Harley Keenan looks after almost as many babies as he has clocked in years walking this earth.
The sixteen-year-old nursery apprentice works in the baby room at the Buttercup Corner Day Nursery in Chadderton. At its busiest there are as many as 13 babies under his and his colleagues’ supervision.
The idea would probably terrify most teenagers. But for Harley, it’s ‘the most amazing feeling in the world’.
“It’s their little faces when they’re giggling and happy,” Harley said. “Or when they’re shouting ‘hiyaa!’ at you from the other side of the room.”
Harley Keenan is on an Early Years Education apprenticeship.
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Harley first started at the nursery as holiday cover as a favour to a family friend – but he was quickly drawn in by the joy of the job. He applied for the role straight after his GCSEs and is now on his first rotation as an apprentice.
As well as being one of the youngest early years educators at Buttercup, Harley is the only male among 25 to 30 women.
“It’s a very rewarding career but not many men do it,” he explained. “It’s important because there are a lot of boys who don’t have that role model.”
Only around two to three percent of early years educators are men, according to the latest government statistics (though these do exclude apprentices like Harley). Out of the 386,100 staff in England, that’s around 11,500 – less than half the number needed to fill Co-Op Live.
Harley loves his job – and is encouraging more men and young people to join the field.
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Organisations like education charity NCFE have found gender stereotypes and stigmas around men in childcare can be a big deterrent. Childcare and early education are still stereotypically perceived as a ‘woman’s job’, with men rarely encouraged to consider it as a career path.
And some male staff have anecdotally recorded being made to feel ‘unwelcome’ in their place of work, with parents refusing to speak to them, or receiving abuse online, according to the organisation.
Luckily, Harley says he’s never experienced that.
“I did have that thought at first – what are parents going to think?” he said. “But since I’ve been here, I’ve had nothing but love and respect and gratitude.”
The youngster gets to witness a lot of ‘first moments’ at the nursery.
Harley thinks more men should join the field. He believes it sets an important role model for both boys and girls, and normalises men’s involvement in early years development.
“I feel like it makes a difference,” he said. “The boys seeing they can go into a women dominated field – and also girls seeing they can go into male-dominated things like football.”
But most of all, he thinks more people should join because the job is ‘life-changing’.
“No day is the same. There’s a lot of messy play – you need about four changes of trousers a week,” he jokes. But he also witnesses a lot of kids’ ‘first moments. “We get to see them standing up, walking, holding our hands, saying their first words. It’s like their second home when you think about it.”
Buttercup Corner Day Nursery in Chadderton
Despite the heartwarming nature of the job, there is a crisis hurtling towards the Early Years sector. Nationally, the UK is facing an acute shortage of around 11,000 nursery teachers.
That could leave up to 300,000 children at greater risk of falling behind before they reach school. In the North West alone almost 37,000 kids don’t have access to an Early Years teacher, according to Save the Children.
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority recently launched a campaign to encourage more people – regardless of gender – to consider a career in the field.
Attending the launch, Oldham Council leader Arooj Shah said: “Early years education is an amazing choice of career, making children who they are and building the important foundations for their lifelong learning journey.”