The duration of full maternity pay for teachers will double to eight weeks, as part of the government’s bid to retain more teachers.

Teachers and school leaders will see their full maternity pay increase from 2027-28, rising from four weeks to eight, the Department for Education has announced.

The move is part of an attempt to stop women from leaving the profession, with recent research revealing that 40 per cent of teachers do so within the first four years after returning from maternity leave.

The government has previously been warned that the current teacher pay offer for mothers is “incompatible” with working in a school, and is leading to an “exodus” from the profession.

It is expected that the maternity pay increase will be confirmed in the government’s schools White Paper, which is set to be published next week.

The rise will be backed by additional funding, the DfE confirmed.

Phillipson: Maternity pay ‘left to stagnate’

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 it is still significantly below other parts of the public sector.

As Tes analysis has shown, full teacher maternity pay will still last 18 weeks less than the 26 weeks for some other public sector workers, including those employed by the DfE.

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “I’ve heard how tough it can be juggling between a career you love and starting a family, and I’m concerned that too many women feel they don’t have the support they need to make the right choice for them.

“Maternity pay for teachers has been left to stagnate for too long. That’s why I am taking the first step in 25 years to improve it, backed by a new programme that will support more women returning after leave, so more pupils benefit from the experienced teachers they need at the front of classrooms.”

‘Step in the right direction’

Emma Sheppard, founder of the Maternity Teacher Paternity Teacher Project, told Tes: “We are pleased that the government is recognising the importance of our parent-educator demographic with these improvements in maternity pay.”

A major 2024 report from the charity and the New Britain Project, Missing Mothers, says that women in their thirties, particularly mothers, are leaving teaching at an “alarming rate”.

It also cites workload, lack of flexibility and inadequate support for returning mothers as big factors in the exodus.

The maternity pay announcement is a step in the right direction, Ms Sheppard said, but she wants more to be done to ensure “parity for fathers, non-birthing partners and support staff, and to bring parental leave and pay in line with other public sector and graduate professions”.

She added: “Valuing our parent-educators in this way will make the profession more attractive and boost the health of our workforce.”

‘Equivalent’ offer sought for support staff

School support staff currently do not get any of their maternity leave fully paid.

The government confirmed that it will give the upcoming School Support Staff Negotiating Body, once established, the remit to negotiate equivalent improvements for support staff in its first year of operation.

And a new schoolteacher retention programme will be launched in autumn 2026 as part of wider efforts to boost the workforce. The DfE said this would provide peer support, coaching and resources to help schools support their staff to manage workload, support their wellbeing and offer more flexible working.

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