There is a perception that teaching is a family friendly profession. The reality is far from this. In a profession dominated by women flexible working should be the norm, it isn’t. 
After my first maternity leave I wanted to return full time but without my responsbility of head of department. I was told to see how I got on with coping with the responsibility and that we would meet again about it. This never happened and I just carried on. Then before I even went on my second maternity leave I requested to return 3 days a week. I got no direct answer. It took 18 months of going back and forth suggesting ideas and negotiating. They refused to allow me to drop my HOD responsibility and eventually I began to persuade them about the idea of job share. Even after finding someone ideal to share with it was obvious the school found the idea too radical and they left the two of us hanging by not making a decision. In the end I made the decision for them and resigned. This broke my heart as I was forced to leave a profession I loved. My family are more important.