Bright Futures Teaching School Hubs committed to Ongoing Support for Parent-Colleagues

Colleagues on a period of parental leave, returning to work or balancing their school commitments with young children will continue to benefit from fully-funded support next academic year thanks to an ongoing partnership between Bright Futures Teaching School Hubs and The MTPT  Project.

This partnership will give state school colleagues fully-funded access to The MTPT Project’s Cradle to Classroom programme of transition support – three coaching and workshop offers designed to support them as they navigate their parenting journey:

• Group coaching during the parental leave period
• Return to Work workshops
• Group coaching (Sustain and Grow) for colleagues back at work with children aged 5 or younger

What’s more, Oasis Community Learning employees, Physics teachers and English Association members working in state schools can benefit from a further block of 1:1 coaching as part of additional partnerships with Oasis, The Ogden Trust and English Association.

Recent research from TeacherTapp highlighted a number of ongoing challenges associated with taking a period of maternity, adoption or shared parental leave: confusion over legal entitlements during this period, challenges around flexible working and leadership roles, barriers to progression and feeling ‘forgotten’ or ‘like a spare part’ when returning after time out.

It’s no wonder then, that women aged 30-39 make up the largest group of teachers to leave the profession every year with The MTPT Project and New Britain Project’s Missing Mothers report finding that motherhood had a lot to do with this attrition.

Bright Futures Teaching School Hubs recognises the importance of supporting colleagues over this key period  where more than 67% of teachers become parents.  We want colleagues in our region to know how valuable they are to our schools, and to feel empowered to design careers that fit in with their new family lives.

The MTPT Project’s Cradle to Classroom programme is designed to specifically address the challenges faced by colleagues at different stages of their parenting journeys.  The coaching and workshops are positive, empowering and offer participants the tools to fully enjoy both their personal and professional lives.  

Since 2023, more than 700 colleagues across the country have attended one or more of the Cradle to Classroom programmes, including more than 70 participants based in the North West.  We look forward to supporting even more new parents next academic year.

Upcoming dates for all three programmes in The MTPT Project’s 2025-26 Cradle to Classroom programme are available on Eventbrite.

Sign up to The MTPT Project’s fortnightly bulletin.