Spot the difference: why do more men teach in independent schools?

While women dominate both sectors, significantly more men enter – and stay in – private education. Lucy Ward explores what the statistics mean for teachers’ career options

There are plenty of misconceptions about the differences between state and private education in the UK. But when considering teaching employment options, there are some reassuringly solid facts – including statistics showing clear contrasts between the gender balance in maintained and independent school staffrooms.

While women dominate both sectors, the proportion of men teaching in private schools is significantly higher than in their state counterparts. According to a 2014 census by the Independent Schools Council (ISC), which represents more than 1,200 independent schools in the UK and overseas, almost 40% of full-time equivalent teachers in its member schools are men. In state schools, in contrast, the latest Department for Education statistics show that in 2013 men accounted for just over a quarter of teaching staff.

Depending on school type, that gender difference yawns even wider. Another ISC report in 2009 found 29% of all teaching hours in independent prep schools are worked by men, compared with 12% in maintained primaries. The more detailed 2013 DfE workforce survey confirms the well-established pattern that male teachers in state primary schools are rarer than smiling Ofsted inspectors – just one in seven of the total teaching staff.

So what lies behind the higher numbers of men teaching in private schools, and what might the trend mean for teachers considering a career in the independent sector?

Neil Roskilly, chief executive officer of the Independent Schools Association (ISA), points out that historically independent schools attracted men who could teach a subject and be “the mainstay of the cricket team”.

Today too, he suggests, the huge emphasis on extra-curricular activities in private schools – often including a strong focus on team and other sports even at primary level – can be particularly appealing to men. “It works its way through the whole of the sector, not just prep: sports teams, overseas trips, even cub packs within schools. I think that is probably more attractive to a male recruit than a female recruit.”

Conversely, Roskilly adds, a school with a particular focus on pastoral care may attract more women. But, he says, both stereotypes can be broken, with sporting opportunities often an attraction for women too.

James Piper, head of the mixed The Perse Prep school in Cambridge, oversees a staffroom boasting an even gender split, with 10 male and 10 female teachers. There is no deliberate pro-male policy, Piper says: “We appoint the best teachers irrespective of gender and age – it’s the quality of the teacher, not gender, that brings up standards.”

One explanation for the “very healthy proportion of male applicants” for prep teaching posts could be that far more men train for secondary than primary teaching, he suggests. The resulting subject specialism is more valuable in an independent prep, where teachers tend to teach subjects, than a state sector primary, where they typically teach a single class.

The Perse Prep’s young male staff bring a certain “excitement”, Piper says. “Is a male teacher better? No, you can’t say that. But I think to have a balance is really, really important. We concentrate so much on the academic side of school, but the development of children is vital in their progress, and the part of the staff in role-modelling behaviour is crucial.”

While boys are traditionally seen as beneficiaries of male role models, it’s also good for girls – especially in older prep year groups – to appreciate differing approaches, he believes.

Brian Metcalf, a year 6 teacher in the junior department of Dame Allan’s school, Newcastle, and a member of the independent sector advisory group of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), also points to sport as a major draw for male teachers working in private schools. But a “more positive media image” of men in independent schools (however unfair to those in the state sector) may also contribute, he suggests, together with the cyclical effect of men joining schools that already employ male teachers.

“It can be a bit difficult coming into a staffroom as the only man,” says Metcalf. “In the first school I worked in, there was me, another male teacher who was older and the head – the rest were women well into their sixties. As a 21-year-old man I found we certainly had very different interests.”

A closer look at the background of teachers in the independent sector reveals intriguing differences between the career paths of men and women. An ISC survey of 4,175 teachers working at 530 different ISC schools revealed men (41% of those responding) were much more likely than women to be products of the independent sector themselves: 30% of men had spend their entire schooling in independent schools, compared with only 19% of women.

Men are also likely to have spent a greater proportion of their career in the independent sector while women shift more readily between private and maintained schools: the average male teacher surveyed had taught for 81% of his career in private schools, while the average woman had spent only 64% of her time doing so.

Quizzed on why they chose to teach in the independent sector, men were slightly more likely than women to prioritise an academic focus, while women put more stress on class sizes and logistical reasons such as location.

The ISC survey also reveals that, not only do men make up a greater proportion of private school teachers, their careers also appear to propel them further. Women, despite outnumbering men on entry to teaching, are more likely to leave the profession before retirement. While this might be because of social issues such as childcare, says the survey, “losing talented women from the profession early is something that any industry would want to avoid”.

Even where women stay in teaching, the research reveals female heads have an average of 27.2 years’ teaching experience, compared with male heads’ 26. Men, it appears, are getting promotions in the independent sector ahead of women with similar amounts of experience. The issue is not confined to private schools: in maintained secondaries, women dominate as teachers yet there are almost twice as many male heads as female.

In one part of the education landscape, however, female heads remain the norm: independent girls’ schools. Of 164 schools in the Girls’ Schools Association, 27 heads – 16% – are male. Nevertheless, the picture is changing: the next GSA president is a man, while women are beginning to climb to headships in boys’ schools. The ability to attract high-flying men to senior roles should be seen as a “great credit” to girls’ schools, argues Alice Phillips, GSA president and headmistress of St Catherine’s, Bramley. But, she adds, “it’s important that strong women have the opportunity to lead”.

Some women, she points out, may for family or other reasons deliberately opt to stay in a senior teaching role rather than moving into management – a choice she believes the sector inadequately rewards with either pay or status. But others, providing they are ambitious, do have strong prospects, Phillips says. “Is it better for women in the maintained or independent sector? – you can’t say. But a strong and successful middle manager who is a woman will get a headship.”

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