The government is ‘particularly keen’ to see more male teachers enter the profession, an education minister has said. The early education minister, Olivia Bailey MP, was speaking in a Westminster debate on educational outcomes for disadvantaged boys and young men.
The debate was called by Labour MP Alistair Strathern, a former teacher, who highlighted that disadvantaged boys often underperform compared to their female peers throughout their education. Opening the debate he said: ‘The statistics could not be more stark: the Centre for Social Justice highlighted that across early years settings, when we look at the Government’s target of readiness for school, boys constitute the entirety of the gap to where we would like to be based on their progress. At GCSE level, men achieve on average half a grade lower than their female counterparts, while at A-level, across their best three grades, men will again often achieve a grade and a half lower on average.’
The debate also head from Luke Murphy, MP for Basingstoke, who cited the work of the GOAT Boys scheme at Brighton Hill Community School in his constituency. GOAT stands for growth, ownership, attitude and tenacity, and the scheme was set up by Brighton Hill school leaders Chris Edwards and Pete Beeching. Alongside Brighton Hill, other ‘hub’ schools hosting the programme include The Windsor Boys’ School and Thornhill Community Academy in Dewsbury. Mr Murphy praised the programme as being designed to ‘ensure that every child has a trusted adult outside their family, to build resilience, purpose and connection and help to tackle the educational attainment gap.’
Closing the debate, Ms Bailey, who is the MP for Reading West and Mid Berkshire, said removing ‘barriers to opportunity in education is the driving purpose of my department’. Noting that various speakers had cited the importance of role models to boys and young men, she added: ‘What better role model is there than an inspirational teacher? As part of our drive to recruit 6,500 expert teachers, we’re particularly keen to see more male teachers teaching, guiding and leading the boys in their classrooms. We want the profession to attract excellent male teachers who stay and thrive. And of course, this is just as important in the early years, too.’
Her comments echo remarks made by education secretary Bridget Phillipson last year. Addressing the first ‘festival of children’ in April 2025, she said outcomes for boys was becoming ‘a defining issue of our time’. She went on to say: ‘With toxic online influences on the rise, our boys need strong, positive male role models to look up to. At home, of course, and at school too. Schools can’t solve these problems alone, and responsibility starts at home with parents. But only one in four of the teachers in our schools are men. Just one in seven in nursery and primary. One in 33 in early years. And since 2010 the number of teachers in our schools has increased by 28,000 – but just 533 of those are men. That’s extraordinary. So I want more male teachers – teaching, guiding, leading the boys in their classrooms.’
General information about routes into teaching can be found at https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/