A male student on-track to be a primary school teacher is encouraging more men to get involved in the profession.

Jake Forecast, a Level 3 Early Years, Education and Care Student at Epping Forest College, will likely become one of the 15 per cent of all primary school teacher who are male once he completes a BA in primary education in Canterbury Christ Church University, which he starts in September.

He has argued having more men in educational helps children to have more male role models in children’s lives, as well as equalising the gender balance within the sector.

Mr Forecast said, “When I was around seven years of age, I’ve always wanted to be a primary school teacher.

"My Year Two teacher, who was one of the few men in my primary school at the time, inspired me to become a teacher to encourage children to believe, be resilient and to succeed in education to achieve their dream carers in the future.

“When I went to work experience in Year Ten and on my current course, I never knew how much of an positive impact I would make to the primary school and early years sectors by being a positive male role model, considering I was the only male within the settings I went to.

"But why are less males going into teaching? I feel that’s due to the stereotypes that the public have about males in the education sector. This has caused anxiety to men wanting to become educators, which has caused a barrier for them to progress their careers.”

A recent London Early Years Foundation report found 51.8 per cent of staff say because of society’s attitude to men in childcare, fewer are encouraged to go into the profession.

Mr Forecast added: “To work with young children, you need to have a positive mindset, have a bubbly personality, be resilient when things don’t go to plan.

"But overall, think about why you want to teach children and how will you make every day a learning experience.”