Small maternity wins are welcome, but we should strive for more

This week’s maternity pay reforms for teachers, shared in the Department for Education’s white paper, feel like a huge announcement. 

But on closer inspection, the victory may be more of a symbolic gesture than a significant financial uptick for teacher families.

The move claims to “double” the number of weeks at full pay from four to eight weeks.

But in reality, with the reduction in half pay to 10 weeks, and removal of two weeks at 90 per cent, this amounts to a 7.5 per cent increase in pay – the equivalent of a week’s more fully paid leave.

The announcements come after almost eight years of research and campaigning from The MTPT Project and union and wider sector partners, which gained particular interest following the 2024 Missing Mothers report, a collaboration with The New Britain Project.

The findings of this report made it impossible to deny the negative impact of the motherhood penalty on the education workforce.

In particular, it highlighted our woeful maternity pay offer in comparison to other graduate professions, with Teacher Tapp later reporting that 48 per cent of mother-teachers felt forced to return to work earlier than they would have liked.

Is any increase a good thing?

From September 2027, a colleague on an M5 pay scale will now be around £970 better off during their maternity leave. A senior leader on L4 will receive a boost of approximately £1,200. 

With maternity pay so poor, can we argue that any increase is a good thing? After all, increased finances are associated with improved maternal wellbeing, employee loyalty, women’s participation in the labour market and a sense of equality within couples. 

And colleagues working in local authorities and multi-academy trusts that already offer better than “Burgundy Book” maternity pay share that greater financial freedom has transformed their experience of maternity leave.

One secondary teacher working at The Education Alliance, which introduced improvements in 2024, said: “I just want to emphasise the difference from my first maternity leave. I don’t have any signs of postnatal depression. We can provide for our children without worrying, which felt impossible last time.”

A senior leader working for an Islington local authority school where maternity pay is more than double even the new offer from the DfE, said: “I want a second child. I’m now aware that Islington offer better conditions, and I wasn’t before, so it definitely makes me think I need to stay.”

The DfE is listening, but there are still disappointments

The announcement comes with a commitment to funding, and a sensible plan of a holistic approach to support and retention including flexible working, peer support, coaching and resources.

It also pledges an ongoing focus on “managing workload and… protecting teacher time so experienced teachers stay and thrive.” 

There is clear evidence the DfE is listening to research and voices from the sector, and are interested in building a programme of multifaceted support, rather than relying on one silver bullet.

Despite these positive steps, there are still disappointments for our community of parent-educators.

There has been no equivalent offer for support staff (though this discussion is promised), adoption and paternity leave.

Any notion of equality is completely absent from the conversation, and the actual financial increase is still a far cry from the enhanced maternity pay offered in local authorities like Camden, or multi-academy trusts like Astrea. 

Teachers working in these schools will still be more than £4,000 better off, even when the new maternity pay is introduced.

A particular stinger for our community of parent-educators is the comparison to the maternity pay offered to civil servants, including DfE colleagues, who receive 28 weeks fully paid leave.

This is equalised for fathers and non-birthing partners through their shared parental leave policy. 

Consequently, an informal poll from The MTPT Project revealed that 61 per cent of our community think the new reforms are not good enough.

It cannot be denied, however, that the announcement finally recognises the importance of our mother-teacher demographic. 

The narrative surrounding motherhood is now clearly one of retention and value rather than a voiceless community or a burden to employers. In itself, this is worthy of celebration.