Men know their place, and up to now it hasn't been in childcare. But, asks Wendy Wallace, can a Government drive persuade more men to take up a career in the early years sector?
The recent success of former childcare student Danny Foster in the pop group HearSay has done much to promote the image of men in childcare. The Government will be launching its own publicity initiative in the autumn, in a bid to get more young men interested in the sector. It hopes to reach a target of 6 per cent male early years staff by the year 2004, up from a 1998 total of only 2 per cent.
Anecdotally, men working in the sector say they feel less isolated now than they did a few years ago. But how good are the women who dominate both nurseries and training institutions at making men feel at home in the sector? Some men report not only having to overcome their own preconceptions and prejudices, but also those of their teachers and colleagues.
Cedric Morrison, 32, decided to train as a nursery nurse after the experience of being the main carer for his son Kori, now three. Staff at his son's nursery noticed his rapport with children and he worked as a volunteer there before enrolling for the Diploma in Pre-School Practice at a north London college.
Cedric wasn't surprised to find he was the only man on the course - 'I'd expected that.' But he was taken aback that some tutors found his robust attitude hard to handle. 'I'm a confident person and if I can't understand something, I will ask,' he says. 'I felt there was one teacher who had a vendetta against me because she always answered me with attitude. Eventually we had a meeting and I told her I wasn't happy. It was like, "Who does this guy think he is?"'
Cedric left the course and has enrolled for another, at a different college.
Staff at his work placement have welcomed his presence, he says. 'They've been really friendly and helpful, and they're quite glad to have a guy there. I've noticed that a lot of the children don't have a man around and they tend to watch me very carefully and respond to me very well. It's just that the first college has given me a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe the staff didn't like to be challenged.'
Male pioneers
Richard Bailey, 28, was a pioneer in terms of breaking through gender barriers. Now manager of a Leapfrog nursery in Edgbaston, he has been working in the sector since 1989. 'I used to feel quite isolated as a male nursery nurse,' he says. 'Going back 12 or 13 years, there weren't many men in the sector at all. Parents would ask if I was qualified, if I was police checked, did I have a family of my own. Prejudices were made verbal. Now, it's more accepted.'
In the early days he felt his isolation not somuch in work as out of it. 'At work everything was work-focused. But then a lot of the girls used to go out for social nights, so it would be 15 women and me. Some men would say, "Oh, get in there". But it's nice to have male friends, talking and laughing about the same things.' As a manager, he now has a male nursery nurse working for him. 'I treat everyone the same. But if there's something he wants to discuss, I make myself available.'
Richard does not believe that his gender has helped him earn rapid promotion. 'Childcare is quite competitive when it comes to promotion, because there's only so far you can go,' he says. 'I personally think I've worked my way to the top.' He is now doing a BA degree in Early Childhood Studies, and hopes to go into teaching. As an occasional lecturer himself, he tries to give male students support. 'They can feel undermined,' he admits. 'The general concerns are isolation, and fitting in.'
Centre of attention
In 1998, the last year for which figures are available, only 4,300 men worked with young children. If that figure is to be tripled as the Government hopes, retaining male students on college courses is vital. Che Cafoor, 17, is halfway through a Diploma in Childcare and Education at City and Islington College in north London. 'My friends think I'm a bit weird, wanting to work with children,' he says. 'I hang about with a lot of boys and they think there's no way men can handle children. But when they see me with kids, they think it's all right.' Che's mother and brother both work with children, and he comes from a big family where there are plenty of little ones around. 'I do a lot of babysitting. I can talk to children, play with them. I enjoy it.'
At college he's the only male on his course. 'I feel the centre of attention, which is good and bad,' he says. 'I'm noticed more by the teachers, and I think they're harder on me. They always want to know what I think about things when we do activities. The coursework is getting on top of me a bit. I never thought there would be so much written work to do to work with children.'
Fellow student Daniel Grant, 29, was - like many men and women in the sector - drawn to working with children after the experience of having some of his own. Two years ago, he was made redundant from his job as a photographic printer.
Now, he is studying part time for a NVQ level 3 in childcare, he has children aged five and three and works in a morning playgroup.
He began by covering for an absence at his daughter's playgroup. 'I enjoyed it so much, I decided to do it for a living.' Daniel has so far undertaken a starter course - the Introduction to Pre-School Practice - and the Certificate in Pre-School Practice. When asked if there were other men with him on the course, he laughs. 'I've been the only guy all the way through.'
But he feels his gender has worked to his advantage so far at least. 'I feel more than welcome. I've had no negative responses at all, apart from the odd sideways glance from parents. There can be a little bit of wariness there. But professionally I've had no problems from most of the people I've met.' He points out that any workplace situation can generate friction, which need not be gender-based.
Daniel - whose partner works for the local under-fives partnership - knows that as a male he is likely to continue to be in demand in the sector. 'Everyone's looking for this male figure to have working in their playgroup and I'm it. I'm sorted when it comes to employment, and it's a good thing to do. On a personal note, I feel really proud.'
More motivated
One thing female managers might bear in mind when interviewing male candidates is that they may have had to be more motivated than their female counterparts. Twenty-five-year-old Stephen Lynch's father suggested he become an electrician or something similar. 'He wanted me to do a trade,' says Stephen. 'My mum knew me and knew that I liked children. I had to be strong within myself, and say, "Working with children is what I really want to do."'
Now working in a workplace nursery run by Kids Unlimited, Stephen is a senior nursery nurse and unit manager in the toddler room. 'When I began, it was like, "Who's this?" There was one other male in my first nursery who helped me through it. It was male bonding. He'd introduce me to parents then, after a while, people took note that I could actually do the work. I was a bit shy, which made the transition from training into working more difficult.'
Stephen believes that for the campaign to attract more men to the sector to succeed, the profile of the work needs to be raised for everyone. 'There's not enough of a profile for nursery nurses,' he says. 'I met up with some old school friends and they don't even know what a nursery nurse is. But at work it's fine. Everyone knows me and my colleagues have made me a better nursery nurse.'
