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Nursery company wants more men in early years education

It is estimated that only three per cent of early years practitioners in the UK are male.

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With a miniscule percentage of men making up practitioners in childcare, a top nursery provider is pushing for more male applicants.

Traditionally seen as a female-dominated sector, Three Little Birds Nurseries wants to encourage more men to get involved and start their career in an industry with many perks, including flexible hours, creativity and emotional fulfilment.

James Morris is co-founder of the company with his cousin Ed. He said, “As men in early years education, we have experienced first-hand the stigma of men in the industry with caring roles long seen as only suitable for women.

“Ed and I are living proof that men are just as suitable as early years practitioners as our female counterparts and our role is to show men just how rewarding and fulfilling a role in childcare can be. Three per cent is much too small of a statistic of men working in childcare and we’d love to see this number increase over the next few years.”

In the UK, the pre-primary education industry is estimated to be worth approximately £4.3bn and has benefitted from a growth rate of 3.3% from 2016 to 2021. This is forecast to increase from 2021 to 2026 with a growth rate of 4.3%.

In our technological age, where computers and AI are rendering careers in certain sectors redundant or obsolete, the childcare industry is protected as it cannot operate without caregivers.

Since the pandemic, a flexible workplace is essential following the surge in a healthier work/ life balance and the childcare industry is a prime example of how this can operate.

Given childcare facilities usually open for between ten and twelve hours per day, there is the opportunity for split shifts and early or later starts. This may work well for people who want to finish at 3pm or prefer to be in bright and early at 6:30am.

There are also opportunities for diverse roles in the industry. Working as a Family Day Care educator can be a great way for people who want to work from home, while still earning a good income.

There is also the chance to be a role model to the children under your care and an unpredictability to each working day, moving about a room freely with the children in a colourful, playful, and healthy workplace environment.

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