The latest DfES statistics identify that just *15.7 per cent of primary school teachers are men and almost half of children aged 5-11 (47 per cent) do not have contact with any male teachers according to the TDA's findings.

Three quarters of parents questioned believe that it is important for young children to have both male and female teachers and 83 per cent say that they would like to see more men teaching primary age children.

The TDA is today inviting male primary school teachers to join a new panel. The aim of the male primary school advisory panel will be to assess any current barriers that exist and to suggest recommendations to attract more men into primary teaching.

Graham Holley, executive director at the TDA, said: "Teaching is now a popular career choice for graduates and career changers which is excellent news for schools, but it is vital that the teachers are representative of the communities that they teach. We need more men to become primary school teachers to redress the current gender imbalance and our aim is that the new advisory panel will help us achieve this goal.

"Primary teaching offers a wealth of opportunities for personal and career development and it's a stimulating and challenging job. Every day is different. Teachers move from helping a child to get to grips with basic sentence construction to coaching the school's football team. The pay scale in primary is the same as for secondary school teachers and, with four times as many primary schools as secondary, there are excellent opportunities for progression."

The TDA research reveals that one in four parents questioned (25 per cent) are concerned about their child not having enough interaction with male primary teachers. More than a quarter (26 per cent) worry that their offspring won't get a male perspective on life, and 22 per cent are concerned that their children do not have enough interaction with positive male role models. Three fifths of parents (61 per cent) feel that male teachers have a crucial role to play in helping children feel more confident with men.

All graduates interested in primary teacher training should visit www.teach.gov.uk or call the Teaching Information Line on 0845 6000 991 to find out more. An opportunity to put questions about primary teaching to an adviser is also available via a TDA online event (www.teach.gov.uk/onlineevents) on 8 November 2005.

Men wishing to apply for a place on the advisory panel should send in their details to matthew.mitchell@tda.gov.uk

Notes for editors

The research was carried out by NOP World who carried out 1,000 telephone interviews with parents of children of primary school age living in England, between 16 and 21 June 2005.

*The latest DfES stats (2003) show: 26,200 male primary teachers and 141,000 female teachers (15.7 per cent men).

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