Отец из Тоттингтона переквалифицировался в няню и стал редким мужчиной в профессии, где доля мужчин составляет всего 3%

A Tottington dad has retrained as a childminder and is entering a profession where men make up just 3 per cent of the workforce. Father-of-two Ben Donohoe left his teaching job in April to follow his real passion: early years education. He retrained as a childminder based in Tottington with early years initiative Tiney (set up by the founder of Teach First) and launched a childminding business from home (with his wife Leanne signing on as his assistant). Before this, he worked for two and a half years as a primary school teacher. This career change makes him one of the three per cent of men in the childcare workforce across England, with Ben starting work in May. Ben, 32, said: "It’s really rewarding to be able to give children the building blocks they need to develop. "My primary-school teaching means I know what I’m aiming to set them up for. "It’s quite beneficial because I know what level they need to be at when they’re leaving our setting to get into a school setting, and how to support them to get there." Despite the stats, he feels strongly that it's important for children to see men in 'caring' roles and that more dads like him should be willing to challenge stereotypes. He said: "I think it’s an honour to be trusted with people’s children. "We really take that seriously and take great pride in the work we do to support the kids and, like I said, give them those building blocks they need for life. "I really enjoy it. "Like I say, we have a lot of fun. "We do a lot of learning through play, a lot of really fun activities. "It’s really nice. "I enjoy doing it, and I enjoy being a childminder." His childcare setting is unique in other ways too: he's offering Saturday childcare to cater to local parents who work or study on weekends, and will be teaching the little ones Mandarin. From September, Ben will be able to care for children on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Childminder numbers have fallen dramatically in recent decades; more men like Ben entering the profession could save it from extinction.