Men encouraged to consider primary school teaching

Teaching in a primary school offers a range of benefits, it has been argued.

But many men are being deterred from entering this profession because of the misconception that it is "female-dominated", head of diversity at the Teaching and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) Matthew Mitchell suggested.

He listed some of the advantages of working a primary as having opportunities for creativity and career progression, day-to-day enjoyment and financial rewards.

Many men are unaware that they can be paid the same for teaching in a primary as a secondary school, Mr Mitchell stated.

But they often "simply don't consider primary school teaching as an option" due to the false impression that they are "somehow barred" from the profession due to their gender, he added.

Mr Mitchell was speaking in the wake of a recent TDA survey, which indicated that 35 per cent of men believe having a male teacher at primary school challenged them to work harder.