No men under 25 work in state-run nurseries anywhere in England, according to official figures.

The General Teaching Council statistics show that, across the country, there are only 56 men working in state nurseries. The figures also show a worrying rise in the number of young and inexperienced supply teachers - and a lack of senior teachers ready to step into headship roles.

The report says: “The teaching profession is predominantly female and the ratio of female to male teachers (74 to 26 per cent) has not changed. However, nursery teaching is fast becoming an exclusively female preserve. There has been a further fall in the number of male nursery school teachers registered and in service, and there were no registered male teachers under 25 working in the nursery school sector this year.”

The number of young men working in state nurseries fell from eight in 2004, to six in 2005, to one in 2006 - and zero last year. Some men are employed in private nurseries but they are still vastly outnumbered.

Parents who believe that teachers look ever younger may be right: there are 11,000 fewer teachers aged between 45 and 59 than there were this time last year, and 10,000 more teachers under the age of 45.

This younger workforce has implications for the age at which teachers are promoted. The report says: “As the baby-boomer generation reaches retirement and the age profile of teachers continues to shift downwards, schools will need to recruit teachers to headship earlier in their careers.”

Keith Bartley, chief of the teaching council, said: “We are hearing that head teacher recruitment is at crisis point, with growing vacancies in the state sector. Never before has it been so important that leadership and head teacher positions are made accessible and appealing to younger teachers.

“We need to ensure that expert classroom practitioners can make the move into leadership positions early enough to prepare them for headship at an earlier age than before.”

Mr Bartley was also concerned at the drop in the average age of supply teachers. More are choosing this route early in their careers rather than as a prelude to retirement. There has also been a fall in the number of supply teachers. Although over50s account for half of supply teachers, significant numbers of new recruits are in the role.

“I do have concerns about the group of recently qualified and less experienced teachers working in supply roles. This is not ideal,” Mr Bartley said. “A good support network for new teachers’ professional development is greatly valued. It is much easier to form and maintain these networks in a consistent environment. I believe that all newly qualified teachers should have the opportunity to complete their induction period in a substantive post.”

Case study: ‘People used to be suspicious’

Chris Rowley, 45, has worked in childcare for 25 years. Mr Rowley, from Walthamstow, East London, once attended a childcare conference where there were hundreds of women and just one other man.

He said: “When I left school I didn’t know what to do. I worked as a bike messenger and in the City, then saw an advert for a job as a youth worker for a holiday club. It shared a building with the nursery where I work now. They asked if I’d like to work with younger children.

“I’m a key worker for two to five-year-olds in the morning, then run an after-school club for children up to 12. With the older children I do sports and arts projects, reading, games - anything they want to do. With the younger ones I play games, read to them, we do jumping, balancing, climbing, drawing.”

Mr Rowley, who has a 13-month-old daughter, added: “Parents used to treat me with suspicion, wondering why I was doing this job. Some people are still quite rigid, but in the last few years parents have become warm and positive about having a man in the nursery.”