A politician with personal experience of infertility and IVF is seeking to promote education and awareness around support for teachers who need time off work to access treatment.
Deputy Lucy Stephenson – who last year lodged a successful proposition to improve fertility funding in the island – said that, while flexibility surrounding the current guidance was “encouraging”, it was important teachers felt able to raise the subject with managers.
She recently submitted a written question to Education Minister Rob Ward asking what policies were in place “to support teachers and teaching assistants requiring access to fertility treatment, given that treatment cannot always be undertaken out of term time”.
Deputy Ward referenced part of an attendance policy that states absence due to sickness does cover one cycle of IVF treatment, but any subsequent cycles must be covered by annual leave, unpaid leave or flexi leave.
Deputy Ward said: “The policy provides this guidance to allow managers, including school leaders, the discretion to apply a degree of flexibility with these arrangements.”
Speaking to Express, Deputy Stephenson said: “It’s encouraging to hear that the flexibility lies with the managers.
“I do know anecdotally that there are some headteachers who really do get it and work hard to support staff, so it’s about how do we extend that education and awareness.”
She added that it was important that teachers accessing fertility treatment felt “supported”.
“Some people will be too worried to even raise it in the beginning,” said Deputy Stephenson.
She noted that treatment could involve “multiple appointment locally as well as time spent going to the UK or elsewhere”.
“It can be challenging for people at the best of times, let alone for anybody who may be trying to work it around term dates,” she said.
New access criteria for IVF funding came into force in Jersey on 1 January 2025, and was due to be reviewed at the end of March.
