Award-winning male primary school teacher leaving his mark beyond the classroom

A male primary school teacher is breaking the mould having developed children’s educational needs for 15 years, a rare achievement given the gender imbalance.

According to the Department for Education, three-quarters of teachers are women and in each ethnic group, there is a disparity between male and female primary school teachers.

Dean Barker, a PE teacher from Hertfordshire, said male teachers are often victims of damaging stereotypes but is proud to be at a school that has the greatest number of males he has witnessed.

“I’m really proud, there have been lots of changes since I first started,” said Mr Barker. “It’s a little milestone. I know there’s lots of teachers that have done it, but for me personally when I was growing up I always wanted to be either a professional footballer or a PE teacher so I’m pretty pleased that I was able to do one of them. I’ve always been into my sport and my dad is really into his sport so that’s all I’ve known growing up. I fell into it and enjoyed it ever since.

“Funny story, when I left university, I went for a job interview at Davenies School. My shirt was probably creased, I had a dodgy tie on, and I managed to get the job!

“The headteacher, the head of key stage one, a year six teacher, the caretaker and one of our TA’s are all male which is very rare at a primary school. I was previously at a school where I was the only male there and it was completely different for me.

“Working in an environment where for a long time I was the only male, you hear comments that are maybe classed as banter. You get tarnished with certain comments and I think years ago you were expected to accept it. These days people are a bit more understanding and more educated.”

Mr Barker said personal experiences from when he was a young male has proven to be imperative for boys especially and with father figures being absent in homes, primary schools need men to join women in setting an example and have a teaching staff that represent our society.

“It’s nice to have a male figure,” he continued. “The men I’ve worked with are appreciated in a primary school environment because it is female-dominated.

“I’m not frightened to say that I’ve learnt different things along the way, I’m still learning as a teacher and as a human being. I listen to them and speak to people who are more qualified than myself and just try and help everyone.”

The loving father had a successful non-league career as a player and in recent times as a manager. He now plies his trade as a scout for League One football club MK Dons and he attributed his longevity in football to the experiences he’s gained as a primary school teacher.

Mr Barker remains Cockfosters’ record goalscorer and wants to show the children that he cares about their development as human beings as much as he loves football – especially looking after their mental health.

“People are more aware of mental health and the trolling that goes on is a really sad part of social media. I’m really pleased that people talk about it now and hopefully, it’s helped a lot of people along the way.

“Our school did a football viral video and managed to get 500,000 people to view it. We thought it would bring a smile to the kids’ faces during lockdown.

“I’ve sacrificed holidays over the years through playing and managing, in terms of having six weeks summer holidays and sometimes I haven’t gone anywhere because of football!”

The PE teacher raised awareness for the Men Teach Primary platform which ensures there’s a community for males that teach in primary schools, and said more conversations need to be had to increase the number of male influencers.

“They talk about important topics such as how men deal with certain things, it’s been positive for men to express how they feel.”