A Kent head teacher has backed claims that a shortage of male primary school teachers is costing young children.

Research from the General Teaching Council for England says only 13 per cent of primary school teachers are men - but found that the presence of male educators can challenge boys to work harder, especially with increasing numbers of UK youngsters growing up in single female parent families.

Robert Strayker, a head teacher in the Sevenoaks area, agreed and said males teaching in the early formative years is "almost vital".

He said: "When I first started teaching, we didn’t have absent father rates that we do now. It’s always useful for pupils, particularly boys, to have someone to look up to.

"If you miss that within school, you can miss that in all sorts of way."

But head teacher of Victoria Road Primary in Ashford, Carol Berty, says education needs a mixture of both sexes.

"I don’t think it's one gender against the other - if you’ve got a good teacher, it doesn’t matter if they’re male or female, as long as the children prosper and progress.

"It’s about the quality, although we do live in a diverse society and having a mix of male and female staff is very good for everyone."

The Training and Development Agency found 35 per cent of men said they felt having a male teacher had made them work harder, and made it easier for them to approach a member of staff with problems.