STATISTICS released by a teaching body show that only one in eight primary school teachers in England is male.

Is that reflected in Dorset and, more importantly, does it matter?

The figures, published by the General Teaching Coun-cil for England (GTCE) show that as of March 31 this year, there were 25,806 men working in primaries in England, compared to 181,696 women.

That means just 12.5 per cent of primary school teachers are male. The figures also show that more than a quarter – 28 per cent – of primaries in England have no registered male teachers at all.

In Bournemouth, the council says 13 per cent of teach-ers in primary-level schools are male, 36 per cent in secondary schools. In Poole’s 13 first schools, 22 teachers are men compared to 185 women.

Head teacher at Canford Heath First and Middle schools, Sue Pelham, said: “We’ve always had a fair proportion of male role models with the schools here.”

Currently, that includes two men out of 15 teachers in the first school and four out of 14 in the middle school – three moved on after being promoted at the end of last term.

“It’s an advantage for the children because they get that added perspective on the male as a role model and somebody they can emulate and look up to,” added Mrs Pelham, who said more needed to be done at a national level to get men into the job.

The findings have led some experts to raise concerns that children are suffering from a lack of male role models in their learning environments.

Conversely, there are fears that men are put off teaching at primary level by a society that raises a suspicious eyebrow at males being with young children.

Nigel Beckett, head teacher at small rural Corfe Castle First School, is the only male member of staff there – it has three other full-time teachers.

He said: “That’s not unusual in my experience. Most of my career I’ve been on my own as a male teacher.

“I personally don’t think it’s a problem for my kids. I do think you need a balance in a primary school – you sometimes need a male figure with some of the kids.

“It’s not a male-orientated job, when you’re 18 you don’t think about being a primary school teacher.”

Another finding of the research was that there were just 44 men working in state nurseries, only one of whom was aged under 25.

In secondary schools, 38 per cent of teachers were male. In total for all schools, 75 per cent of teachers were female.