tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/nursery-school-33331/articlesnursery school – The Conversation2021-09-27T10:49:28Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1681512021-09-27T10:49:28Z2021-09-27T10:49:28ZWhy the UK childcare system is at breaking point<p>Over the last ten years, formal childcare in the UK has <a href="https://www.familyandchildcaretrust.org/childcare-survey-2021-0">steadily become unaffordable</a> for <a href="https://www.employersforchildcare.org/news-item/childcare-cost-survey-2017/">most parents</a>. Recent reports on a UK web-based <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/sep/12/uk-failing-on-childcare-finds-survey-of-over-20000-working-parents">parent survey</a> undertaken this summer by <a href="https://www.mumsnet.com/news/mega-survey-of-uk-parents-shows-that-childcare-is-failing-families">Mumsnet</a> (in partnership with other parenting and campaigning organisations) have honed in on some startling figures. </p>
<p>Of the 2,047 respondents Mumsnet surveyed – most of whom were female, with a child under 18 – all expressed frustration at the perceived lack of government support with childcare costs and availability and its impact on their lives and livelihoods. For 38% of single parents, and 47% of black parents, childcare costs exceeded those of their rent or mortgage, while 10% of single parents had had to use foodbanks. </p>
<p>The survey data Mumsnet has published so far does not mention specific impacts of the pandemic on childcare costs and availability. But emerging findings from an ongoing research <a href="https://childcare-covid.org/">project</a> I am <a href="https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/project/covid-19-childcare-local-impacts-across-england">involved</a> in suggest that the last 18 months have seen the UK childcare system reach a <a href="https://www.familyandchildcaretrust.org/sites/default/files/Covid%20and%20Childcare%20-%20the%20role%20of%20local%20authorities.pdf">tipping point</a>. Early-years specialists <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/4827/call-for-extra-funding-for-early-years-care">highlight</a> the urgent need for early years education and nursery provision to be considered amid government <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-early-years-education-must-be-prioritised-in-pandemic-recovery-plans-163342">recovery plans</a>. </p>
<p>None of this comes as a surprise. As I have <a href="https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/128464">previously argued</a>, improving public funding and regulation of the childcare system and recognising the latter as a vital part of the UK’s economic and social infrastructure is crucial. </p>
<p>What are the barriers to making that happen?</p>
<h2>Market complexity</h2>
<p>Currently, three- and four-year-old children in England are offered 15 hours of free childcare and early education weekly during term time. Certain two-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds also qualify. And in 2017 the government added <a href="https://www.gov.uk/30-hours-free-childcare">an additional 15 hours</a> for children whose parents work at least 16 hours per week at the minimum wage.</p>
<p>This money does not go directly to parents. Rather, the government funds <a href="https://theconversation.com/business-of-childcare-will-fail-so-long-as-toddlers-are-the-cash-cows-96770">private</a> and not-for-profit nurseries, preschools, nursery classes in state primary schools, state and independent nursery schools and childminders to deliver them. The resulting system is a mixed market of private and public providers in which for-profit companies deliver <a href="https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/project/private-sector-childcare-in-england">the majority of places</a>. </p>
<p>Parents are not the only ones to complain about costs within this market. Providers too <a href="https://theconversation.com/underpaid-and-undervalued-the-reality-of-childcare-work-in-the-uk-87413">argue</a> the government doesn’t give them enough to provide the care required by parents. In June 2021, a two-year freedom of information investigation by the Early Years Alliance <a href="https://www.eyalliance.org.uk/news/2021/06/new-data-shows-ministers-knew-early-years-was-underfunded">revealed</a> that the Department for Education is well aware this subsidy does not cover providers’ costs.</p>
<p>This creates <a href="https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/news/opinion/ensuring-fairer-access-early-years-provision-after-covid-19-lockdown">a perverse incentive</a> for nurseries and other childcare providers who cater for younger children and babies as well as children aged over three to capitalise on parents’ need for extra hours. In practice, providers often raise fees and charge extra for things like lunches and outings; a practice condemned by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman <a href="https://www.workingmums.co.uk/ombudsman-rules-on-top-up-fees-for-30-hours-childcare/">earlier this year</a>. </p>
<h2>Financial support for parents</h2>
<p>Through the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/tax-free-childcare">tax-free childcare</a> programme, also introduced in 2017, and the childcare element of <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-and-childcare/universal-credit-childcare-guide">universal credit</a>, the government also makes a parent subsidy available to help with additional childcare costs. </p>
<p>Since its introduction in 2017, though, there has been a low uptake of the government’s tax-free childcare programme. There are 4.6 million UK households with working parents and dependent children under 16, half of which have at least <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/coronavirusandemploymentforparentsintheuk/octobertodecember2019">one child aged five or under</a>. And yet, in March 2021, only <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tax-free-childcare-statistics-march-2021/tax-free-childcare-statistics-commentary-march-2021">282,000 families</a> used tax-free childcare. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/863237/HMRC_research_report_570_-_Tax-Free_Childcare_barriers_to_sign_up_and_use.pdf">2019 study for HMRC</a> cautiously suggested that the tax-free childcare system’s complexity and lack of parental confidence might explain low uptake. </p>
<p>In addition, the tax-free childcare programme does not apply to the fast-growing number of parents on universal credit, while they are in contrast eligible for the 30 hours.</p>
<p>Finally, both tax-free childcare and childcare support under universal credit are paid retrospectively. This means that parents have to pay upfront, which is something low-income families – the families the government’s early-years policies <a href="https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Supporting-disadvantaged-families-through-free-early-education.pdf">claim to help</a> – often can’t afford. As a result, they lose out. In 2021 the High Court ruled this practice in Universal Credit <a href="https://www.leighday.co.uk/latest-updates/news/2021-news/court-of-appeal-to-hear-universal-credit-childcare-appeal/">unlawful</a>.</p>
<p>Since 2010, spending on childcare via the benefits system has fallen by 44%, according to a 2019 <a href="https://ifs.org.uk/uploads/BN258-Early-education-and-childcare-spending.pdf">analysis</a> by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Growing child poverty levels demand the opposite.</p>
<p>More than one in three families with at least one child aged under five are now <a href="https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/publications/changing-patterns-of-poverty-in-early-childhood">living in poverty</a> in the UK. This translates into poverty affecting around 2.2 million under-fives, a shocking statistic.</p>
<p>There is <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12187-020-09782-0">ample evidence</a> that low income by itself has a marked impact on young children’s learning and their socio-emotional development, as well as on their health and physical development. Early-years education and childcare are crucial to improving <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-difficult-childhood-makes-it-more-likely-youll-have-mental-and-physical-health-problems-as-an-adult-153154">the life chances</a> of children growing up in poverty. It is high time for the system to be changed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168151/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eva Lloyd has received funding from the British Academy, the Department for Education and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. She is a co-Investigator on the the Nuffield Foundation funded Covid and Childcare Study and a trustee and director of Acorn Early Years, a not-for-profit childcare group operating in Milton Keynes and surrounding areas. She is also currently a member of an Expert Group advising the Irish Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on a funding model for its early learning and care and school-age childcare systems.</span></em></p>Childcare is central to families being able to sustain working lives. But insufficient government funding and a complex web of for-profit companies means many are losing outEva Lloyd, Professor of Early Childhood, School of Education and Communities, University of East LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1632952021-07-05T17:08:20Z2021-07-05T17:08:20ZHow missing out on nursery due to COVID has affected children’s development – new research<p>Nurseries can be noisy places. A clutch of three-year-olds gathered round a book shout excitedly. Across the room, a small committee of toddlers negotiates over stickers and string. Outside, key workers encourage pairs of miniature gymnasts while others sing to drowsy babies. And through the cacophony, children’s use of language develops.</p>
<p>For parents collecting their children, the chatter and buzz of childcare settings is always reassuring. All the more so during the pandemic: another day of play and learning is done, with protective measures in place. </p>
<p>Parents are understandably anxious about how the pandemic has affected their pre-schoolers’ development. More than half of the 570 parents <a href="https://www.suttontrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/The-parents-view.pdf">surveyed</a> for a recent Sutton Trust report felt that their two-to-four year-olds’ social and emotional development had been negatively affected during the pandemic. A quarter of these parents felt their child’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-lockdown-has-affected-childrens-speech-and-what-parents-can-do-to-help-160886">language growth</a> in particular had suffered. One in five had similar concerns about their physical development. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://babylab.brookes.ac.uk/research/social-distancing-and-development">recent study</a> on what attending childcare does for children’s speech, understanding, and thinking skills, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/icd.2241">we found</a> that a child who regularly attended nursery or a childminder one day a week during the pandemic understood an average of 24 more new words over the research period compared with their peers. </p>
<h2>Pandemic restrictions</h2>
<p>As the first lockdown in England was announced in March 2020, nurseries, childminders and other early years providers were closed to all children except those of critical workers or those classed as vulnerable. In the four months that followed, nursery attendance in England was down to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings">5-10%</a> of its usual rate. </p>
<p>Nursery staff worked hard to <a href="https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/features/article/working-with-families-close-to-home">stay connected</a> to families. Many provided free and easy online activities such as stories and songs, puppet shows and creative competitions.</p>
<p>Despite these huge efforts, we don’t yet know what impact the disruption will have on children in the longer term. Will those who were able to attend nursery have reaped the usual, pre-COVID benefits, as so many of their playmates and teachers were at home, and their usual play environment looked so different? </p>
<p>Although the benefits of early childhood education and care are particularly pronounced in children from <a href="https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcpp.13313">disadvantaged backgrounds</a>, those from more privileged backgrounds will likely also have been impacted by nursery closures, as families struggled to provide supportive learning environments at home while splitting their time between caring for young children, educating their other children and working. </p>
<p>To understand how this disruption has affected families and young children, we recruited nearly 200 UK families through our <a href="https://leedscdu.org/">research labs</a>. Between March and June 2020, we asked about their use of formal (such as nursery and childminders) and informal (family and friends) childcare, before, during, and between the first and second lockdowns in England. We also gathered information on income, level of education, occupation, and neighbourhood. </p>
<p>To investigate early thinking skills (known as <a href="https://www.albertafamilywellness.org/resources/video/executive-function">executive functions</a> – the control of attention, behaviour, and emotion), we asked parents how often their child showed different behaviour such as following instructions, exploring, and regulating their emotions. Parents and carers told us how many words their children said and understood from categories such as animals, vehicles and food. And we asked them to play games with their child –- which were designed to elicit <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/rhzkq/">skills</a> such as waiting, finding, and sorting –- then analysed their observations.</p>
<p>In November and December 2020, we then followed up with the families on their children’s abilities in the same areas, <a href="https://babylab.brookes.ac.uk/research/social-distancing-and-development/sd-the-team">and explored</a> the relationship between the time children had spent at nursery or with a childminder, their growth in language and thinking skills, and their socioeconomic background. </p>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/icd.2241">We found</a> that
a child regularly attending two days came to understand 48 more new words than their peers over the same period. This effect was greater among children from less affluent backgrounds. Children who continued to attend nursery or a childminder also showed larger boosts in their cognitive control, flexibility, and memory, regardless of socioeconomic background.</p>
<h2>Levelling inequalities</h2>
<p>Our data clearly shows that time at nursery or with a childminder helps children strengthen their language and cognitive skills. This fits in with research that shows that, alongside a supportive <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09243453.2020.1693487">home learning environment</a> – vital for early <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24467656/">language and literacy</a> development – high-quality childcare is equally important. </p>
<p>Childcare can stimulate the social, cognitive, physical and language growth that children need for <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00148-021-00835-4">starting school</a>. And children who enter their education with firm foundations have better chances at school and better economic success in <a href="https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/7729/">adulthood</a>.</p>
<p>Children from <a href="https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcpp.13313">disadvantaged backgrounds</a> stand to gain extra benefits from early childhood education and care. Families who have to adapt to greater economic stress (lower income) and greater environmental stress (income volatility, housing discrimination) tend to <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/byp4k/">speak</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27196418/">less</a> to their children, which can impact their language growth.</p>
<p>Research shows that high-quality childcare helps to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3947639/">buffer</a> against these risk factors, as well as against individual risk factors. For example, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29720785/">household instability</a> in early childhood has been shown to lead to worse cognitive and social outcomes by the age of five. Going to nursery or spending time with a childminder, however, can substantially reduce this impact.</p>
<p>This suggests that children from the most disadvantaged families gain the most from early childhood education and care. But chronic <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jun/15/ministers-knowingly-underfunding-childcare-sector-england">underfunding</a> of early years education presents a major barrier. Government investment is therefore a powerful way of alleviating socioeconomic <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/312/5782/1900.full.pdf?casa_token=Y3uSZ1cBSP8AAAAA:2GGewvhRpRKcpdE9sT6xTDLks18NRMLI0FDxM6Ta2n6pj5P3DYPsb_SWvykOLsugeLOmCjQ3ym1maBI">inequalities.</a></p>
<p><a href="https://ifs.org.uk/inequality/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/BN-Inequalities-in-education-skills-and-incomes-in-the-UK-the-implications-of-the-COVID-19-pandemic.pdf">Lower-income families</a>, who have been disproportionately affected by <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n376">infections</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jan/22/low-paid-workers-in-uk-more-than-twice-as-likely-to-lose-job-in-pandemic">unemployment</a>, <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/coronavirusanddepressioninadultsgreatbritainjanuarytomarch2021">mental ill-health</a> and <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsinvolvingcovid19bylocalareasanddeprivation/deathsoccurringbetween1marchand17april">deaths</a> during the pandemic - all stressors which are likely to affect home interactions with children. Our findings provide evidence that access to early childhood education and care is important for all children, and is an effective way of tackling inequality. Government investment is therefore <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-early-years-education-must-be-prioritised-in-pandemic-recovery-plans-163342">crucial</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163295/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Davies receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandra Hendry receives funding from the National Institute for Health Research and holds the Scott Family Junior Research Fellowship at University College, University of Oxford</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nayeli Gonzalez-Gomez receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council</span></em></p>Not being able to attend nurseries due to lockdown has affected children’s growth in emotional, linguistic and physical terms. The longterm effect could heighten inequalityCatherine Davies, Associate Professor in Language Development, University of LeedsAlexandra Hendry, Junior Research Fellow, University of OxfordNayeli Gonzalez-Gomez, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Oxford Brookes UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1633422021-07-02T17:03:58Z2021-07-02T17:03:58ZWhy early-years education must be prioritised in pandemic recovery plans<p>Nursery workers, childminders and nannies have been working hard throughout the pandemic. This work is, in part, what has allowed key workers to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-52514919">keep working</a>. This has been crucial not only for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/24/when-our-nursery-reopened-after-covid-19-only-7-kids-came-back-parents-are-terrified">parents</a> and their employers, but also for the children themselves, especially those who are <a href="https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/chldrn/">vulnerable</a> or <a href="https://epi.org.uk/publications-and-research/education-in-england-annual-report-2020/">disadvantaged</a> and those with <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-support-children-with-special-educational-needs-as-they-return-to-school-139422">special educational needs</a>.</p>
<p>The government’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/huge-expansion-of-tutoring-in-next-step-of-education-recovery">COVID recovery plan</a> for <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-school-recovery-is-englands-1-4-billion-catch-up-plan-a-good-idea-162020">schools in England</a> includes £153 million for professional development for early-years practitioners. This is good news for a workforce that is chronically <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0950017009337057">underpaid and undervalued</a>. But the question is, will it be enough? </p>
<p>These early-years professionals have been forced to respond rapidly to uncertainty and change, which has only been exacerbated by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/18/risky-vague-inconsistent-nursery-teachers-in-england-lament-covid-strategy">ambiguous and inadequate</a> official guidelines. The government was <a href="https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/article/coronavirus-dismay-as-early-years-staff-told-they-won-t-be-sent-testing-kits">slower</a>, for example, to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing to people working in private nurseries than in other parts of the education sector. </p>
<p>When schools closed to all but keyworkers’ children and vulnerable pupils, nursery workers <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-55545277">continued to work</a>. And they were <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-55546359">not prioritised</a> for the vaccine despite their daily risk of exposure to the virus. </p>
<p>COVID-related disruption and nursery closures affected the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jan/18/fewer-uk-children-school-ready-after-covid-nursery-closures">development</a> and behaviour of young children. And research shows that quality education and care is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S027277570900106X">central</a> to addressing this.</p>
<h2>Recovery plan</h2>
<p>Observers fear the £153 million lump sum is only a fraction of what is needed to enable staff to address the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/oct/27/covid-toddlers-from-uks-poorest-families-hit-hardest-by-lockdown">widening</a> attainment gap for the most disadvantaged children. They also question whether it will ensure a healthy recovery for the early-years sector more broadly. </p>
<p>Professional development alone is not enough. Nursery workers are often paid little more than the minimum wage. Without improved salaries, this recovery package will only reinforce their perception that their skills and knowledge are <a href="https://cericleeds.wordpress.com/2021/01/26/invisible-keyworkers-why-responding-to-the-crisis-in-early-years-education-and-care-during-the-pandemic-must-address-working-conditions-for-early-years-workers/">not valued</a>. </p>
<p>Studies suggests that early-years education is “foundational” – an essential structure that underpins the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0958928716685689">economy</a> and <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-soc-073018-022401">society</a>. <a href="https://childcare-during-covid.org/">Our ongoing research</a> into the impact of COVID on the sector lends weight to studies which indicate that the past year has placed <a href="https://ifs.org.uk/publications/14990">significant financial strain</a> on providers. </p>
<p>Meanwhile <a href="https://www.eyalliance.org.uk/news/2020/05/quarter-childcare-providers-fear-closure-within-year">a survey</a> conducted by the Early Years Alliance in May 2020, also found that one in four nurseries feared they would not reopen. While our research doesn’t indicate closures on this scale have or are taking place right now, the changes providers are making to adapt are likely to place greater strains on the workforce and threaten to undermine the quality of the education and care they provide. </p>
<p>Revenues plummeted when fewer children <a href="https://epi.org.uk/publications-and-research/the-covid-19-pandemic-and-the-early-years-december-2020/">attended nursery</a> due to the pandemic. The department of education’s subsequent decision to continue to provide funding at pre-pandemic levels did prevent many from falling into deficit. However, this measure was reversed in January 2021 and funding was altered to reflect actual attendance. </p>
<p>This is likely to have <a href="https://www.ceeda.co.uk/news/2019/early-years-sector-faces-a-quarter-of-a-billion-funding-cut-in-spring-term/">affected</a> those nurseries where attendance was lowest, which, our research suggests, will be those in areas of greatest deprivation. This will exacerbate the negative impact of the pandemic on the poorest families. </p>
<h2>Childcare crisis</h2>
<p>These pandemic-related losses have compounded <a href="https://theconversation.com/underpaid-and-undervalued-the-reality-of-childcare-work-in-the-uk-87413">long-standing</a> <a href="https://www.ceeda.co.uk/news/2019/time-for-a-sector-led-manifesto-for-early-years/">funding shortfalls</a> in early-years education. <a href="https://www.eyalliance.org.uk/news/2021/06/new-data-shows-ministers-knew-early-years-was-underfunded">New data</a> obtained by the Early Years Alliance through a freedom of information request shows that there is a shortfall of £2.60 per child for every hour that is funded through the government’s 30-hour so-called “<a href="https://theconversation.com/focusing-free-childcare-on-working-parents-is-short-sighted-44623">free</a>” childcare offer. </p>
<p>In response, nurseries and childminders are taking measures to compensate for their financial losses. Many are using their savings and taking on debt. More worryingly, others have also cut staffing hours. They are reducing hours, raising fees and increasing the child-to-staff ratios, which, research suggests, will <a href="https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/4642/1/RR320.pdf">lower the quality</a> of education and care. </p>
<p>The combination of these changes is likely to affect the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/853358/CEYSP_2019_Report.pdf">affordability</a> of childcare. Importantly, it’s also likely to undermine the quality of the education and care the children receive. </p>
<p>For parents, accessible and affordable childcare is <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0958928718808421">essential</a> to both remaining in work and returning to work. We conducted a <a href="https://childcare-during-covid.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/LSSI_DWP_Impact-of-Covid-on-childcare_finalv2.pdf">survey</a> of 1,020 parents in England and Wales between January and February 2021. Of our respondents, 40% (344 parents) said that their ability to work was affected by childcare. Of these, one in ten had difficulty finding or securing a job because of problems accessing childcare during 2020. And almost one in five parents of the 344 said that a lack of childcare had an impact on their career progression.</p>
<p>Most parents who decided not to return to work after maternity or shared parental leave during the pandemic cited childcare and some, specifically the cost of childcare, as a significant factor. Research has shown that when childcare becomes more inaccessible and unaffordable, it is women who <a href="https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/business/documents/research/carrying-the-work-burden-of-covid-19/working-class-women-and-covid-final-report.pdf">disproportionately</a> pay the price in terms of their work and career progression. If this happens as a result of COVID, it will roll back decades of <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203978269/women-european-employment-colette-fagan-damian-grimshaw-jill-rubery-mark-smith">progress</a>. </p>
<p>The All Parties Parliamentary Group for Childcare and Early Education has <a href="https://connectpa.co.uk/early-years-catch-up-premium-needed/">called on</a> the chancellor Rishi Sunak and education secretary Gavin Williamson to fund a premium for the early-years of up to £3,000 per child. This echoes <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/4827/call-for-extra-funding-for-early-years-care">the call</a> made by specialists at the University of Leeds, the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University for early-years provision to be more thoroughly included in COVID recovery plans. Responding to these urgent calls must be a government priority.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163342/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Hardy receives funding from UKRI/ESRC. The Childcare during Covid research project is funded by the UKRI/ESRC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Tomlinson and Xanthe Whittaker do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>From nursery closures to families self-isolating, COVID has disrupted children’s access to pre-school care. This impacts their development, and their parents’ ability to workXanthe Whittaker, Research Fellow in Human Resource Management, University of LeedsJennifer Tomlinson, Professor of Gender and Employment Relations, University of LeedsKate Hardy, Associate Professor in Work and Employment Relations, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/874132018-04-20T08:50:24Z2018-04-20T08:50:24ZUnderpaid and undervalued: the reality of childcare work in the UK<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/215436/original/file-20180418-163975-1uf1xef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?src=JKqcTL2H4CmPtqxwWaEtTA-1-1">shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Despite the important job they do, wages for people working in childcare <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0958928717719196">tend to be low</a>. These workers earn less than the average wage across all UK employment sectors and barely half that of <a href="https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/nursery-world/news/1159248/early-years-pay-and-conditions-survey-2016">qualified teachers</a>. </p>
<p>In the latest <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-providers-survey-2016">government provider survey</a>, it was found almost 20% of day nursery workers in England earn less than the national living wage – including 10% of those aged 25 and over. </p>
<p>In contrast, qualified teachers working in state nursery schools, children’s centres or state primary nursery classes <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-teachers-pay-and-conditions">receive nationally agreed pay</a> and employment conditions. </p>
<p>This is partly because, since 1998 and the introduction of universal <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/social-policy-and-society/article/div-classtitlethe-interface-between-childcare-family-support-and-child-poverty-strategies-under-new-labour-tensions-and-contradictionsdiv/561079E5D07DAD0B3EFAE6A278E463EA#">entitlement to early education</a> for all three- and four-year-olds, early education is no longer required to be delivered by graduate teachers – except in state nursery schools and nursery classes attached to state primaries. </p>
<p>Instead, working with children in private sector settings – such as day nurseries, preschools and playgroups – are early childhood practitioners with a range of childcare qualifications, or none. Some may be graduates, some may be school leavers.</p>
<h2>Low pay, low status</h2>
<p>This matters because <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1476718X10387900">research</a> into childcare quality shows a direct link between workers’ qualification levels, <a href="http://www.nesse.fr/nesse/activities/reports/ecec-report-pdf">their pay and conditions</a> and service quality. In other words, the more qualified and better paid the workers, the better the educational and care experience children receive.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/215432/original/file-20180418-164001-19th9no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/215432/original/file-20180418-164001-19th9no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215432/original/file-20180418-164001-19th9no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215432/original/file-20180418-164001-19th9no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215432/original/file-20180418-164001-19th9no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215432/original/file-20180418-164001-19th9no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215432/original/file-20180418-164001-19th9no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Time spent at nursery has the potential to be hugely influential.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?src=fvwl9ZqhtzD2GWYDh37eMQ-1-7">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Research has shown what matters to those working with young children <a href="https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/sites/default/files/ef_publication/field_ef_document/ef1469en.pdf">includes competitive wages</a> and benefits. As well as reasonable workloads, competent and supportive managers and opportunities for development. Research has also shown that a supportive environment for nursery workers can have a positive impact on <a href="http://ecec-care.org/fileadmin/careproject/Publications/reports/CARE_WP3_D3_2_Professional_Development_and_its_Impact_on_Children.pdf">children’s development and childcare quality</a>.</p>
<p>All of these factors also increase the likelihood of staff retention and motivation for quality interactions with children. Yet despite this, these aspects of childcare provision are not regulated by the government and are left to be determined by the industry itself.</p>
<h2>Woman’s work?</h2>
<p>One of the reasons for this is the gender imbalance within the workforce. Childcare is still seen as woman’s work, and <a href="https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/reducing-gender-inequalities-create-sustainable-care-system">is often undervalued</a>. Men form only 3% of the <a href="http://www.seepro.eu/English/Projekt.htm">UK childcare workforce</a>. </p>
<p>Attempts to change this dynamic – by emphasising the educational dimension – have done little so far to raise <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/jped.2017.8.issue-1/jped-2017-0001/jped-2017-0001.xml?format=INT">the status of English childcare practitioners</a>. This is despite the fact that childcare workforce qualification levels have been <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/593646/SFR09_2017_Main_Text.pdf">steadily rising</a> and an <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/175463/Nutbrown-Review.pdf">independent review</a> recommended that graduate childcare practitioners should have the opportunity to become qualified teachers. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/215431/original/file-20180418-163991-1sy0h9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/215431/original/file-20180418-163991-1sy0h9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215431/original/file-20180418-163991-1sy0h9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215431/original/file-20180418-163991-1sy0h9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215431/original/file-20180418-163991-1sy0h9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215431/original/file-20180418-163991-1sy0h9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215431/original/file-20180418-163991-1sy0h9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many nursery school workers are poorly paid.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?src=fvwl9ZqhtzD2GWYDh37eMQ-1-68">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Instead, the government has offered graduates interested in working with young children various training pathways. But these don’t offer the same packages that qualified teachers get – such as better pay and conditions, as well as <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/596884/Workforce_strategy_02-03-2017.pdf">improved career prospects</a>. Unsurprisingly, enthusiasm for such <a href="https://epi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/EPI_-Early-Years-Workforce.pdf">training routes</a> has proved limited and <a href="https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/nursery-world/news/1160816/report-calls-for-qts-for-devalued-early-years-teachers%20and%20qualification%20levels%20are%20now%20falling">many courses have closed</a>. </p>
<h2>International perspectives</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1350293X.2013.814321">Nordic countries</a>, on the other hand, have much smaller pay differentials within their early years workforce and the job is much more respected. Statistics from a <a href="http://www.seepro.eu/English/Projekt.htm">2017 report</a> show that Denmark has achieved the best gender balance within its early years workforce. Here, 13% of staff are male. </p>
<p>Across the age range, well paid early years teachers in Denmark work alongside assistants – whose training differs from schoolteachers. As early childhood is viewed as a distinct life stage, the childcare system is also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/feb/18/britain-learn-denmark-childcare-model">completely separate from the school system</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/215435/original/file-20180418-163971-eq6y0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/215435/original/file-20180418-163971-eq6y0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215435/original/file-20180418-163971-eq6y0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215435/original/file-20180418-163971-eq6y0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215435/original/file-20180418-163971-eq6y0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215435/original/file-20180418-163971-eq6y0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215435/original/file-20180418-163971-eq6y0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">In other countries, early years education is seen as highly important.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?src=fvwl9ZqhtzD2GWYDh37eMQ-1-59">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p><a href="https://www.oecd.org/edu/school/ECECDCN-Germany.pdf">Similarly in Germany</a>, the early years workforce is much less of a hierarchy. Most of those working with children under six have a three-year post-secondary qualification – only 4% are qualified to degree level. And in France, even childminders have their basic <a href="https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/nursery-world/analysis/1097583/frances-childcare-french-lessons">pay and conditions regulated by government</a>.</p>
<h2>Affordable childcare</h2>
<p>In other EU countries, parents’ fees for nursery are income related, or waived for the poorest. Price capping is also used to <a href="http://www.cwrc.ac.uk/documents/CostsofchildcareJuly2013.pdf">keep childcare affordable</a>.</p>
<p>In Finland, the state still provides completely free childcare. And in many countries, governments cover more than 80% of the direct costs. Compare this with early years spending in the UK which is more than 20% lower – and considerably <a href="http://www.oecd.org/edu/education-at-a-glance-19991487.htm">lower than even the OECD average</a>. In fact, the UK and Japan are the only OECD member states where 50% of early years spending comes from private sources – such as parental income. </p>
<p>In the UK, funding for early education is paid directly by the government to state schools, academies and private childcare businesses. Parents then have to pay all additional childcare costs upfront. For a child under two spending 25 hours a week in a day nursery, <a href="https://www.familyandchildcaretrust.org/childcare-survey-2017">parents can pay anything</a> from £100 up to £154.</p>
<p>Although some parents can then claim part of these costs back – through the benefits or tax credit systems – this forms a huge barrier. Particularly so for <a href="https://www.familyandchildcaretrust.org/childcare-survey-2017">parents in irregular or self-employment</a>. It also deters childcare businesses from raising fees further to invest in their workers. </p>
<h2>Baby steps</h2>
<p>A recent government report said this was a “fundamental design flaw” and one that was in <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmtreasy/757/757.pdf">urgent need of rectification</a>. It was hoped that the recent roll-out of the 30 hours of free childcare for three- and four-year-olds of <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/30-hours-free-childcare-launches">working parents</a> would help to change matters – and make childcare more accessible and affordable. </p>
<p>But given that the free childcare initiative requires a significant expansion of the early years workforce, this may be tricky. Without improving training, pay and employment conditions, the chances of creating a high quality, equitable and sustainable childcare system seem remote.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87413/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eva Lloyd has carried out research for the Department for Education and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. </span></em></p>Why does childcare work have such a status problem in Britain?Eva Lloyd, Professor of Early Childhood, Cass School of Education and Communities, University of East LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/874642017-11-23T12:44:26Z2017-11-23T12:44:26ZBeware the Nursery Gender Police: why church guidance on homophobic and transphobic bullying falls short<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196126/original/file-20171123-18029-f5icv3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Children decide who can be a superhero.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kids-superheroes-fun-costumes-play-concept-454769488?src=QRSnyx7OMxOuQ9Rxy-vFyQ-1-1">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre">Church of England says</a> that all children should be able to dress up in tutus or superhero suits without comment or criticism. But what stops boys from putting on heels and tiaras isn’t teacher unease, it’s other children.</p>
<p>Amid some incendiary press coverage, the Church of England has released <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2017-11/Valuing%20All%20God%27s%20Children%27s%20Report_0.pdf">Valuing All God’s Children</a>, its updated guidance for schools on challenging homophobic, biphobic and transphobic (HBT) bullying. The church is right to support children exploring different identities. But the guidance ignores evidence that children are the gender police in classrooms. <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Being_Boys_Being_Girls.html?id=2yqRKebeCVYC&redir_esc=y">Studies</a> of <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Playing-It-Straight-Uncovering-Gender-Discourse-in-the-Early-Childhood/Blaise/p/book/9780415951135">nurseries and early years classrooms</a> demonstrate that young children work hard to ensure that their peers conform to stereotypical, and binary, gender behaviour. </p>
<p>Supporting children to explore identities “<a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2017-11/Valuing%20All%20God%27s%20Children%27s%20Report_0.pdf">sometimes quite literally with the dressing-up box</a>” is a standard aspect of good early years practice. But teachers are up against it when it comes to gender. </p>
<p>Children under six associate “being a boy” or “being a girl” with wearing particular clothes and doing <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/book/10.1002/9780470147658">specific, different, things</a>. They are also keen to demonstrate, to themselves and everyone around them, that they know what being a girl or boy means and which of these they are. Girls playing superheroes and boys wearing tutus aren’t usually trying out different gender identities. They are showing they are confident that their gender stays the same whatever they do.</p>
<h2>Young children ‘correct’ how others play</h2>
<p>For most four-year-olds, showing that you know you are a girl means things like wearing pink, playing with dolls and dressing up as a princess. Showing you know you are a boy means playing football, building things and being superheroes.</p>
<p>Children get these ideas partly from society around them and partly from each other – and those they get from each other are the most stereotypical. Within a nursery setting, each gender group will work hard to <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Playing-It-Straight-Uncovering-Gender-Discourse-in-the-Early-Childhood/Blaise/p/book/9780415951135">protect their “territory”</a> – so, for example, boys keep girls away from the bikes and the Lego, and girls chase boys out the home corner. Reflecting wider society, boys draw particularly strong boundaries around what boys are “allowed” to do, and try to keep girls out of those activities.</p>
<p>Four-year-olds are also keen to fit in with other children of their own age or slightly older. Newcomers to any group are eager to learn what is acceptable for boys and girls in that group – and the older children are happy to teach them. </p>
<p>It’s often made clear to children newly arrived at nursery that some things are only for one gender. Barbara Martin’s book <a href="https://www.ucl-ioe-press.com/books/gender-and-sexuality/children-at-play/">Children at Play</a> contains some striking examples of this, from acceptable bucket and pen colours for boys (not pink) to who can be a superhero or play at skipping. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196128/original/file-20171123-18006-x2b8g4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196128/original/file-20171123-18006-x2b8g4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196128/original/file-20171123-18006-x2b8g4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196128/original/file-20171123-18006-x2b8g4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196128/original/file-20171123-18006-x2b8g4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196128/original/file-20171123-18006-x2b8g4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196128/original/file-20171123-18006-x2b8g4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Children make the rules.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/brother-sister-lying-on-carpet-arranges-527788840?src=stgsrIphqvZiRR9r1Uiu2Q-1-0">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>This isn’t always bullying, but it matters</h2>
<p>This constant “correction” of other children and the insistence that they conform to very stereotypical gender norms isn’t always bullying. The tone used is often one of friendly and supportive advice for someone who hasn’t quite learned the ropes yet. But its constant presence in the nursery, coupled with stronger language – or even aggression used against those who regularly break the “rules” – makes it hard for children to try out even slightly unconventional play. </p>
<p>If conforming to nursery norms goes even as far as the colour of a bucket, is it surprising that boys who play with dolls or put on tiaras only do so when other children aren’t watching, and that most girls never try to play at superheroes? </p>
<p>Children learn through play, and getting involved with different kinds of activities is vital for the breadth of their experience. Being stopped by other children from exploring a full variety of play styles and equipment limits children’s experience and can affect their <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-013-0269-0">learning in the longer term</a>. </p>
<p>Boys already come to nursery with <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/book/10.1002/9780470147658">fewer emotion words than girls</a> – and not being able to explore caring roles through doll play is only going to make that gap wider. Girls who don’t experience playing with construction toys are likely to do less well in <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-013-0269-0">spatial tasks later</a>, which may be one reason why so few end up as engineers. </p>
<p>We need our children to be enabled to grow into flexible, rounded adults who can be both adventurous and caring, physically active and empathetic, scientists and artists. Children’s freedom to explore experiences and identities across arbitrary and stereotypical gender divides is vital for society as well as for them as individuals.</p>
<p>Valuing All God’s Children is a good start. But if children are to be able to move beyond gender binaries, we need to go further than just focusing on bullying. We have to broaden the minds of the nursery gender police – and all involved.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87464/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carrie Paechter has previously received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council </span></em></p>Children are often the ones who decide what’s ‘right’ and ‘wrong’.Carrie Paechter, Professor of Education and Director of the Nottingham Centre for Children, Young People and Families, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/682552016-11-28T11:15:31Z2016-11-28T11:15:31ZHow male teachers can help to challenge gender roles in nursery school education<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146248/original/image-20161116-13509-duhrhp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-37552056">Recent figures</a> show that there is still a large gender gap in recruitment to the teaching profession – only 38% of secondary school teachers are male, and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2015">26% in primaries</a>. In preschools – or nursery – it’s even worse. Here, men make up just 2% of the workforce. </p>
<p>This gender divide can be found all across the globe, and not just in the UK. We even see it in Scandinavian countries which have made gender equality a national priority. In Norway, for example, there has been an <a href="http://www.meninchildcare.co.uk/Norway.htm">ambitious target set</a> to try and have 20% of men working in childcare, with 10% achieved in 2008. But that figure is now falling. The reasons for this are unclear but are likely to be due to persisting and deeply held <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1350293X.2015.1043805?needAccess=true">gendered attitudes</a>.</p>
<p>But to understand what we can learn from the men who do make this unusual career choice, I have been undertaking <a href="http://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.lancs.ac.uk/doi/full/10.1080/09589236.2015.1105738">research in Swedish and UK nurseries</a>. I have also been listening to their ideas about what puts most men off. </p>
<p>I was particularly struck by the story of Craig, an experienced nursery classroom leader in England, who was forced to relocate to a new town. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I used to live in quite a rough area. It wasn’t seen as a manly thing to do. I lost contact with my partner at the time because it wasn’t a socially admired job, and her friends would take the mick. I lost contact with my dad who would have nothing to do with me and questioned my sexuality. It’s one of the biggest reasons I moved away.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>When it comes to nursery work, men may also have to confront suspicion from children’s parents about their motives, working hard to establish trust and demonstrate that they are not dangerous to children. Sometimes we get a sharp reminder about society’s strong prejudices against men doing what’s seen as “women’s work”. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/andrea-leadsom-suggests-men-should-not-be-nannies-because-they-may-be-paedophiles-a3296421.html">Andrea Leadsom</a>, a short lived contender for PM, said it would be “cautious and very sensible” not to make men nannies because the “odds” mean <a href="http://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/pioneers-professionals-playmates-protectors-poofs-and-paedos(04789a89-80c4-4f0e-929d-150d4b78a434).html">they could be paedophiles</a>. </p>
<p>And it’s not as if these disincentives are compensated for by a good salary either. <a href="https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/nurseryworker.aspx">Starter salaries for nursery workers are £10,000 to £14,000</a>. So given these economic and emotional obstacles, why would any man choose a career caring for young children? </p>
<h2>Everyone as equal</h2>
<p>A good place to find the answer is a rather unusual English nursery called Oaktrees. It employs five men who work with the three- to four-year-olds, and the two- to three-year-olds. The men I spoke to at this nursery expressed a tremendous enthusiasm for their work and described their pleasure in “making a difference” to children’s lives and witnessing their development. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146249/original/image-20161116-13530-a0mcw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146249/original/image-20161116-13530-a0mcw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146249/original/image-20161116-13530-a0mcw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146249/original/image-20161116-13530-a0mcw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146249/original/image-20161116-13530-a0mcw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146249/original/image-20161116-13530-a0mcw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146249/original/image-20161116-13530-a0mcw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Breaking down gender norms from a young age.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It was clear their presence was especially helpful in engaging more fathers to come into the nursery and talk with staff. And parents were appreciative of the gender balanced workforce – pointing out that this represents wider society. They also liked how it helps children to understand that “both genders can be carers” and that “everyone is equal in terms of the jobs they can grow up and do”. </p>
<p>The nursery’s management also gave strong support to the male practitioners – and occasionally they had to intervene and explain to suspicious parents the men’s rights and abilities to take on intimate care jobs such as nappy changing. </p>
<h2>Changing norms</h2>
<p>The men thought they had particular value in helping children engage in outdoor activities and take risks in adventurous play on climbing frames and balancing beams – as they felt their female colleagues were more cautious. However, most of the female staff I spoke to insisted that men did not bring any extra special contribution to the job – but they did very much appreciate the high morale of the gender balanced staff team. </p>
<p>In this way, the men’s presence created a unique opportunity to challenge children’s gender stereotypical ideas. And occasionally the men made a deliberate choice to wear pink, put on a Tutu, or let children plait their hair.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146253/original/image-20161116-13503-1mh6t7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146253/original/image-20161116-13503-1mh6t7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146253/original/image-20161116-13503-1mh6t7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146253/original/image-20161116-13503-1mh6t7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146253/original/image-20161116-13503-1mh6t7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146253/original/image-20161116-13503-1mh6t7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146253/original/image-20161116-13503-1mh6t7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Because childcare is not just a woman’s job.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, they made an interesting contrast with the Swedish male preschool teachers that I interviewed in an <a href="http://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.lancs.ac.uk/doi/full/10.1080/09589236.2015.1105738">earlier study</a>. The Swedish men were much more sensitive to gender issues, and had received training on this. They were more conscious about the need to counteract young children’s gender stereotypes because it is clearly stated in their early years’ national curriculum. </p>
<p>What <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Masculinities-Teaching-Early-Childhood-Education/dp/1138797723">all this research shows</a> is that the gender gap does matter. We need to recruit, train and retain more men to care for and educate our youngest children. Because this is one easy way to break down gender stereotypes and work towards a more gender equal society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/68255/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo Warin receives funding from
The Nurture Group Network
Childbase Partnership
The Swedish Research Council
</span></em></p>The gender gap matters, and we need to recruit, train and retain more men to care for and educate our youngest childrenJo Warin, Senior lecturer in Education, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.