worst of all, the guilt of leaving my classes to fend for themselves while I was fighting to create life.
A quiet crisis in schools
My experience is far from unique. Around one in six adults globally are affected by infertility, and research suggests those working in education are more likely to experience subfertility than many other professions.
Yet despite this, teachers undergoing fertility treatment have no legal entitlement to fertility leave, and paid policies in schools crop up once in a blue moon.
The result is a quiet crisis. Many teachers are already paying tens of thousands of pounds to try to start their families.
At the same time, they risk lost income when attending unavoidable medical appointments, building insurmountable financial and professional pressure that only further contributes to stigma and silence.
A recent workplace infertility stigma survey found that one in four teachers would rather call in sick than disclose fertility treatment, while only 17 per cent reported their workplace had a supportive policy.
One in five even feared career consequences if their employer knew they were trying to conceive.
For a profession already facing recruitment and retention challenges, this should concern every school leader.
The MP Alice Macdonald’s recent fertility workplace pledge recognises the need for employers to provide paid time off for treatment. Schools should see this not simply as a compassionate gesture, but as a strategic investment in staff wellbeing and retention.
If roughly 17.5 per cent of adults are affected by infertility, that equates to tens of thousands of teachers who may require support at some point in their careers.
So what can schools realistically do?
Consider adopting this model policy
Fertility treatment sits in an awkward grey area. It’s medically necessary, yet often excluded from medical leave policies.
The physical and emotional toll is significant, and appointments are rarely predictable.
Schools need policies that reflect this reality. A supportive policy should allow flexibility for short-notice appointments and include paid leave covering a full round of treatment, from initial investigations to embryo transfer.
Free model policies, such as those developed by One Full Round, offer practical starting points grounded in lived experience.
Clear guidance reduces uncertainty for staff and managers alike, making open conversations possible without fear of financial or professional penalty.
Awareness and training are key
Fertility treatment is complex. Teachers should not have to educate their managers while navigating one of the most stressful experiences of their lives.
Training for line managers and human resources staff can foster informed, compassionate conversations about scheduling, medication storage and reasonable adjustments.
Access to reliable resources, and opportunities for peer support, helps normalise fertility discussions, reducing stigma and isolation.
For many, treatment involves grieving a future they assumed was guaranteed.
A supportive workplace cannot remove that pain, but it can prevent work becoming an added burden to someone already so weighed down by fertility issues.
Teachers spend their days shaping the futures of other people’s children. Those facing infertility often do so while quietly carrying grief, shame and longing for their own.
They should not have to choose between protecting their livelihood, pursuing their vocation and trying to build a family.
No one chooses this journey. But schools can choose compassion and support and send a clear message that the people who give so much of themselves deserve workplaces that stand beside them as human beings, not just employees.
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