Disadvantaged young men to train in childcare
Joe Lepper
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Young men from disadvantaged communities will train in childcare as part of efforts to boost numbers in the sector.
Under the programme, being run by the Fatherhood Institute, young men will be able to complete either a 12-week, or 25-week course to train as a childcare professional.
The initiative is being run in Tower Hamlets, London, with schools and colleges in the area already being asked to refer suitable people to sign up for the course, which begins in September.
The Fatherhood Institute said it is running the scheme, called Young Men Into Childcare, to try to increase the number of men in childcare.
Most recent Department for Education statistics show that only around two per cent of early education and childcare staff are men.
If the scheme is successful it could be set up in other parts of the country.
“Governments have been talking about wanting to improve male representation in the early years workforce for many years now, but we’re still a long way from cracking this,” said Adrienne Burgess, chief executive of the Fatherhood Institute.
“Through the Young Men Into Childcare programme we want to make a difference – and, along with other pockets of good practice, help move things forward.
“Our message to young men is this: you’re just as capable of making a success of a career in early years and childcare.
“Be a pioneer. We’re here to support you.”
Courses will start in September 2015, and will be delivered by City Gateway - a charity set up to support disadvantaged communities in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
Trainees will have the opportunity to gain experience with Gateway Tots nursery, a social enterprise set up by City Gateway.
The courses are open to young men aged between 16 and 24.
A similar initiative was launched last year by Co-operative Childcare which wanted to expand its male workforce from two per cent to 10 per cent.
Increasing free childcare provision has been a central pledge of the main political parties during the general election campaign.
The Conservatives have said that free childcare entitlement for all three- and four-year-olds will rise from 15 to 30 hours where all parents are working.
Meanwhile Labour wants to expand free childcare from 15 to 25 hours a week for working parents of three- and four-year-olds.
And the Liberal Democrats have outlined an ambition of 20 hours free childcare a week for all two- to four-year-olds, and for all working parents from the end of paid parental leave (nine months) to two years.