Nearly all teachers with children find it difficult to balance their work responsibilities with being a parent, according to survey findings published today.

In a poll by the NASUWT teaching union, 70 per cent of teachers said they have “seriously considered” leaving teaching because of the impact of their work commitments on their children.

The union warned that the situation is “forcing teachers to choose between family and a job”.

Matt Wrack, general secretary of NASUWT, will call for national negotiations for 26 weeks of fully paid maternity leave at the union’s annual conference in Birmingham today.

In the survey of 2,164 teachers, 77 per cent of respondents who had taken maternity or paternity leave in the past five years said they would have liked to have taken more time off but financial reasons prevented them from doing so.

Mr Wrack said the “pitiful levels” of maternity pay and parental leave within teaching are a “national scandal”.

Improving teacher maternity pay

The government’s schools White Paper, published in February, announced that teachers and school leaders will see their full maternity pay increase from 2027-28, rising from four weeks to eight weeks.

However, Mr Wrack said: “This does not go anywhere near far enough to tackle the scale of the problem.”

Currently, teachers with at least 26 weeks of continuous employment are entitled to four weeks of maternity leave at full pay, two weeks at 90 per cent and 12 weeks at 50 per cent, plus statutory maternity pay. For up to 21 weeks after this, statutory maternity pay can be claimed.

The increased maternity pay offer will now match that for NHS staff, but there are concerns that it is still significantly below the deals for other parts of the public sector and private sector.

Under the new offer, full teacher maternity pay will still last for 18 weeks less than the 26 weeks for some other public sector workers, including those employed by the Department for Education, previous Tes analysis shows.

Calls for flexible working

Some 49 per cent of respondents to the NASUWT survey said they have asked their employer for flexible working due to parental responsibilities, but one in five have had their request rejected.

Among those whose flexible working request was accepted, 66 per cent said they think it has had a detrimental impact on their career.

More than eight in 10 of the teachers with children who were surveyed said they regularly missed out on important time with their children because of work responsibilities.

Recent research reveals that 40 per cent of women leave teaching within the first four years after returning from maternity leave.

“This shocking situation has been ignored for years,” Mr Wrack said. “The rigidity of working structures in many schools, coupled with uncompetitive parental rights and high levels of workload, are driving out talented teachers from the profession.”

He added: “Current provisions are leaving teachers to feel that they are neither a good enough parent nor a good enough teacher.

“The commitment of teachers has been exploited for far too long. They are dedicated to the children and young people they teach, but should not be expected to sacrifice their own family lives.”