Nursery World spoke to a wide variety of men who are enjoying careers within the sector to find out what can be learned from their experiences and how their experiences can help inform settings' management policies and procedures.
Nursery assistant
* Andrew Docherty, 21, works in the baby room and after-school club at Bishopbriggs Childcare Centre, Glasgow, which has employed men during its 18-year history. Andrew was inspired to start a career with children after working at a summer camp in the USA.
'Since I've joined the nursery it has been magic. I work with older children in the after-school club, but I particularly love being in the baby room.
'Seeing the babies smile and laugh or master a new skill is incredibly satisfying. It is the wee things that are so special, such as comforting a child who is crying. It also makes me feel great when children come over to give me a hug, I know that they appreciate me being there.
'I think it is important that the children can see men in caring roles - many have fathers who look after them at home, so it is only right they should have men in the nursery too.'
Student
* Peter Cummins (pictured above), 19, is the first British male student at Norland College, where he is completing his first year on a two-year diploma course. He has just done a placement at First Steps Nursery in Bath.
'I left school not knowing what do. I went to stay with an uncle in France and ended up looking after six children aged two to 12 and really enjoyed it. When I came home, I looked for childcare jobs. The careers people were a bit discouraging but I wasn't put off.
'I arranged some work experience at the local school nursery in Cardigan.
They were really helpful and it reinforced my belief. My parents had heard of the Norland College and when we visited, I thought this is where I want to be. I did a week's work experience in their nursery to make sure this was what I really wanted.
'In my set there are 19 girls and me. Generally it has worked out just fine. They don't pick on me, but there have been a few pranks. There is pressure to do well because I am the only boy, but it is mostly coming from me.'
Nursery nurse
* Chris Parsloe, 26, works at Tops Day Nursery in Winchester, and used to be third in charge at a nursery in London.
'When I left school I took a health and social care course. I spent a week in a nursery and that was it. I knew what I wanted to do.
'I am working part-time because I want to write for children. If I was going to stay in childcare I would have to go into management to be able to support a family.
'Some of the girls say it makes a difference having a man around. It is more fun. When I worked at Child Base they had quite a few men and it was nice to meet up with them and talk to them.
'Sometimes the girls sit in the staff room going on about how useless men are. I will say, "Thank you!" Someone will turn round and say, "I forgot you were a man."
'As the years have gone by it has become easier. They ask me the man's point of view on something. I can ask them the women's point of view.'
Childminder
* Robert Heath (below) chairs the Sheffield branch of the National Childminders Association. He registered to work alongside his wife Margaret 12 years ago but she now works part-time for the local partnership and he is the full-time childminder.
Robert says, 'It is fascinating seeing little people growing and learning.
It is quite awesome. I look at them and think that is what I missed when my children were little and I was at work.
'Within the childminding circle I am accepted. When you move out of that circle you can come across women who put up barriers.
'I take the children to a toddlers group where I spend most of my time playing with the children and watching them learn to play with new toys. In the early stages, I thought why bother going again, because nobody talked to me.
'Childcare is seen by women as women's work. It is the last female bastion.
They are good at criticising, whether it is the way you change nappies, the way you talk to the children or how you handle behaviour management. I have to make sure I am as good as the women, otherwise I will be criticised.'
Nanny
* Dominic Heath (right), 18, son of Robert, is a nanny in Sheffield, looking after two boys aged four and three and a 14-month-old girl. He used to work in a nursery, where he did an NVQ 2.
'At a nursery, if you want to go to the park you have to get permission from the parents, check everything and make plans. About two weeks later you might get to the park. I walk in at 8.30 and say, "Let's put your shoes on" and off we go. In a nursery we could not have pink macaroni cheese for lunch like we did the other day.
'I don't think that staying a nanny is financially viable. I can do this for a few years before I need to get a better paid job.
'It is so much fun. I have a degree in Thomas the Tank Engine, and we do some amazing activities. Some of my friends are doing their A-levels and are very stressed, while I do things like ambulance spotting at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital.
'At nursery there were children growing up without fathers around. They asked the strangest questions: "Can men drive?" I would answer, "I can't.
But they can." They also asked, "Can men get married?"
Nursery teacher
* Matthew Jarvis became disenchanted with the overformalised delivery of education in schools and moved to First Steps, Bath, seven years ago.
'With these young children you can almost see the development daily as they explore and understand. This is what makes the job - not the material rewards.
'I wonder whether I can still be doing this in ten to 15 years' time. I am 34. I know of only one other male nursery worker of a similar age in the area. Will it be frowned upon, by the staff and parents, for an older man to be working in a nursery? It may well be the norm as my generation grows older, but maybe people get promoted and move into management.
'I haven't started a family yet. Whether I would be able to support a family on my wages has yet to be seen.'
Classroom assistant
* Peter Towndrow, a self-employed web-designer, from Hertfordshire, works part time as a classroom assistant.
'I applied for a job at the time my son was in the nursery. I think everyone is curious to see how their own child is at school. My details were held on file. Two years later the head rang. They had two boys with behaviour problems, was I still interested?
'I had only really wanted to help with my own child. I could tell they were desperate and agreed to have a look. I saw the new children were very disruptive and the nursery could benefit from my help.
'I have been there two-and-a-half years now and followed the boys through nursery, reception and Year One. I help with all the duties in the class and work with all the children.
'Because of my IT experience I also assist with the computers, fixing them and keeping them running smoothly.
'Apart from the caretaker I am the only man in the school. Everyone accepts me and appreciates what I do. I think if they didn't I would not continue to work there. I can only afford to do it as I work outside of the school as well.
'I enjoy seeing the effect I have had on the children, and feeling that if I hadn't helped they would not be as happy and settled as they are now.
Working with children is far more rewarding than I thought it would be.'
Nursery school teacher
* Ben Hasan is deputy head of the nursery school in the Portman Centre, London.
'As a male you can challenge stereotyping. When I am teaching I spend a lot of time following the children's interests, sharing books, drawing and writing. I have quite long hair and the children sometimes say things like "Only girls have long hair".
'We had some issues within the staff over people working with one another.
Some people became quite emotional and tearful. I ignored the emotion and looked purely at the issues. I don't know whether this is down to gender, but I didn't get involved in the emotional issues and looked at the difficulties and we solved the problem.'
Out-of-school and holiday club organiser
* Jonathan Harvey, founder of Kidscomefirst.co.uk holiday clubs, became involved in childcare when his local church in Colchester was looking for a volunteer to run a children's club.
'I was in insurance, hating my work and I was made redundant. My wife had just had a baby. She went back to work and I looked after the baby.
'The local health authority wanted someone to run a holiday club. Then they suggested I set up my own holiday scheme. I opened my first Kidscomefirst in 1995 and there are now clubs catering for 1,400 children in Colchester.
'Boys aged nine to 11 can be very sexist. We had a woman semi-professional footballer join us. The boys would not accept that she could play football.
When she scored goals they said they were flukes.
'Generally, the men keep better control of the behaviour. They organise lots of activities, which allows the children to let off steam. The children, the boys and the girls, want to do physical activities, but some female staff are not so keen.
'The men bring a male viewpoint to the arts and crafts, making flags for the football teams or models of footballers.'
Nursery school headteacher
* Nick Birkbeck, head of Aclet Close Nursery School, Bishop Auckland, intended originally to be a secondary school teacher but instead went into marketing in the food industry. He became fascinated with early years as he watched his first daughter develop and took a PGCE.
'In what other job can a 40-years-plus man sit on the floor playing and call it work? There is something exciting about early years. It is like the cartoon of a light bulb going on over someone's head.
'An advantage of having men in the team is when fathers bring their children in: they don't feel so much like they are entering alien territory.
'I think the whole question of sexuality comes into it when people feel very vulnerable about how they are perceived by others. I am very careful that I don't put myself in a compromising situation. We have rules that apply to all the staff. No-one is allowed to be with a child alone in a closed room.
'The official advice from the unions is that you should minimise any physical contact with pupils. But when a child falls down, they need an arm around the shoulder. But you make sure it is done publicly and everyone understands that it is being done as care and nothing else.
'Nursery schools are female dominated. For the lone male you can become isolated, or become a sort of unofficial, invisible woman and let them get on with their conversations.'
