Is it a Man’s World?

Today’s peer visit was to Woodlands Pre-School in Southborough. Woodlands provides care
for children aged 2 to 4 and is rated 'Outstanding' by Ofsted. The building is an old converted
school and consequently the rooms feel like a rabbit warren. The building however, is set in
woods next to Southborough Common and behind St Peter’s Church. As there is plenty of
space to park, Collections and drop offs could be an added incentive to parents.
Upon entering the building, we were asked to sign in and leave mobile phones in reception.
The deputy then greeted us. As there is a gender imbalance of early years workforce it was
encouraging, to see this company employing a male as deputy. Upon further enquiry into the
staffing at this setting I became aware that there were in fact two male members in the
setting. In this country Early Years, is seen as essential for providing quality care and
provision for children aged 0–5 years (Randall 2000; Lloyd 2008:479-494) but roles have
now been established and termed as ‘gender regime’ Connell (2002:53). Unfortunately, it can
be assumed that any man who desires to work in the early years profession are often assumed
to be ‘either homosexuals, paedophiles or principals in training’ (King 1998:3) If children
grow up seeing roles as females and other stereotypical roles as males, then they will grow up
in the belief that this is the norm.
For stereotypes to be challenged good leadership and support are needed. By role clarity of
staff and support from staff and parents, these prejudices can be changed. Therefore, with
change of workforce attitudes, parental attitudes and with the help of the media a greater
diverse workforce can be achieved. As I intend to continue my work in early years in a
leadership role I will look forward to supporting males into my profession.

References
Connell, R. (2002). Gender. Cambridge: Polity Press.
King, J. (1998) Uncommon Caring: Learning from Men Who Teach Young Children. New
York: Teachers College Press.
Lloyd, E. (2008) ‘The Interface between Childcare, Family Support and Child Poverty
Strategies under New Labour: Tensions and Contradictions.’ Social Policy and Society 7 (4)
479–494.
Randall, V. (2000) The Politics of Child Day Care in Britain. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
All Images Accessed from Microsoft Office Clipart 2013