Despite the well-documented shortage of men opting for childcare jobs, one sixth form college has notched up a record year for male students taking childcare courses.
Ashton Sixth Form College in Lancashire currently has six male students who have completed the first year of one of the various courses on offer, which include the BTec Early Years National Certificate and Early Years National Diploma. All six are now into the second year of their respective courses.
Like many other further education establishments, Ashton College has always had difficulty attracting male students to childcare courses. It has actively targeted them for several years, forging links with local schools and advertising in the local press. Only this year has the college been rewarded with a significant increase.
Guy Marshall, course leader at Ashton Sixth Form College, wrote to Nursery World after seeing the Men in Childcare forum on the Nursery World website.
Previously the childcare courses had just one to two male students each year, and he cannot explain this year's jump in numbers. 'I am not sure if this is a lucky year or if we have actually turned a corner, although some of my contacts in other schools and colleges have also reported an increase,' he says.
Countering prejudice
According to Guy, all the students are enjoying their studies so far, and the practical work placements in particular. None of them felt they were treated differently from the female students.
'They said that they were made to feel as much part of the team as the girls were, and felt that they fitted in with the routines and performed just as well,' says Guy.
Placement staff praised the students for developing good relationships with children and colleagues, fitting in well with routines, and showing excellent activity planning skills.
However, it has not all been plain sailing for the students, some of whom have already encountered prejudice over their career choice. In one incident a student was verbally abused by pupils from a local high school who saw him sitting with the children and began banging on the window, shouting 'paedophile'.
Guy is concerned that male students feel that such prejudice is inevitable.
He believes these attitudes are largely to blame for the difficulties in attracting more of them into childcare.
'Men are still frowned upon for choosing childcare for a career,' he says.
'In addition to all the requirements of the course, these young men have to accept that people will make judgements about them and they are likely to face prejudice and hassle from their peers. It's a lot to take on board at such a young age.'
Positive role models
Guy hopes that the growth in male students this year will be more than just a one-off. He aims to build on the success of this year's recruitment drive by enlisting current students to visit local schools and talk to pupils about their experiences. 'That way our students can be positive role models and the pupils can see that our students are just normal boys.'
He is aware that there is still a long way to go. 'We have more than 90 students on our childcare courses but only six are male. Things are changing slowly, but they need to change a lot more.'
Case study: David Aldred
Ashton college student David Aldred, aged 18, has completed the first year of the two-year Early Years BTec National Diploma.
'I've always liked children and decided to go into childcare after volunteering at my local primary school. I assisted in the classroom, and really enjoyed helping the children,' he says.
'My course covers working with children of a range of ages, from newborn babies to three- to five-year-olds, and includes subjects like psychology, development and equality. After I finish I would like to either study teacher training at university or join the police and work in child protection.
'I am really enjoying studying, especially the practical side. Some of the course theory can be dry, but the work placement was great as we got the opportunity to put what we have learned into practice. Now I am helping to market the course to other potential students and have featured in a video presentation sent to local schools and in an article in our local newspaper.
'I have faced negative reactions from people over my choice of career, mainly from relatives and peers. People assume that I must be gay to want a career in childcare. But I realised before I began the course that I would face attitudes like this and so I just ignore it. I'm not going to let those people put me off.'