Concern over lack of male teachers

A CHRONIC shortage of male teachers in Suffolk primary schools is leaving children short of male role models it has been claimed.Suffolk County Council said only one in nine primary teachers in the county were male and it was trying to encourage more men to join the profession.

A CHRONIC shortage of male teachers in Suffolk primary schools is leaving children short of male role models it has been claimed.

Suffolk County Council said only one in nine primary teachers in the county were male and it was trying to encourage more men to join the profession.

Men make up a just a third of all teachers in Suffolk - but the disparity is greater working with younger children.

Teaching unions warned one of the reasons men were being put off from applying for primary school jobs was the fear of being accused of having an unhealthy interest in young children.

Of the 2,565 teachers in Suffolk primary schools, just 287 (11 per cent) are men. Nationally, the figure is 13pc.

Graham White, Suffolk secretary of the National Union of Teachers (NUT), said: “Clearly there is a major sex inequality and I have real concerns about it.

“It goes back to pay as one issue and it being more traditional for females to be in primaries and males in secondaries, which is a great shame. Pupils of all ages need good male role models.”

He said one “real worry” was that there was an element of society which wrongly labelled men with an interest in young people as being paedophiles.

Mr White added: “It maybe another factor but I have not had it expressed to me personally, although it is the kind of thing that is unspoken.”

Philip Parkin, the general secretary for teaching union Voice, said the figures were a matter of concern due to children needing male role models and boys being able to confide in men over personal issues.