Nursery World - Questions for caring men

By Charles Rice, director of training, development and quality assurance at the National Childminding Association The Government's recent recruitment campaign for childcare workers in England, which has a specific target to attract men, has given rise to much discussion. While barriers such as pay and conditions are part of the argument, in my view still the biggest barrier is that of child sexual abuse.

The Government's recent recruitment campaign for childcare workers in England, which has a specific target to attract men, has given rise to much discussion. While barriers such as pay and conditions are part of the argument, in my view still the biggest barrier is that of child sexual abuse.

Although this is a real concern, my fear is that it is misguidedly linked to the 'stranger danger' idea. This is somewhat dangerous. We now know that, statistically, most abuse takes place in the family, and therefore this strategy takes our eye off the ball and does not in fact help children to protect themselves.

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