Nursery World - Show us men some respect

By Michael Nolan, a nursery nurse in a Birmingham hospital's neonatal unit. I'm fed up with hearing presumptions about why the childcare sector has problems when it comes to employing male nursery nurses.

I'm fed up with hearing presumptions about why the childcare sector has problems when it comes to employing male nursery nurses.

Let's start with the basics. Yes, male and female nursery nurses are low paid, and until the Government takes into account the pressures this places on us and decides to act, we will remain low paid for the foreseeable future.

I have worked for a few private day nurseries that have treated me disgracefully, where staff made me feel unwelcome and made life difficult for me. Some managers are also guilty of blocking men at the first hurdle, the interview. One nursery manager I worked for just about found the energy to say 'Good morning' and 'Goodbye' to me. This type of personnel skill nearly put me off working with children.

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