Introduction to teaching for Buckinghamshire men

A special introductory course for men interested in teaching is being held by Buckinghamshire county council.

In response to figures indicating a shortage of men in staffrooms, the local authority has responded with a three-day course to give males a taste of teaching, the Bucks Free Press reports.

According to figures, one in 12 schoolboys have never been taught by a male.

And this could prove detrimental to their development, with Training and Development Agency research suggesting that primary schoolboys behave better with male teachers.

Marion Clayton, Buckinghamshire county council's cabinet member for achievement and learning, told the paper: "It's … becoming increasingly important to have male teachers because so many of our youngsters don't have a dad at home and, if they do, he may well be working very long hours."

A shortage of male teachers in Scotland meant that when Donald Macdonald took up his post at Gartcosh Primary School in North Lanarkshire this week, he was the first man to do so since 1974, the Evening Times reported.