Major recruitment drive underway to get more men working in nurseries

ITV News

10 hours ago

Report by Emma Sweeney
A major recruitment drive is underway to encourage more men in the North West to join the early years workforce.
It comes as new research, commissioned by the Department for Education, reveals the majority of parents believe it's important for children to be cared for by both men and women
9/10
parents believe young children should be cared for by both men and women
47%
say their child's nursery has no male staff
One man bucking the trend is J Scarisbrick, who works at Cherry Tree Nursery in Warrington.
He originally trained as a chiropractor and was all set for a long career in the sports and health industry.
However, after spending more and more time with his young nephews and his girlfriend's nieces, he realised he had a deeper calling - working with children during their most formative years.
He said: 'Women can be incredible fire fighters and amazing police officers, so why can't men be early years educators? You just have to ignore the stigma and be there for the kids as they need men in their lives and I am so proud being a father figure for all my kids in our nursery.'
Parents at Cherry Tree nursery say they feel lucky to be in the minority.
Rebecca Wheeler said: "J has been an amazing asset to Romeo's experience. He's taken to him like a big brother."
As part of a nationwide recruitment drive to help staff early years settings, the government are offering payments of £1000 in 38 areas to attract more men into the industry.
The research, commissioned by the Department for Education, also shows that around a quarter of adults believe gender stereotypes (25%), fear of judgement or false accusations (25%) and social pressure to pursue more 'masculine' careers (24%) are major reasons why men are deterred from entering the sector
It comes ahead of the September childcare expansion due to save parents up to £7,500 a year.
Nurseries are under pressure to to recruit in time for the September expansion of 30 funded childcare hours for children from 9 months old.
Working parents of children older than nine months are currently able to access 15 hours of funded childcare a week, before the full rollout to all eligible families in September.
The Labour Government previously announced that up to 4,000 childcare places are set to be rolled out at new or expanded school-based nurseries in England from next month.
Minister for Early Education, Stephen Morgan, said: 'Children thrive when they're supported by a diverse mix of role models – and that starts in the early years.
'With big changes coming in September, we're backing nurseries to recruit the staff they need and encouraging more men to consider this rewarding career. Through our Plan for Change, we're making early years careers more appealing – and reminding dads that if you've helped your own child learn and grow, you've already got the skills to make a difference to many more.'
However, the expansion of the early years sector comes amid a national debate about safety, sparked by the tragic death of 9-month-old Genevieve Meehan at the hands of her nursery worker in Stockport in 2022.
Her parents say if the Government is going to prioritise recruitment and promise more nursery places, it must also implement robust safety measures.
Katie Wheeler, Genevieve's mother said: It's a very laudable aim and I think it's important to see more men in the early years workforce. Howerver we want to see mandatory CCTV in nurseries, a focus on safer sleep and safer sleep training and an overhaul of the Ofsted inspection process, so that this rapid expansion is also met with a call to action in terms of safety."
Following their daughter's death her parents, Katie and her partner John Meehan, launched a campaign calling for major changes, including compulsory CCTV in nurseries, mandatory safe sleep training for staff and unannounced inspections by Ofsted to be routine.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: 'Genevieve's death was a tragedy and should never have happened. Keeping children safe is an absolute priority and an important part of part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life.
'Our landmark Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill is the biggest piece of child protection legislation in a generation, and we are introducing a wide range of strengthened safeguarding measures from September 2025 including enhanced recruitment practices to further prevent unsuitable individuals from working with children, and new whistleblowing requirements to help ensure that all early years educators understand how to escalate any safeguarding concerns.
'We will continue to closely monitor whether any further changes are needed to keep children as safe as possible.'