Research by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations suggests that the majority of the UK voluntary sector is made up of women who identify as white (Tabassum 2023).
Dr. Brownhill reports on original research that involves a ‘rare’ male volunteer of South Asian heritage (referred to as ‘Participant Z.’), exploring his motivations for and gains from working in the early years in the East of England, and recognising select issues relating to recruitment, retention and progression.
INTRODUCTION
Despite the claim that ‘there has never been a shortage of volunteers’ (Kahn n.d.), recent media reporting suggests that levels of volunteering in the UK are in decline (Hill 2023).
This is a matter of concern for early years providers which, in recent years, have been increasingly reliant on unpaid volunteers in all childcare settings (Bonetti 2018).
The resulting unease in terms of ‘how they are deployed, their skills and qualifications, and their effect on the quality of provision for children’ (ibid.) partially serves as the inspiration for this article, which initially considers:
a) what is meant by ‘volunteer’, and b) what their importance in the early years is, support-wise.
VOLUNTEER: MEANING AND IMPORTANCE
The Disclosure and Barring Service (n.d.) defines a volunteer as ‘a person engaged in an activity which involves spending time, unpaid (except for travelling and other approved out-of-pocket expenses), doing something which aims to benefit some third party other than or in addition to a close relative’.
In the context of the early years, volunteers are predominantly parents/carers and other family members (think grandparents), along with young people on work experience, students on placement, and local community members. Volunteers can support settings in a multitude of ways:
Directly working with children, e.g., playing with them in the outdoor mud kitchen.
Assisting practitioners in administrative roles, e.g., putting up classroom displays.
Providing support across the whole setting, e.g., ‘gardening, tidying and decorating’ within the grounds of the provider (Goulson 2024).
As opposed to always assigning mundane or routine tasks to volunteers, such as washing paint pots or filing paperwork, settings should capitalise on the knowledge, ‘unique talents, character and skills’ (Wright 2019) that volunteers can bring to their role, especially those who are male (ibid.).
Sadly, the statistics suggest that men in the early years are a rare breed.
MEN IN THE EARLY YEARS: THE STATISTICS
The latest Childcare and early years provider survey (Department for Education ((DfE)) 2023a) suggests that men represent just 2 to 3 per cent of the paid early years workforce in England.
Those actively training in the sector fare slightly better, particularly male postgraduates who serve as new entrants to Early Years Initial Teacher Training (4 per cent; DfE 2023b).
Unfortunately, due to ‘the small number of males reported … as working in maintained nursery schools and voluntary group-based providers’ (DfE 2023a), the percentage of men who volunteer in the birth to five sector is currently unknown. To see a male volunteer working with young children in an early years setting is indeed rare; encountering their ‘voice’ (in terms of their views and opinions) in public and academic discourse is even rarer. That is, until now.
THE RESEARCH
The research reported in this article is drawn from a small, ethically approved, qualitative study which set out to explore the views and experiences of an individual whose gender (male), ethnicity (South Asian) and breadth of volunteering experience in the early years (more than 20 years of contributions in a range of settings) made Participant Z. an intriguing research subject. The findings, drawn from an extended semi-structured online interview and an analysis of documents – in the form of interviewee-researcher email correspondence – were rigorously analysed by Jules Godfrey (research assistant) and are summarised below.
Thoughtful reflections follow a presentation of the main findings which focus on Participant Z.’s volunteering motivations and gains, along with a recognition of select issues relating to volunteer recruitment, retention and progression.
FINDINGS AND REFLECTIONS
Motivations and gains
For Participant Z., the rewards of volunteering were fundamentally emotional, his work with young children acting as a counterpoint to the ‘very high pressure’ (interview) of his early career in academia and paid employment. His views on work – ‘something you do in order to make money, which is not much fun’ (interview) – were in contrast to those that he had of volunteering: ‘I can go and spend all day with children and just come out feeling refreshed and happy, relaxed’ (interview).
Of interest was the substantial emotional benefit Participant Z. got from the relationships he developed with young children, being particularly rewarded by his work with those considered to be vulnerable: ‘The roles that are dearest to my heart […] are taking care of the children who are scared of men and taking care of homesick children’ (email).
By embracing a compassionate approach that was fuelled by his cultural background, Participant Z. felt that he was able to build emotional attachments with those children who were ‘initially shy[…]; after you’ve shown them they can trust you, they tend to become particularly attached to you and want to spend a lot of time with you’ (email).
Sensitive to the importance of consistency in adult role models, Participant Z. felt that such hard-won trust should be carefully preserved; for him, those children who had had particularly poor role models needed to understand that, wherever possible, ‘it’s not okay for men to turn up and be very caring and then suddenly disappear’ (interview).
Reflection
These findings help to recognise the care that some volunteers can/want to bring to the lives of young children, which can sadly be overlooked or discouraged if practitioners/settings seek volunteer support to primarily help learners achieve their developmental targets. The typical reasons why volunteers work with young children – altruism, personal and career development, and social reasons (see McLeish et al. 2016) – are extended by Participant Z.’s motivations, his volunteer work providing emotional subsistence, not just for the children he worked with but also himself.
Issues relating to recruitment, retention and progression
Participant Z. discussed how it had not always been easy to secure a position as a volunteer. His approach (both via email and/or through telephone contact) to different settings had not resulted in a placement, leading Participant Z. to wonder ‘how much it is to do with me being a man, but honestly I think people are just disorganised and busy and it takes more effort’ (interview).
One setting told Participant Z. that they found volunteers to be unreliable, whereas Participant Z.’s perception was that settings were not equipped to work with volunteers, as there is a lack of a volunteering culture in the early years, which was exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Participant Z. acknowledged the settings he had sadly left as he felt the management ethos towards the children did not align with his own values, intuition and informed understanding of child development: this led to him ‘being very uncomfortable with the way [upset] children are treated’ (interview).
Participant Z. also expressed personal concern over his vulnerability as a man to allegations of child abuse. From his perspective, there remained a sense of distrust and a lack of understanding as to why he would choose to work with young children. To avoid situations in which suspicion could fall upon him, Participant Z. refused to undertake specific tasks where he might be left alone with children. By doing this, Participant Z. took steps to protect his own safety: ‘I [need to] be somewhere where there’s always other grown-ups watching what I am doing’ (interview).
His hyper-awareness of the possibility of allegations led him to conclude that ‘I had made the right decision in choosing not to work with children as a professional’ (interview).
Reflection
These findings reinforce a critical need for all early years settings to have an assigned individual or a robust system in place to ensure a response (written/oral) is given to all volunteer enquiries. To promote an informed sense of knowing and doing, Kahn (n.d.) suggests that settings should have ‘a written set of policies and procedures that addresses volunteers, particularly specifying who supports them’ and describing practices related to child and volunteer protection to assure safeguarding of all.
Interestingly, issues of volunteer reliability are of concern to a number of sectors such as nonprofit organisations (see Vantilborgh and Van Puyvelde 2018). Yet a commitment from volunteers to give regular, ongoing support can be effectively established, the details of which are offered in the concluding section below.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTITIONERS AND PRACTICE
The reported research above stimulates a suite of implications for practitioners and practice to support not only the rarest of men in the early years – the male volunteer – but all volunteers; these are offered in bullet-point form by way of a conclusion to the article, hopefully stimulating reader reflection/review and, ultimately, their implementation:
Recognise that volunteers can contribute to children’s learning, development and care, establishing what individuals can and want to do for personal/professional gain via simple questionnaires or informal conversations before they begin working in the setting.
Ensure that appropriate DBS checks are carried out before any individual starts volunteering (visit https://tinyurl.com/4bczwpua) so that they can practise Professional Love (Jools 2018) – think love, intimacy and care – without fear of accusations of child abuse.
Secure volunteer reliability by writing succinct job descriptions (that clearly set out expectations), ask volunteers to complete simple application forms, request written references, undertake friendly interviews with prospective volunteers, and provide appropriate inductions (adapted from Goulson 2024).
Allow volunteers to reasonably refuse to engage in any activity which makes them feel uncomfortable or has the potential to compromise their safety/the safety of children (see DfE 2024 for the latest guidance regarding ratio requirements and volunteers in the early years).
Demonstrate a sustained commitment to volunteering by being organised in terms of recruiting and planning for volunteers in the setting, striving to make them feel welcome and ensuring volunteers are appreciated for their efforts – a simple ‘thank you!’ can go a long way.
REFERENCES
Bonetti, S. (2018). The early years workforce: a fragmented picture. Education Policy Institute. [Online]. https://epi.org.uk/publications-and-research/early-years-workforce_analysis/
Department for Education (DfE) (2023a). Childcare and early years provider survey. Gov.uk. [Online]. https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-provider-survey
Department for Education (DfE) (2023b). Initial Teacher Training Census (academic year 2023-24). Gov.uk. [Online]. https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/initial-teacher-training-census/2023-24
Department for Education (DfE) (2024). Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework. Gov.uk. [Online]. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) (n.d.). A guide to DBS checks. Gov.uk. [Online]. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6229db7e8fa8f526d45ab5a6/Quick_Guide_to_DBS_Checks.pdf
Goulson, K. (2024). Classroom volunteers: the benefits and potential issues. Croner-i. [Online]. https://app.croneri.co.uk/feature-articles/classroom-volunteers-benefits-and-potential-issues?topic=3870
Hill, A. (2023). Volunteering in sharp decline in England since Covid pandemic. The Guardian, 2 May. [Online]. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/may/02/volunteering-in-sharp-decline-in-england-since-covid-pandemic
Jools, P. (2018). Characterising the principles of Professional Love in early childhood care and education. International Journal of Early Years Education, 26(2), 125-141.
Kahn, T. (n.d.). Recruiting Volunteers. Teach Early Years. [Online]. https://www.teachearlyyears.com/positive-relationships/view/recruiting-volunteers
McLeish, J., Baker, L., Connolly, H., Davis, H., Pace, C., & Suppiah, C. (2016). Volunteering and early childhood outcomes: A review of the evidence. London: Big Lottery Fund. [Online]. https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/media/documents/a-better-start/Volunteering-evidence-review_Phase-2-Report.pdf?mtime=20190116152421&focal=none
Tabassum, N. (2023). UK Civil Society Almanac 2023: Data. Trends. Insights. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations. [Online]. https://www.ncvo.org.uk/news-and-insights/news-index/uk-civil-society-almanac-2023/volunteering/
Vantilborgh, T., & Van Puyvelde, S. (2018). Volunteer Reliability in Nonprofit Organizations: A Theoretical Model. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 29(1), 29-42. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45105391
Wright, D. (2019). Do We Need Men? Do They Make a Difference? In: Wright, D., & Brownhill, S. Men in Early Years Settings: Building a Mixed Gender Workforce (pp. 99-124). London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
THANK YOU TO
Miguel García López and Participant Z. for their constructive feedback on an earlier draft of this article
