Nursery World - Nursery group launches action plan to recruit more men to work in the early years

The London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) has launched a four-point plan to encourage more men to work as nursery teachers and assistants.

The nursery group, which runs 37 nurseries across London, has launched a campaign for more men in childcare and championing gender inclusiveness.

LEYF is calling for:

The nursery group hopes the plan will help spearhead a drive to combat the recruitment crisis facing the sector.

In 2012, LEYF commissioned a survey that showed 61 per cent of staff said they felt the low numbers of men in the early years was because they were not encouraged to join the profession, while 52 per cent thought it was due to society’s attitude to men in childcare.

Other answers included poor status, fear of accusations of abuse and paedophilia, discomfort at working in such a highly female work environment, poor pay, lack of promotion opportunities, and an expectation that one man can address a shortfall of positive male roles in many children’s lives.

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