BRADFORD is to host a national conference which aims get more men involved in the early lives of children.

The Men in the Early Years conference will look at what can be done to get more men involved in teaching young children - men currently represent just two per cent of the early years workforce.

It will take place July 18 at the National Science and Media Museum and feature prominent speakers who will discuss the vital role men play in the early years sector, as well as the importance of engaging fathers in their child’s development.

Speakers at the conference will include Dr. Anette Hellman, Senior Lecturer in Early Education at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and Yuwei Xu, Lecturer in Children and Family Studies at Portsmouth University.

Jonathan Douglas, Director of the National Literacy Trust, will be chairing the conference.

The conference will explore questions around gender imbalance in early years workplaces, and highlight a growing need for men to be seen positively as care-givers.

It will be aimed at both men and women in the early years sector, and workshops at the conference will provide the opportunity to share good practice and develop practical approaches for engaging more men in the early years sector. They will include engaging dads from Eastern Europe, using cultural settings to engage dads and recruiting and retaining male workers.

The conference is a collaboration between the National Literacy Trust, the Fatherhood Institute, the Bradford Birth to 19 Teaching School Alliance and St. Edmund’s Nursery School and Children’s Centre Services with support from Bradford council and the National Science and Media Museum.

Robin Naylor, chair of governors at St Edmund’s Nursery School and Children’s Centre said: “I trained as an early years teacher in 1990, and it still concerns me that men remain so very under-represented in the early years workforce. A lot of work needs to be done to address the issue whilst at the same time celebrating the contribution made by men in the sector. This conference is an important step in moving the agenda forward.”

Imran Hafeez, Bradford Hub Manager at the National Literacy Trust, says: “The National Literacy Trust Hub in Bradford works closely with key local partners to deliver successful initiatives aimed at engaging male parents and practitioners in playing a bigger role in children’s early literacy development. This national conference taking place in Bradford is testament to the efforts undertaken by partners from across the local community.

"We hope that this conference helps to contribute to a national shift – getting more dads involved in their children’s care and encouraging more men to work in the early years sector.”