To ask is this quite normal for primary schools?

[Tannie10]

I’m looking at schools for my DS. I had a look round the school that is closest to us. I liked it but realised they have very little male staff. I think only 1 male teacher in y4 and it’s a 2 form school. I think they had 3 male TAs. But absolutely no male staff at all in the infants part of the school. Is this quite normal?

Very- my school has 2 male teachers out of 14 and no male TAs

Really? 🤔

anecdotally yes
my DS had one male teacher at his time in infants and juniors
many more male teachers when he got to secondary school

My dc’s school is 2 form entry and until this year there was not a single male staff member apart from the caretaker for the 6 years we have been there. This year they have now got a male teacher too. So I think it is quite normal in primary schools unfortunately.

To be honest it is normal.
Doesn't mean that's a good thing.

It probably depends on the size of the school - remote and rural areas with only a handful of staff are more likely to be all female. My DC’s suburban large 3-form primary has about 70 staff and a reasonable proportion of male and female staff, which is one of the reasons I chose it.

Primary teaching has always been very female-heavy. In my primary 30+ years ago there was a male head teacher and everyone else was female. In my kids' school now (3 form entry) I think there are 3 male teachers, all in KS2.

Many primary schools have no male staff - teaching or support - at all. For various reasons, primary teaching does not attract many male candidates.

I'm a retired secondary head who also worked in teacher training and am a governor at 3 primary schools (2 small village primaries, one large urban primary). The 2 village schools have no male staff at all other than the caretaker; the larger, urban school has 2 male staff.

For what it's worth: I've long been of the belief that the worry about lack of males in schools (usually expressed as lack of male role models) is massively overstated. What children need is really good teachers and TAs and their sex is irrelevant.

Yes very normal. Mine went to a large primary school, 2 of the teachers were men compared to at least 25 women.

Very normal. Think there was 2 in my daughter’s primary. My other daughter’s primary there is also just two. No mate teaching assistants either

There was one male TA when my DD was at primary. No other male staff

Very normal. 1 male teacher out of 10 and no teaching assistants. Only other male is the jani.

The male teacher is absolutely loved by all the kids. It’s a small school. He has my daughter’s class for 2 days a week and then helps out with other classes. Takes a lot of the kids for pe lessons. Does a lot of outdoor play and learning. He’s the fun teacher basically but he’s actually very nice and patient with the kids.

It’s always been female dominated in primary schools. Growing up in 90’s I had no male teachers in my primary school only at high school.

It's ridiculous and makes primary difficult for boys. Break time football banned for being too "rough" etc. etc. It's all kind hands and sitting calmly.

If it was 90 odd percent male, something would be done to encourage more women.

Our primary school has a good mix and I think DS probably had more years taught by a male than a female, partly because he had the same teacher twice. It’s probably “traditional” that it tends to be more females in primary though, whether that’s a good thing or not is down to your own views.

DC at a 2 form entry school: I think they have 3 or 4 male teachers, two of which are specialist PE teachers. There's been a couple of male TAs.

I think it's a shame there aren't more male primary teachers. Interacting with different kinds of people - including different genders - is good for kids.

In my nearly 15 years as a TA in an infant school, we had two male teachers in that time and one male trainee teacher.
The junior school had more males and have at least one male TA now but yes, it’s a very female heavy school profession at this level.
It’s a shame really because a lot of the boys - especially when they’ve come from a separated family, really benefit from having a stable male role model.

My DC's primary school has 1 male teacher, who currently doesn't have a class but is a cover supervisor and the boys' football coach. He did have a class a couple of years ago, and the year or two before that worked in DD's class when he was training. He's lovely and I really wanted DS to have him as a teacher! He takes his class one afternoon a week and DS really enjoys it.

There was a different male teacher when DD first started but he (and his wife, also a teacher) left a few years ago. Other than that, no male teachers or TAs. The caretaker is male, they have male sports coaches who come in to do gymnastics and tennis, and a male music teacher who goes around different schools teaching ukelele and drums.

DD is in Y7 and I think she has more female teachers but still a few males.

Well that would be better pay and conditions, wouldn't it?

It's extremely common.

Also common is that whatever male staff they do have.... land up in leadership positions.

My kids go to a 3 form entry school and at least a third of the teachers and TAs are male. Yet neither of mine (years 4 and 6) have ever been taught by a male teacher!

Correct. I was once on the governing board of a primary and a fellow governor was also on the board of another school. They had just appointed a new deputy and she was thrilled it was a man because "He can take the boys for football..."

My partner is also a retired head - of primary schools. I've read this thread to her and she commented that the desire to appoint more men had resulted, in some schools, in less good teachers being appointed simply because they were men.

2 form entry in our primary.

x2 male TA's, x3 male teachers (was x5 last year but x2 left) and a male head teacher. A scattering of support staff are male (caretaker / a few lunchtime staff) and that's it.

Very normal. 2 male staff (a Teacher and a TA) in DS's 3 form entry Junior School. Not a single male member of staff in Infants.

Bollocks

DS1 was the oldest man in his school when he was in Year 6