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.
'I am extremely keen to see men in childcare because I feel strongly that the lack of male role models in children's daily lives is not in their best developmental interests,' says Mr Bentley.
Amy Britton, head of childcare at the south-east based nursery chain Kid Ease, has employed male practitioners since the chain was launched more than eight years ago. She says, 'All of the men I've had over the years have worked really well with the teams, the children and the parents. They often bring the element of fun, rough-and-tumble and physical play to the children, and they often have a calming influence on a predominately female team.'
Career directions
The rising numbers of one-parent families, usually with the mother providing the day-to-day care, has meant that many children lack male role models.
Sue Meekings, childcare director at TTC, says that it's important for all children to have a male feature 'somewhere, significantly' in their day-to-day lives, 'particularly little boys, who need someone who is like them around'.
Two of TCC's nurseries have male managers who have helped them achieve outstanding Ofsted inspections, and a further two male employees are studying for EYP status. One of these is Ms Meekings' son.
She says, 'He's a six-foot-four rugby player and the children jump all over him. He worked casually as nursery bank staff to support himself through university and he fell in love with the job. His degree was in motorsport technology and he's doing the 15-month pathway on top of it to transfer over to become an EYP.
'It's good for the children and good for the staff team to have men in the building.'
But having a man around can take some children time to get used to, as Linda Godley, manager at Bewbush Nursery and Children's Centre in West Sussex, found out when employing a male agency worker.
She says, 'Many of our children came from broken homes where dad is seen as a bad person. The girls aged four were quite vicious with this particular man and they kicked and hit him. We had to spend a lot of time supporting him and talking to the girls about respect for others. Because he was frightened of being dominant - he was of a large build - he was very gentle and the girls felt they could intimidate him. The boys just enjoyed playing football with him.'
Ms Godley would love to employ a man at the nursery, because she thinks it's important for girls to see males in a positive light, but 'it's got to be the right person', she says.
At TTC Ms Meekings says that many of her male nursery staff are well-informed young men who 'had options'. She says, 'I don't view the male staff as significantly different to female staff. For some it's vocational, but it's not as clear-cut as men having higher career aspirations than women. There are some who want to go into management, but that eventually means becoming more distant from the children, and for some, that's not why they came into it.'
Amy Britton says her settings have supported many young men who started out accidentally on work experience in nurseries because their preferred placement fell through. 'Once they're through the doors, they can see the depth and breadth that childcare can offer. They usually prefer to work with children aged three to five, but my male manager has had most of his experience in the baby room.'
Five out of the approximately 130 childcare staff at Kid Ease are male. One is a manager working towards EYP status; one has a Level 2 qualification; another has a Level 3 and one is working towards Level 3; the other is unqualified. Ms Britton says that she's lost many of her male nursery nurses to higher-paid positions elsewhere, usually in the education sector.
For many men, entering childcare is a vocation. After all, they often have to overcome hurdles such as suspicion of their motives for working with young children, stereotyping and the isolation of being in a female environment.
But Ms Meekings foresees a gradual increase in men entering the profession, mainly because of the current economic climate. 'We're already seeing a slow trickle of growth in this area. Pay is always a sticking point, but the job market is tough. If you're a graduate and you move into early years, there are prospects. This, along with the fact that there is an element of needs-must for some families, is contributing to a growth in men in childcare. The by-product of it is an enhanced environment for young children.'
CASE STUDY
It's role-play time at Angel Community Nursery in south London. David is getting his hair washed by a group of enthusiastic apprentices. Ricky is outside supervising the children sawing wood at the builder's yard and David is having his face painted red. At this majority-male nursery in south London, run by the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF), the manager and three of the team members are men.
David Stevens, who started out in childcare 17 years ago after completing his NNEB in childcare, has worked his way up to nursery manager at LEYF, a role that he's been in for ten years. When he joined the nursery 18 months ago, there were already two men in place: Ricky, the deputy, who has a Diploma in Childcare and Education, Level 3, and Michael, the nursery assistant. They have since recruited Ezekiel, an apprentice.
David says, 'I thought that a predominantly male workforce would be a short-term thing, but the model is very successful. The balance between male and female is good and we all bring different skills to the mix. We come from different backgrounds with different experiences and our ages range from 19 to 58.'
There is a diverse ethnic range attending the nursery and only a minority are from single-parent families. David says, 'It's not just a case of children needing male role models. Men are, by nature, a bit more boisterous and it's important for young boys to let off steam and take risks.'
But he does not believe in reinforcing stereotypes. 'My male staff are quite happy to get their hair washed in hairdressers role play, and my female staff will happily chop the head off a fish and show the children the guts!'
David believes that having a gender-balanced team is key to encouraging men to start out and stay in childcare and LEYF has acknowledged this by teaming up male apprentices with male practitioners.
CASE STUDY
Paul McDonnell, manager at the Kid Ease Dover setting, started out in childcare at the age of 17. He was training to be a social worker and by chance, he was given a placement at a local nursery. He knew right away that he loved the job, so he qualified and became a nursery nurse. He then moved on to become the supervisor of baby room, then a deputy and then a manager at the age of 30.
He says, 'I'm a hands-on manager. As well as the essential leadership and administration role, I love being outside with the children, playing football and gardening. I suppose that could be seen as typical' male role modelling. I've never had a problem with the staff team. They are all accepting and see me as one of the team and as an effective leader. Also, some of the parents seek me out as a male to speak to. Dads may feel embarrassed discussing aspects of their child's care and feel uncomfortable when a female tries to support them. With me, I feel some dads can be more open and relaxed.'
WANTED BUT NOT WILLING
The Major Providers' Group, made up of 14 of the largest nursery chains in the UK, found that while the majority of parents are in favour of men working in nurseries, most male students would not consider childcare as a career (News, 26 July 2011).
The reasons cited included not wanting to work in an almost all-female environment, concerns about what other people would think, and the low rate of pay.
