Thoughts from other Managers

[Lucka92]

 I currently have a nursery that has 1 Male Nursery Nurse and 28 Female Nursery Nurses, one of the parents/carers has asked for the Male Nursery Nurse not to work in the same room/near and with the daughter. The Parent/Carer has not raised any allegation's/concerns in relation to the Male Nursery Nurse or has not said the reason for not wanting a Male Nursery Nurse. If I honored and granted this request from the parent/carer would it not have Implications under the Equality Act 2010 as discrimination?

[sunnyday]

Hello Lucka92 and a very warm welcome to the FSF from me.

I am retired now and this is not something that I ever had to consider - but for what it's worth - that suggestion is discriminatory with or without the Equality Act...

I hope that someone far more helpful comes along soon.

[Cait]

Yes I agree with Sunnyday here.  I think it might be advisable to contact your County Early Years team for advice on how to handle this.   Is he aware that this has been requested?  Many years ago my son worked at my preschool whilst waiting to start Uni, and the parents all said how lovely it was to have a bloke about the place.  

[Mouseketeer]

I’d ask what their concerns are, explain that you are an equal opportunities provision, all staff are dbs checked as suitable to undertake all aspects of childcare and that all staff are expected to work in all rooms and carry out all duties, and if they still saw a need to be making the request I would suggest that they might be happier in a different setting.

If you have a meeting, have a witness (deputy/committee member) with you and record details, how you challenged the discriminatory attitude and the outcome (this is something Ofsted require under the judgment for ‘behaviour & attitudes’. 

[Jules]

Hi Lucka92. Lots of good advice already here in this thread. I remembered that MITEY (Men in Early Years) have a guide to support employers about talking with parents and carers about gender diversity in the workforce and in your setting. Here's the link:

https://miteyuk.org/the-mitey-guide-to-communicating-with-parents-about-male-staff/

 

[Lucka92]

Thank you for all your replies, so if this was something that was granted and honored by the management team what would you be looking to do as the Male Nursery Nurse if they were not informed of this request and just removed and excluded from working within the room with the current age group and moved to another area in the nursery?

[sunnyday]

I can't help you with that simply because as a manager I would not have gone along with the parents request...

[Lucka92]

I may not be the manager I maybe be the employee. 

 

[sunnyday]

On 22/08/2024 at 16:12, Lucka92 said:

I may not be the manager I maybe be the employee. 

 

I did wonder if that was the case. If it is then I'm so sorry that this has happened to you. A discussion with your manager is needed.

[Cait]

And maybe contact county early years for advice 

[Cait]

This child will have male teachers in their life going forwards, how on earth can the parents hope to mitigate against that?  

[Gezabel]

Gosh i am so sorry to be reading this in 2024. We had a similar request in our Pre-school and it was denied (with carefl explanation about equality etc etc ) We suggested that if they were unhappy with our decision then perhaps we were not the right setting. The chid stayed and nothing more was said.

[Lucka92]

On 24/08/2024 at 16:44, Gezabel said:

Gosh i am so sorry to be reading this in 2024. We had a similar request in our Pre-school and it was denied (with carefl explanation about equality etc etc ) We suggested that if they were unhappy with our decision then perhaps we were not the right setting. The chid stayed and nothing more was said.

Hello Thank you for your reply, what was the reason behind the request within your setting?

[Gezabel]

On 25/08/2024 at 11:45, Lucka92 said:

Hello Thank you for your reply, what was the reason behind the request within your setting?

just quite general/broad - mum felt it was 'odd' to have a male working in a pre-school and requested that he did not chsnge her daughters nappy.. Not tha it was ever going to be considered but can you imagine the impact on the member staff if we had agreed with mum?!!