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Nursery apprentice Ben Nixon wants to recruit more men to work in childcare after claiming the top spot of Apprentice of the Year in an industry largely dominated by women.
The nursery apprentice beat back tough competition from more than 1,000 nursery workers in 2024 to claim the title given by early years training provider Realise. The 35-year-old from Ashton-under-Lyne has worked at The Learning Hive (run by the Storal group) for three years and is eyeing up a long career including a management role in the sector.
Children look for ‘male role model’ at nursery
Ben Nixon said: “I definitely want to progress further and think it’s important males have that passion within early years.
“A lot of the children attending nurseries build strong bonds with their fathers, grandfathers, brothers and uncles at home and – on the back of that – enjoy playing or learning with me at the nursery.
“Others may not have that male role model at home and look for that figure to be at their nursery.”
Norway is a pioneer globally with 10% of its childcare workforce being male. However in England it is very different with official figures showing only 2% of its early years workforce are men. This figure has fallen in recent years and is now shockingly the same as it was 25 years ago, according to the Department for Education’s Childcare and Early Years Providers survey.
Lack of men in childcare ‘should be of concern to national government
“It takes a village to raise a child. We say that includes the menfolk” states MITEY (Men In The Early Years). MITEY is a campaigning organisation working towards a gender-diverse early years education workforce which offers training and consultancy to nurseries including the large UK nursery chain Kids Planet Day Nurseries.
MITEY says the lack of men working nurseries in the UK “is a problem: one that should be of concern to national government, local authorities, nursery providers and other early years sector organisations”.
A spokesperson for MITEY says: “For many years there have been UK, Europe-wide and global initiatives aimed at encouraging more girls and women into male-dominated STEM careers. Much less attention has been paid to the equally important goal of encouraging more boys and men into traditionally ‘feminine’ occupations, including early childcare and education.
Children should be cared for by ‘a wide cross-section of the community’
“Our children should be cared for and educated by a wide cross-section of the community” including “people with and without disabilities,” added the spokesperson.
Diagnosed with ADHD and autism, Ben has a distinction in his Early Years Educator Level 3 apprenticeship but it did not come easily.
“This was fifth time lucky in terms of my early years Level 3 apprenticeship” says Ben.
The nursery apprentice added: “I’d started the programme on four occasions previously but, for one reason or another, I had to drop out or the course got cancelled.
“Being diagnosed with autism and ADHD does make it more difficult but my trainer from Realise (Pamela Dunne) was fantastic and she worked with me to tailor a programme and the assessments to suit my needs.
“To finally complete the programme was fantastic and to achieve a distinction was an unbelievable feeling.”
Connor, an early years teacher says: “Maleness can and should encapsulate being caring and taking seriously one’s impact on society”.
MITEY Charter
Nursery bosses and others representing more than 1,000 early years settings and organisations have signed the MITEY Charter.
Addressing the men of Britain, MITEY states: “The early years sector needs you. Think about what training you might need; contact MITEY Charter employers to see if they need more staff; join the network.”
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