New campaign to recruit men into Early Years

As of September 2025, the amount of government-funded childcare for eligible working parents in England has doubled. Parents are now entitled to 30 hours of childcare for children under the age of 2 years old.

This change is set to increase the demand for childcare placements driving nurseries and other settings to recruit new staff. To support this, the Department for Education’s (Dfe) “do something big campaign” and cash incentive has expanded to 38 regions.

The campaign provides cash incentives to encourage people to join or return to the Early Years sector, offering a £1000 cash sign-on bonus to new staff. Alongside this campaign, the DfE has released digital ads spotlighting men working in the Early Years sector.

The current state of men in the Early Years sector

According to the latest DfE data, only 2-3% of all staff members in the Early Years sector are men. In a recent survey parents confirmed this number with nearly half of parents asked stating their child’s nursery has no male staff.

Why are there no men in the Early Years sector?

While the world moves to a more balanced outlook on gendered roles, some professions are still considered ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’. Traditionally, childminding professions are considered feminine and when questioned, around a quarter of adults agree that these gender stereotypes and social pressures lead to the lack of men in the sector.

Despite this, many work to combat these stereotypes and see the value of men in traditionally ‘feminine roles’ and vice versa. In the survey mentioned above, 9/10 parents agreed that young people should be cared for by both men and women.

Men as role models in childcare

The Early Years sector sees children at key developmental stages, this is why it’s crucial for them to have various role models through this stage both at home and at nursery. Additionally gendered stereotypes start developing in this stage as children begin to understand the world around them. By having more men working in Early Years it will shape children to break from gendered stereotypes allowing for more individuals seeing Early Years as a viable career path for their future, regardless of gender.

LMP Education’s Early Years programmes

LMP Education is an award-winning apprenticeship training provider and are committed in supporting the Early Years sector through funded training. LMP has three levels of apprenticeship programmes that can be used to hire new staff or upskill existing staff members:

Early Years Practitioner Apprenticeship Level 2

This programme is ideal for those looking to start a career in childcare. Designed for those passionate about working with young children in nurseries, preschools or other early years settings.

Learn more about the Early Years Practitioner programme

Early Years Educator Apprenticeship Level 3

The Early Years Educator programme is for those looking to take the next step in their childcare career while gaining hands-on experience in an early year setting. Learners who complete this programme can be counted in a nursery ratio helping settings to have additional qualified staff.

Learn more about the Early Years Educator programme

Early Years Lead Practitioner Apprenticeship Level 5

 This funded training programme is ideal for those already working in an Early Years setting with leadership responsibilities. This training is equivalent to a foundation degree and incorporates leadership training helping to develop Future Leaders.

Learn more about the Early Years Lead Practitioner programme

If you are interested in learning how LMP Education can support your Early Years setting through training, book a discovery call with the LMP Education team today!