Nursery World - Nursery Management: Staff:

Some of the few men in childcare move up to management, others prefer just to be with the children - in any case, why are they so in demand? Nicole Weinstein hears from a range of managers.

Male practitioners are highly sought after in the childcare sector. Owners of nursery chains have formed a working party to encourage more men into the sector, while nursery managers report positive effects from having male role models for children and staff alike. Meanwhile, the Government is on a drive to address the gender imbalance in the early years workforce.

But still they remain a rarity, representing just 2 per cent of all staff working with the under-fives.

More men needed

Alan Bentley, chairman of the Childcare Corporation (TCC), a group of 20 nurseries that employs 1,000 staff, says that despite attempts to actively encourage men into all levels of childcare, just 25 men are involved in direct childcare duties in the group.

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