Opinion

Men in childcare - from disappointment to anger

David Wright, the nursery owner who has launched the Southampton Area Men in Early Years network, takes Andrea Leadsom to task

The comments attributed to Andrea Leadsom last week regarding her thoughts on the risk associated with having a male nanny, during her interview with the Times, may or may not have been reported verbatim.

They may or may not have been taken out of context but the fact is that the views reported do represent a widely held public opinion.

I know this because I have experienced almost identical phraseology in a recent local authority presentation where a picture of the child murderer Ian Huntley was displayed as part of a 'dispassionate' discourse on safe recruitment in which we (a room of 40 female childcare workers and myself – the only male in the room) were told, ‘We have done all this work to recruit more men into childcare and this (pointing to the picture on the screen) is what we have achieved – well not on my watch!'

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included

  • Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month

  • Unlimited access to news and opinion

  • Email newsletter providing activity ideas, best practice and breaking news

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here



Nursery World Jobs

Deputy Manager

South Hornchurch

Co Nursery Manager

Clapham, London (Greater)

Nursery Practitioner

Hammersmith and Fulham, London (Greater)