Preparing for parental leave

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Want to create the best parental leave for you?

When we find out we are going to be a parent, even if it's not for the first time, we often experience a mix of emotions, from excitement to apprehension, and suddenly find ourselves with hundreds of questions to answer:

How will I get everything ready in time?
How can I do the best job I can at work while preparing to leave for a few weeks or months?
What kind of parental leave will work best for me?
How will becoming a parent affect my finances?
How will my work be covered while I'm away?
Will I have a job to come back to?
How can KIT/SPLIT days help me?

You might have these and many more questions going around in your head. The chances are you will also be thinking about returning to work after parental leave, the juggling this will bring, and how becoming a parent will impact your career?

This course takes you through everything you need to think about to plan your parental leave and your return to work after. From how to prepare a handover document to how to maintain healthy boundaries when you return to work to rebooting your career post parental leave.

So you won't just survive after your return to work, you will thrive.

You have life time access to this course, and because we are working parents, we know how hard it is to find time to do even the simplest tasks when you have children around. The bite size lessons and downloadable worksheets are designed to make it easy to complete around even the busiest work and family life.

What will you learn on this course?

There's a lot to consider when you are leaving for and returning from parental leave. This course will support you as you make the decisions that are right for both you and your family.

What kind of parental leave and pay do you want to take
How to ensure you find time for yourself as new parent
Why our emotions are more enhanced as new parents and how to manage them
How to build the best network to support you through parental leave
How to manage the logistics around preparing for parental leave
How to write the best handover document and return to work plan
Our 4-step plan to manage the domestic and invisible work at home (and relieve your mental load!)
How to reboot your career for your return to work

How does it work?

Sign up

Sign up for the course and receive your welcome email and immediate access to the whole course.
You lead the pace

Work through the course in your own time, at the pace that works for you. You can dip in and out as fits in with your work and home life.
Life time access

You have life time access to the course so you will have ongoing support through your parental leave and return to work. You can revisit lessons as and when you need them.

About The Maternity Coach

The Maternity Coach was founded by Frances Cushway, a licenced registered Career Coach who specialises in supporting women to return to work following parental leave and continue to thrive in their careers. Frances has a Postgraduate certificate in Career and Talent Management and a degree in Psychology. She is a Registered Career Development Professional with the CDI where she was a finalist for Career Coach of the Year 2018, 2021 and is again in 2022 for her work with mothers on maternity leave. She offers a unique coaching experience that brings together the psychology of becoming a parent with the practicality of planning the return to work that is right for you and your family. The Maternity Coach's mission is to support parents through parental leave and their return to work; to help them rediscover who they are and what they want from their career after parental leave and give them the courage and tools to return to work with confidence so they can continue to make their unique contribution to the world.

What do people say about The Maternity Coach courses?

I've recommended this course to others

Sophie

"Really useful. I’ve actually recommended the course to others in my NCT group to see if their employers would consider it."

I'm now looking forward to the transition!

Kate

“I thoroughly enjoyed the course. Can't thank Frances enough, I began the course almost feeling like I wouldn't be able to return to work at all, but have left feeling much more confident and in fact looking forward to the transition!”

I now feel confident that I can balance working and being a mum.

Angela

"This course has been fantastic, thank you! It helped me consider things I wouldn't have thought about. I have gone from feeling that leaving was the only option, to feeling confident that there are ways around balancing working and being a mum."

I feel calm, prepared and organised

Lyndsey

"Excellent course, Frances you have been fantastic, thanks so much, highly recommend this course, I feel calm, prepared and organised as I approach maternity leave so I can make the most of my birth and new baby and then go back to work feeling ready and excited about the new challenges ahead."

I feel so much more empowered

Preya

"Thank you so much, this has been hugely beneficial. I feel so much more empowered about returning to work. We don't often get help like this in the public sector so I know how precious this is."

I now have a plan in mind and feel more prepared for my return to work.

Lucy

"Really great to make you think and reflect in a constructive, objective and positive way about the challenges of being a working mum and being on maternity leave. I now have a plan in mind and feel more prepared for my return to work."

A plan to transition between work and family life

GP & Parent

"This course has allowed me to plan my return so it's a much better transition between work and family life."

This course was so helpful, even for someone on their third maternity leave.

Becca

"Fantastic course. So helpful even for someone on their third maternity leave. Really got me thinking about subjects that had not been on my radar before."

The course has been so useful for planning my return to work

Natalie

"Thank you, the course has been so useful for planning maternity leave and return to work, considering both the practical and emotional aspects."

Useful to reflect on life at this point

Susie

"This course gave me time to reflect on life at this point which was very useful. I would have found extremely informative on my previous maternity leave."

FAQ

Who is this course aimed at?
This course is aimed at anyone who is becoming a parent, however that may happen. We include specific information that relates to maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental and unpaid parental leave where appropriate. Depending on the questions you have or the support you specifically need, you can take from the course what is most helpful to you.
Will I have time to do this, I'm having a baby.
This course is designed so you can dip in and out of it, so even if you have 10 minutes here and there to grab a cup of tea and complete a lesson you will benefit from it. It is structured in bite-sized lessons to fit in with busy work and family lives. Mums who have been through my maternity coaching programme have looked at how they manage things at home so that they have more time to do things they love. So it should also help you find the time for yourself in your busy week.
This isn't my first parental leave, will this course be useful for me?
Feedback from mums who have been through my maternity coaching course during their second (or more) maternity leave has all been extremely positive! They have said that they wish they had been through this the first time round and that it was really helpful to work out how they wanted their return to work to go this time.
How long do I have access to this course?
You will have lifetime access to it and to any updates we make. So you can come back and revisit the content whenever you need it.
Can I get help when on the course?
There is information in the course on how to get help if you need it.