She said, 'Traditional roles are breaking down. For years we have seen women entering what were thought of as male-dominated industries, and now this trend is happening in reverse.'
One example is Andrew Holdnall, 17, Leapfrog's youngest male nursery assistant, who works in the toddler room at the chain's Edgbaston nursery in Birmingham. He is about to start studying for an NVQ 3 in early years education and childcare to qualify as a nursery nurse.
Mr Holdnall, who initially worked as a labourer after leaving school, gained his first childcare experiences from looking after his nieces and nephews. He said, 'I love being with children. It's so satisfying watching them learn and grow and knowing that you've played a part in that. I did get some ribbing from my friends when I told them what I was doing, but they soon got used to it and now everyone thinks it's great.'
At present men account for around 2 per cent of the childcare workforce in England. The Government wants to increase this to 6 per cent by 2006.
The role of men in childcare is to be the focus of a week of activities next month that will explore ways to encourage more men to work in the sector.
Activities scheduled for the Daycare Trust's National Childcare Week from 9 to 15 June as part of National Sure Start Month in England include a conference in London on 10 June called 'He who cares wins'. The week will also see the publication of the results of a MORI survey of public attitudes to men in childcare and a report by the Institute of Education's Thomas Coram Research Unit on key policy issues. Winners will also be announced in the Nursery World competition which asked children to draw or paint their male hero.
Stephen Burke, Daycare Trust director, said, 'National Childcare Week is an exciting opportunity to highlight why we need more men working in childcare. Parents whose children have had a male carer in a nursery, playscheme or childminding setting are very positive about the quality of care they offer.'
