When talking about a gender gap, the usual assumption is that the balance needs to be shifted in order to bring better equality for women.

But that’s not the case in the early learning and childcare sector, which is currently suffering from a severe lack of male workers.

However now, a new funding drive aims to encourage more men into that sector.

Action has been taken because only 4 per cent of the “daycare of children workforce” are male, while in 2016-17 a similar proportion of enrolments to HNC childhood practice courses came from men.

John Kemp, interim chief executive of the Scottish Funding Council, which will administer the Men in Early Years Challenge Fund, said: “Diversity and representation are vital to ensure caring is not seen exclusively as a female role, and that all children have access to positive male role models.”

Maree Todd, minister for children and young people, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for colleges to test out new ways of getting men into the early learning workforce…Increasing the number of men means children will benefit from different perspectives and have more male role models to look up to.”

Patricia Chisholm, owner of the Highland Fling nursery in Portobello, Edinburgh - where the new scheme was announced - said: “Surely by 2018, we should have realised that an appropriate gender balance in a team of educators is vitally important to prepare children for the real world in which they will be living and working.”