i don't have much positive things to say about motor neurone disease but it taught me not to pity myself and to get on with what i still could do. i'm happier now than before i developed the condition. ‘a brilliant and extraordinary mind — one of the great scientists of his generation‘ — one of thousands of tributes to professor stephen hawking, world—famous for his ground—breaking work on black holes and for re—defining perceptions of people with disabilities, has died at the age of 76. we will be looking back at the life and legacy of the most talked—about scientist since einstein. also — if your children go to a nursery, chances that they're taught by a man are incredibly slim. why? there was a lot of stigma based on negative stories out there about men in childcare and, you know, just children being at harm and at risk and men not being able to be nurturing and men not being able to work with children so small.

we've been exploring why men are so unlikely tojoin the profession — why that's bad for our children and we have exclusive details on what is being recommended to reverse the trend. and mr twinkle toes, ballroom star len goodman, is with us this morning. we will be talking about strictly and the campaign he's spearheading to try to stop over 60s falling victim to bank scams. good morning, welcome to oui’ programme. if you have a disability we want to hear from you this morning, if you have a disability we want to hearfrom you this morning, how professor steven hawking inspired you. so significant how he approached his motor neurone disease, did his attitude towards his disability affecting a positive way the way that you approached yours? we would love to talk to you on the programme in the second hour

of the programme today. send me an e—mail, message as on facebook or use whatsapp. of course, that's our top story today. britain's most famous scientist, professor stephen hawking, has died at the age of 76. hawking's fame came largely from his best—selling book, "a brief history of time" which outlined his theories about the universe. he had a brilliant career despite being diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 1964 and being told he had just a few years to live. within the past few minutes, theresa may has described him as "one of the great scientists of his generation, whose courage, humour and determination to get the most from life was an inspiration". nick higham reports. he was instantly recognisable and utterly remarkable. the visionary scientist, helpless in his high—tech wheelchair, who nonetheless transformed our view of the universe. while a student, he developed the first signs of motor neurone

disease. gradually his body shut down until he could communicate only using a computerised voice synthesiser, controlled, to start with, by hand. it didn't hold him back. i was never actually told that i had only two years to live, but i could see the doctors didn't think my prospects were good. his fame sprang from his book, a brief history of time. it sold 10 million copies. but though many bought it, rather fewer actually read it. his theories about time, space and black holes were stupendously difficult for non—specialists to grasp, but he turned out to have a genius for communication. he gave lectures and interviews, and became an unlikely celebrity. his private life was complicated. with his first wife, jane, he had three children and she looked after him until, in 1990, he left her for his nurse, elaine. they eventually married, only

for claims to emerge that hawking had been physically abused. police investigated, but the case was dropped for lack of evidence. the couple later divorced. too often we are told that these are stupid questions to ask, but this is said by grown—ups who don't know the answers... he never lost his sense of humour. though by the end, he could only speak by twitching his cheek to move an infrared beam. i don't have much positive to say about motor neurone disease, but it taught me not to pity myself and to get on with what i still could do. i'm happier now than before i developed the condition. in 2014, his life was dramatised in the theory of everything, with eddie redmayne playing hawking. ..to see what happened at the beginning of time itself. stephen, here you are. at cambridge, they unveiled a statue of him, a rare honour for someone still living. but few did more to transform our understanding of the universe and to overcome personal challenges.

we will talk much more about steven hawking through the programme this morning. joanna gosling is in the bbc newsroom with a summary of the rest of the days news. theresa may is expected to announce sanctions against russia after the kremlin failed to explain their role in a chemical attack in salisbury. last night, the russian embassy hinted that the expulsion of its diplomats from london would have an impact on their british counterparts in moscow. jane—frances kelly reports. it began as an attack on the streets of salisbury. the poisoning of a former russian intelligence officer and his daughter. but there is now diplomatic deadlock between britain and moscow. i'm standing outside the russian embassy here in london and the midnight deadline has just passed. the only reaction the british government has got from the russians so far are angry denials and the threat of retaliatory action if they take measures against moscow. they've also helpfully got

a screen outside here that shows their twitter feed, and on it they say: the russian foreign minister, sergey lavrov, has objected to only being given 2a hours to respond to the claim russia used a chemical weapon. russia should get ten days, he said, accusing britain of flouncing the chemical weapons convention. meanwhile, in salisbury, painstaking work continues. police are appealing for witnesses who might have seen sergei and yulia skripal in their red bmw car on the day they were poisoned. separately a number of deaths are also being reinvestigated by police and m15 after claims of russian involvement. they include a man in his 60s found dead in new maldon on monday, who is believed to be russian businessman nikolai glushkov, a friend of boris berezovsky, who was found hanged

in his home in 2013. this morning theresa may will be briefed by her national security council before going to parliament, where she's expected to announce a series of measures against russia. jane—frances kelly, bbc news. let's talk to our assistant political editor norman smith... is it clear what those measures are likely to be? we know the range that theresa may is thought to be looking out, they include expelling russian diplomats based in london after the murder of alexander litvinenko four diplomats were expelled, so i think we can expect considerably more to be booted out this time. there are also likely to be acid freezes, travel bans on those closely associated with president putin. and some suggestions that perhaps the broadcasting licence for rte may be

revoked, i think that is less likely, it would be a gift for president putin in propaganda terms of he was able to say that the west was shutting down russian broadcasters and he has threatened to retaliate against british media in russia but the key is a more long—term range of measures which will require international backing from organisations like the eu, also looking to america. 0r from organisations like the eu, also looking to america. or at an further sanctions. that may take an awful lot longer to put in place. although following phone calls would boris johnson and theresa may and a number of international leaders, they have expressed support and there have been expressions of solidarity mailing them down to specific commitments, that may be harder and more time—consuming to put in place —— mailing them down. the government is to spend £50 million on trying to raise racial and religious tensions. it is one of a number of proposals in the government's integrated communities strategy,

which is to be published more than a year after an independent review found the country had become more divided as it had become diverse. here's our home editor, mark easton. 17 years after race riots in bradford, an official report warned of highly segregated communities where people led parallel lives, the city will now be named among five places in england that must adopt an integration plan. the others waltham forest in london, peterborough, walsall and blackburn, all areas with a history of racial and ethnic tensions. 12 years ago, blackburn was highlighted as suffering from deep segregation between white and asian communities. to reduce tensions, teenagers were bussed in from other schools to integrate. pupils from a 99% white secondary school made to meet pupils from a 95% nonwhite secondary across town. today's strategy suggests more schemes like this. it also proposes some extra support for english—language classes, state provision has halved in the last few years, new targeted help to improve economic opportunities for people

in segregated communities, particularly women, and the promotion of pluralistic british values by teachers. the strategy is the latest in a long line of government initiatives to try and deal with one of britain's most sensitive and enduring social challenges. mark easton, bbc news. around a third of nhs clinics and a quarter of private ones offering breast implant surgery in england have not sent any patient data to a national safety registry. nhs digital set up the service in 2016 to safeguard patients after the pip scandal, when thousands of women received faulty implants. women who have had surgery are now being urged to make sure their details are added to the register. the creators of the crown have admitted claire foy who portrays the queen was paid less than her male counterpart. matt smith's portrayal of a young duke of edinburgh earned him more than foy‘s golden globe—winning performance as queen elizabeth

in the netflix drama. the show‘s producers said smith's previous starring role in doctor who meant he was paid more than his co—star. the university of mosul, in iraq — which was left in ruins by islamic state militants — is to begin re—stocking its library, with new books donated from the uk. it's believed that well over 100,000 manuscripts were destroyed or looted during the is occupation. a lecturer told the bbc he was so happy when the books arrived from britain, he danced. that's a summary of the latest bbc news, more at 9:30am. thank you. thank you for your m essa 9 es thank you. thank you for your messages about professor steven hawking. we will focus on all areas of his life today, his brilliant scientific mind, the theoretical physics breakthroughs and how he approached his disability. luke says that how he inspired him was to never give up and not focus on what you cannot do but what you can.

another says that steven hawking was a great advocate for the nhs and will be sorely missed, and another says that he is an inspirational role model as to what can be achieved with someone with a disability. his determination and focus to keep going and keep achieving professionally. respect and rip. thank you for those. time for a look at the sport. a disappointing night for manchester united? more than disappointing — their opposition last night sevilla had more shots on goal than any team to visit old trafford since the great real madrid a full five years ago... and the manner of defeat has really hurt the manchester united fans — a tradition of arrogant, effective attacking football has diminished in the past four or five years but this performance may well be worse than anything they saw under david moyes or louis van gaal — there was a severe lack of urgency and watching jose mourinho's team, you really wouldn't have known

a place in the champions league was at stake... the tie was poised at 0—0 after the first leg in spain, but with away goals counting double, united looked like they really hadn't realised. sevilla took control by scoring a crucial away goal with less than 20 minutes left. the spanish side put the tie to bed with a second soon afterwards, with wissam ben yedder‘s second. if they weren't angry enough, manchester united fans won't be overly happy with jose mourinho's comments after the match... i sit isit in i sit in this chair twice in the champions league. and i walk out with manchester united at home at 0ld with manchester united at home at old trafford. i sit in this chair with real madrid, manchester united out... soi with real madrid, manchester united out... so i do not think it is something new for the club. of course, being manchester united manager, and losing the champions league tie at home, that is

devastating. the chelsea game tonight is poised at 1-1. the chelsea game tonight is poised at 1—1. they have not been beaten on their last four fizzes away to beat barcelona at the nou camp. and at the winter paralympics there has been another medal for great britain? yes, things going very well for paralympicsgb out in pyeongchang and especially for skiiers menna fitzpatrick and guidejen kehoe. they've won their third medal at the games after finishing second in the women's visually impaired giant slalom... it wasn't the best day for gb‘s other entrants, kelly gallagher and her guide, millie knight and brett wild incident. but the medal tally is at five so far in south korea. they are nearly at the target of

seven set by uk sport. well, the beast from the east has left cheltenham racecourse with some very heavy ground underfoot — it made for hard work for the horses and jockey‘s on the opening day at the festival but there was no dampening of spirits... in fact, the sun was shining as buveur d'air took the big race on day one... the nicky henderson trained horse was the odds—on favourite going into the champion hurdle, but he and jockey barry geraghty were pushed all the way by the seven to one shot melon, winning by barely a neck on the line. it means buveaur d'air retains his title and gives henderson his seventh winner in the race. the queen mother champion chase is the feature race today — altior is the favourite — another nicky henderson horse. coverage withjohn inverdale on the team 5live from 1pm. thank you very much, for the moment. if your child is under 5 —

the chances of a man teaching them are very slim. the numbers of men working as early years teachers has always been low. in fact, for the last 20 years, it's been around 2% of the total workforce in the sector. there are currently around 25,000 job vacancies and the government has recognised how important men in early years can be to the children they teach. efforts have been made by small groups across the country to increase those numbers, and our reporter chris hemmings has been given exclusive access to proposals being drawn up to advise the government on how they can help. music what one? where is your puppet one? if you send your child to a nursery, chances are the don't have a male teacher. a lot of men don't see it as a man'sjob, you know? and a lot of men are not aware that the role actually exists. there's about 400,000 early years

educators in the uk, and about 98% of those are female. many people think they willjust be average baby—sitting, kind of thing. but what they actually learn from the early years really sets them up for life. men are not being encouraged into the profession. and when they do take jobs, they still face prejudices. because i was a man, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to work in early years because of safeguarding concerns, they were worried particularly what the parents might think. the government said they need help addressing the problem and a task force was set up to advise them. we've been given exclusive access to what the government is being urged to do. well done, give yourselves a clap. jamal campbell is a rarity. he's a member of the london early years foundation, and part of the just 2%

of the teaching bid teachers under five who are male. he started teaching 16 years ago, and is still frustrated by how little status is given to hisjob. we deserve more. we deserve more because it is such an important profession, you know, people are entrusting their precious, their babies to us to care for them, and teach them and nurture them. you know, we spend more time with their children than they do. and we're helping them so when they go to primary school, when they go to secondary school, they've got the tools. so, what do you think it is that puts men off coming into the profession in the first place? the thing about a lot of men is a lot of them haven't tapped into that side of their personality yet, but i think what will draw people to the profession is if they had more knowledge about the profession, they will understand that...

they will get to see the benefits they will have of having a balanced workforce, you know? do you think there is a stigma attached to it? yes, there is a lot of stigma based on negative stories that are out there about men in childcare, you know, and just children being at risk, men not being able to be nurturing, men not being able to work with children so small. some children out there may not have a male in their home, there needs to be balance, they need to have that interaction. it breaks down the whole, you have to be macho to be a male thing. you know? it shows them that men can be silly, men can play, men can make jokes, men can give you a hug, you know, if you've fallen down. basically we're positive role models for them and we show them a whole different side of this being a male thing. i'm going to see who's

going to choose one of our songs. me, me! i'm looking to see who's listening. most nurseries in the uk are privatised, but some councils do still provide early years education. we asked each of those councils how many male nursery teachers they employ. and of the 38 who told us they still have in—house nursery services, 26 do not hire a single male teacher. so, what's putting men off? james is just 23 years old, and injanuary this year, parents had him removed from a class on the first day of his very firstjob. i had been there maybe 20 minutes, "i'm sorry, we need to move you. i'll explain in the corridor." and they explained that because i was a man, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to work in early years, basically

because of safeguarding concerns, they were worried particularly what the parents might think and stuff like that. so i ended up being moved to year 4. i was obviously shocked as you might expect, but also i had heard stories and rumours that this was the kind of thing you could kind of expect if you are a man in early years — there would be kind of an air of suspicion around you, men can't be trusted. it was more of a, yes, this isn't right that is happening to me, but it's kind of to be expected. that must have been heartbreaking for you. yes, it was tough, i couldn't believe that after they had fed back to me at the end of the day really positively, they had then gone and said to the agency, we don't want him because we need to put someone in reception,

and from what they had indicated through the conversation i had had at the school, it was more because i am a man, i couldn't have been there — but if i had been a woman, i would have been kept for a second day. almost exactly a year ago, a government report highlighted the lack of gender diversity and clearly stated they wanted more men to choose to work in early years. it highlighted that more men would help plug the near 25,000 early years job vacancies and would increase the number of male role models for children, and also recognise that children from lone parent families spend very little time with men, and so, in their own words, male early years workers are therefore vital in making sure young children have quality contact time with men. as part of that early years strategy, the government set up a task force. its aim was to advise them on how to improve gender diversity. it is chaired by david wright, he runs paint box nurseries in southampton, and has helped set up a network of

men in early years across the uk. we do have a problem attracting good staff, and 50% of the population are excluded from that because they are not interested, they don't know that they are welcome and there is a career for them they are. so, what is stopping them? i think because it is mostly female staff working here, they do act in some sense as gatekeepers, and i think if you were a 16—year—old lad and you were looking to come and work with young children, you would be dissuaded by your parents, you would probably be dissuaded by careers advisers and teachers, and then there is the whole issue around your sense of masculinity — what do you tell your friends down the pub that you're doing? and you're entering into a workforce where you would be in the minority — and again that is isolating. so, the percentage of the workforce that is male has been about 2% for as long as you can remember, 20 years at least. has the government done

enough in that time to try to increase that number? i think, to be perfectly honest, i don't think it has been on the government's agenda at all. i don't think it is something that anybody has really looked at, you know, there have been a lot of angst, a lot of discussions around this, a lot of people have tried to do their own little bit but it hasn't been coordinated and it hasn't had leadership or direction from the government. and that is what you're hoping for now? yes. the task force will recommend improving pay and working conditions. and they want a national campaign to promote mixed gender teams. it will suggest improved careers advice and training for men, and would like a target set, up from the current 2%. and crucially suggests 0fsted could include gender diversity in their inspection criteria. we already know boys are twice as likely as girls to lack basic language skills by the time they start school. and that gap only widens over time. so, could men in early years settings actually

help make a difference? # when i come to nursery hear me shout # stretch up tall and jump about! # come on, then, back to our story. so, this school in london has spent the last ten years ensuring male and female teachers spend equal time with their pupils. and they say the results as those pupils progress through the school speak for themselves. so, we put people where their best skills are, we're good at picking up teacher training, when we spot a talent. we have seen men who have a particular bent for teaching early years children, and we encourage them by giving them opportunities to work and develop their careers in the early years. tell me about the research you been doing at the school and the effect it has been having on the children here the aim was always to narrow the gap between girls' and boys' attainment.

the attainment in the school over the years has continued to rise, ever since we have been keeping records. part of that is to make sure the gender difference is as narrow as possible, and a strategy for doing that is having a workforce where the teaching methods we use on the children are things that boys in particular would respond to, as well as the girls. 0ur girls do extremely well, but so do our boys, that's the point. why do you think it is important that the number of men in early years education has increased ? they see men as positives, men reading books, men talking about things and being successful in careers, and there has been a tendency in the past for most of primary education to be heavily dominated by women, so it is important they see men are nurturing and notjust sort of sporting heroes or adventurous people. in bradford, 7% of nursery teachers employed by the council are male. that's about two and a half times the national average. some nurseries there encourage dads to run reading groups.

they say it's not only good for the kids but it's a great pipeline for more men tojoin the profession. bilal is one of the men working in bradford's nurseries. he helped engage this man, whose children attend the nursery, and is now training to become an early years teacher. we do a lot of sessions that are particularly designed for dads. we want them to be integrated with the rest of the nursery, so how we do that is by the male practitioners and even the female practitioners making a conscious effort, you know, trying to get the dads involved, talking to them, engaging with them in conversations, meaningful conversations. so you about to start training to become a practitioner. tell us what your journey was. my daughter used to come to this nursery, saint edmunds. when i saw bilal here, he was young and doing something about it and dealing with kids, and i thought to myself, i have never seen anyone doing this, and this

basically touched me in terms of that i could think about coming to the sector. i have got more into it and been doing voluntary work with saint edmunds and came up with the idea that this is something i can do. it is often said there is a stigma around men coming into this role. how important was it for you to have someone like bilal as a role model? to be honest, i would say he was the one that when i looked at him as a young person, he was passionate about his work because i have seen him working. he used to be a key worker with my daughter, and i thought, ok, if he can do it, anyone can. research shows that the more dads are involved with their children from an early age, the better the educational attainment levels. do you find that? when fathers attend the sessions, it is not the norm, people tend to think my dad is doing this, they tend to concentrate more on what their dad is helping them do.

if they are concentrating, they are picking it up more. the dad session used to be small, but now it is picking up. more dads are in these groups. do you think that is because more dads like bilal are engaged in the sector? more dads are now engaged? yes, because of my personal experience. if i had not seen bilal or any other male working in the sector, i would not even think about coming. despite that figure of 2% not having changed for almost 20 years, thanks to the efforts of people likejamal, bob and bilal, there are pockets across the country where those numbers are improving. and of course, david and his team want that to change across the country. we invited the education secretary to come on the programme but instead department for education gave us a statement.

they told us they "want young children to have both male and female role models in their early years and having a diverse range of people working in childcare has an important part to play in this. they've set up a group to look at the number of men working in early years in more depth and to consider what more could be done to encourage men to consider this rewarding career. if you are a man working in early yea rs, let if you are a man working in early years, let me know your experience. e—mail us. still to come... more on the incredible life of stephen hawking — who has passed away at the age of 76. we'll look back on how he changed the way we look at science. and former strictly star len goodman tells about about a new campaign he's heading to stop the over 60s falling victim to bank scams. time for the latest news — here's joanna gosling. britain's most famous scientist

professor steven hawking has died at the age of 76, his fame came from his bestselling book, a brief history of time, outlining his theories of the universe. he had a brilliant career despite being diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 1964 diagnosed with motor neurone disease in1964 and diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 1964 and being told he had only a few years to live. theresa may is expected to announce sanctions against russia today after the kremlin failed to explain their role in a chemical attack in salisbury. the prime minister will address parliament after chairing a meeting of the national security council. last night, the russian embassy hinted that the expulsion of its diplomats from london would have an impact on their british counterparts in moscow. five councils in england will be asked to draw up plans to improve community cohesion in their areas as a part of proposals on wider integration. in the integrated amenity green paper, they want to promote diversity in schools, and language tuition for non—english

speakers. around a third of nhs clinics and a quarter of private ones offering breast implant surgery in england have not sent any patient data to a national safety registry. nhs digital set up the service in 2016 to safeguard patients after the pip scandal, when thousands of women received faulty implants. women who have had surgery are now being urged to make sure their details are added to the register. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. here's some sport now with hugh. manchester united boss jose mourinho says he doesn't want to make a drama of the champions league. their last 16 exit at the hands of sevilla last night. they were beaten 2-1 at old sevilla last night. they were beaten 2—1 at old trafford to miss out on the quarterfinals. 2—1 at old trafford to miss out on the quarter finals. after a lacklustre display, jose mourinho said he had no regrets. chelsea take a 1—1 draw to barcelona for their second leg later. manager antonio conte says his players will have to suffer for periods away against the team top of the spanish top flight... great britain's menna fitzpatrick and her guidejen kehoe have

won their third medal at the winter paralympics with silver in the women's visually impaired giant slalom. it takes britain's tally in pyeongchang up to 5... buveur d'air retained his champion hurdle title on the opening day of the cheltenham festival. the 6—4 on favourite ridden by barry geraghty gave trainer nicky henderson a seventh victory in the race. that's all of the sport for now, more after 10am. good morning. the government is to spend 50 million pounds trying to create more cohesive communities, especially in five towns and cities marked by ethnic and religious divisions: bradford, blackburn, peterborough, walsall and waltham forest in london. there will also be help for people wanting to improve their spoken english and for women wanting to find jobs. dame louise casey led the government's review. you

pulled no punches? i published that review at the back end of 2016. i spent a couple of years, by the time we published, looking at some of the dynamics happening in our communities today. i felt, dynamics happening in our communities today. ifelt, and i still do, that we are more divided than we should be as a nation. that there are pockets of isolation, where it isn'tjust poverty and social disadvantage that is going on but i would worry about the rights of women in those sorts of areas as well. that isn't just of women in those sorts of areas as well. that isn'tjust muslim areas, there are other significant religious minorities that, again, are not necessarily embracing what i would want people to embrace, that you are equal to a man, or if you are gay, you should not be punished, you should respect differences surrounding race and religion. what isaid surrounding race and religion. what i said was that the solution to that is obviously things like english language being a leveller, if everybody speaks the same language,

when women suffer domestic violence they do not need a man to interpret for them or to take their son into a doctor ‘s surgery because they do not speak enough english. if you do not speak enough english. if you do not have the language, you are not equal. let alone getting a job. i did focus on issues surrounding women. and you talked about setting a date by which everyone should be speaking english, is that correct? did not set that out in the strategy but i said we should have an english language strategy that makes sure. i feel like the moore, a year later, that actually it would be really good if we did something big and bold around english language. the communities secretary himself, sajid javid, he's talking about various measures we could take to improve integration, said on the radio this morning that his mother took ten yea rs morning that his mother took ten years to learn english. is that long? —— is that too long? years to learn english. is that long? -- is that too long? we had to

remember that the government cut significantly, and he is very clear that they did. he does not pretend otherwise. he has been very straight, over a long period of time we cut english language classes and i think that was a mistake. but i do think those english language classes should be targeted at a working age. women, men, anyone. but working age people who do not have english, personally, i would set a date. it is or is helpful to say, look, let's ta ke is or is helpful to say, look, let's take five years, let's work through this. let's get to a point. governments have done that on other issues, i don't see why they can't in this. five years to learn it if you do not already speak it. why is it important, for example, that children mix, particularly, in faith schools? not just children mix, particularly, in faith schools? notjust one faith, in a lot of faith schools, some children can opt out of particular lessons, like sport come on religious grounds? if it is state schools, i think, look, we have reached a point

where actually, doing sport, going to the theatre, enjoying music. i realise it isn't as harmful and difficult as, say, teaching children in segregated environments, telling them that women are not equal to men and their place is in the home, not work. it is and has harmful as that but i would like every child growing up but i would like every child growing up in this country to experience the full country. i'm not going to die ina ditch full country. i'm not going to die in a ditch over it but i do think it is daft. i think it is wrong, it is common sense. it is also caricaturing vast numbers of people from religious minorities who actually really want their children to enjoy everything. they want their children to go to the theatre, to enjoy everything on offer. we are only talking about a minority of people who do not want to be part of that and we should call it out. and how do you, we as? 777 week q week because of in tfilffir‘é’ '

abuse scandals. certain grooming abuse scandals, those in authority have not had the confidence to call out, in some cases, horrific criminal behaviour forfear cases, horrific criminal behaviour for fear of cases, horrific criminal behaviour forfear of being cases, horrific criminal behaviour for fear of being accused of being racist. how do you give people confidence to call out, as you put it, without that worry?|j confidence to call out, as you put it, without that worry? i think more people need to do it and not be afraid to do so. that's one of the reasons why think it is good the government has published an integration strategy. it is good that sajid javid himself without today saying that we need to pull together. he is talking about his own experiences. his views on music in schools was stronger than mine. but you cannot say to everybody else, it is your responsibility. i think that government and leaders need to take responsibility. when they don't, bad stuff happens. i spent 6—9 months of my life in rotherham. i met the women who were groomed. there was a dynamic to it that was about a wrong interpretation or a race. it is all wrong. it brings every single person

from pakistani or muslim heritage into disrepute. those men are of § community. by of ”2: community. by of ”22 commui it i. by of ”22 comml go, . at need i: at i need to i; at i need to stop, 2 at|faried to stop, 2 at|far right that), i at | far right that is 2 does fit represent mainstream, does not represent britain, and it's racist. that is not a british tradition or culture. the same way that we have islamic extremist thoughts, they are not mainstream either but if we do not talk about them, and we do not own them, we end up in difficult places. thank you very much for coming on the programme. dame louise casey. your views are welcome of course. "there are physicists in a thousand year's time who will still be talking about hawking" — that's what brian cox has said this morning about the legacy of professor stephen hawking, who has died at the age of 76. the most—talked about

scientist since einstein, he turned theoretical physics into best—selling books, changed perceptions of people with disabilities and made numerous cameo tv appearances. have a look... theoretical physics is one of the few fields in which being disabled is no handicap. it is all in the mind. ifind humourand a mind. i find humour and a fewjokes are a great help in lectures in the mysteries of the universe.|j great help in lectures in the mysteries of the universe. i cannot believe someone i've never heard of this hanging out with a guy like me. it's closing time, who is paying the tab... i it's closing time, who is paying the tab...iam...i it's closing time, who is paying the tab... i am... i didn't it's closing time, who is paying the tab... iam... ididn't say it's closing time, who is paying the tab... i am... i didn't say that! yes i did... d'oh! you really didn't

like our paper? i liked it very much. the premise is intriguing. then why are you attacking us?“ you were sitting in a chair for 40 years, you would get bored too. the quantum fluctuations in the universe will not change the cards in your hand. i call, you are bluffing! and you will lose... albert! what if i reversed the process all the way back to see what happened at the beginning of time itself? if eddie redmayne won an oscar for playing me, it would make up in some way for the fact that i am unlikely to wina way for the fact that i am unlikely to win a nobel prize!

i hope my example will show disability can be no barrier. 0ne can achieve anything, if one is determined enough. professor hawkins's children have paid tribute to their father. in a statement, lucy, robert and tim said: elsewhere, the prime minister has led tributes to professor hawking. brian cox said:

nasa said: the astronaut chris hadfield said: we have lost a truly beautiful mind, an astonishing scientist and the funniest man i have ever had the pleasure to meet. and in a statement, eddie redmayne, who won an oscar for his portrayal of professor hawking said: "we have lost a truly beautiful mind, an astonishing scientist and the funniest man i have ever had the pleasure to meet." now, either that was eddie redmayne

or chris hadfield, unless they have both come up with remarkably similar tributes! i will work that out for you in the next hour of the programme. and your own tributes are really welcomed this morning. next... the reaction of russia to theresa may's ultimatum was probably predictable. she'd said she wanted answers to questions about the poisoning by midnight. they didn't wait until midnight before the message came back. that they would not be providing any information about the poisoning in such a short space of time and they would not without being provided with a sample. the russian ambassador to the eu has made clear that the issuing of the deadline did not go down well in moscow. russia is not a country to be spoken to in the language of ultimatums. russia is not a country to be spoken to in the language of ultimatumsm is high time that the united kingdom

learned that. now the ball is in theresa may's court as she meets her national security council to decide how to respond. we can speak now to professor robert service — he was an expert witness during the alexander litvinenko inquiry and is a russian historian, to mary dejevsky — former moscow correspondent for the times and to anna belkina — deputy editor in chief of the russian state broadcaster, rt. thank you all of you for talking to us. thank you all of you for talking to us. mary, what happens now? well, this is a big question. i think it was totally unrealistic of theresa may actually to set a 36 hour deadline. not because fullness of things 36 hours is unreasonable, but because it's unreasonable in the kremlin's timescale. whatever the subject was, they are not going to respond to anything within 36 hours

and it's particularly bad week for the kremlin in terms of deadlines because you've got a brother until election on sunday and although we may say, well, it's not a proper election, vladimir putin is bound to be re—elected, nonetheless, that is what is at the forefront of the kremlin's attention right now, not what happened in a provincial british city ten days ago. so, what i actually think is that far from... russia has, if you like, flouted the deadline, but what it hasn't done, which is interesting to me, it has not refused to engage with the request. it's basically throwing it back to the uk and said, well, you are accusing us of a chemical weapons violation, you are signed up to the convention, as we are, so abide by the terms of it, and that means providing the evidence and it means providing the evidence and it means a ten day wait, a 10—day

period of grace for russia to respond. and i think that is a real response and something that the british really have to take into account. robert, what do you think will happen now? theresa may has to do something, doesn't she? she has to do something but she has to give the russians time, as mary hasjust been saying. there will not be more time now. the deadline has passed. that was the time. it was a unilateral deadline. it is understandable the british want a response, but was it seriously expecting the russians to... do you think she will now find some wriggle room to give them more time or will this mean the expulsion of diplomats, clamping down on russian money in london? i think what has to happen is that the british government has to come clean with

the british society as to what, in broad terms, it knows about what happened. why does it need to do that before they can do something? because we are not children. the british government the last time around with alexander litvinenko setup an enquiry which said that on the balance of probability, litvinenko was killed on the orders of vladimir putin. but that was it, there was no further information given, and this isn't a way that it is sensible to treat the british society and it is not a way to get credit with the russian society. so i think we need a broader scope for information and not to treat everything in this highly secretive way. it just

everything in this highly secretive way. itjust doesn't everything in this highly secretive way. it just doesn't work with russians. let me bring in anna if i may, deputy editor in chief of russia today, the russian state broadcaster. what do you think will happen now? well, in terms of the position of our channel and our position of our channel and our position in the uk, we are still remaining hopeful there will not be impacted. we have been operating as a good—faith broadcaster, abiding by the terms of the regulator within the terms of the regulator within the country, and covering vital stories, important stories. some people may not like our editorial line, but we have been a very important voice in the uk editorial landscape and we have even had politicians coming onto our channel 4 years as a way to reach their own constituencies. so it has been really disappointing to see that rte

was kind of mixed up into this conversation of state affairs and used almost as something to be sacrificed in this political game. it is very easy to score pr points right now, but i think it is absolutely wrong to attack rt. it also goes contrary to the principles of freedom of speech and freedom of the media. sorry to interrupt but do you trust that if you end up being taken off air, if you lose your license, it will be because you are not abiding by 0fcom rules? that you are not truly independent? this is the crux of the problem. 0fcom right now is reviewing our state is not based on any of the rules that we have broken, and in fact there have been no statement as such, but has referenced particularly the political statements made regarding our situation, mainly by prime

ministers theresa may. and that is what is really troubling. rt has re cord what is really troubling. rt has record with 0fcom that is better than many other uk broadcasters and until the statements made this week, our broadcast this week has been the same as it was before, so we would like to be judged on the merit of our output, not because of the political situation that has developed. if/ when britain make the decision to punish russia in some way, then they will retaliate. how? i would assume they would start with expelling diplomats who are working undercover at the russian embassy, so intelligence officers. and that writes a quid pro quo response immediately that we lose our people ina similar immediately that we lose our people in a similar status in russia, depriving us of a channel for information. if we impose further

economic sanctions, it's actually very difficult to see where those 90, very difficult to see where those go, because there are already economic sanctions because of crimea. they haven't the slightest effect on russia except to improve its agriculture sector. what we don't have in financial situations isa don't have in financial situations is a stop on russian money in london, some of which critics say is laundered. we haven't done anything about that yet? and you know way more than me but people said, that is the waiter had vladimir putin. more than me but people said, that is the waiter had vladimir putinm is the waiter had vladimir putinm is the waiter had vladimir putinm is the way the herd vladimir putin we should have done more for many years than we have done —— it is the way to hurt vladimir putin. we thought we had an advantage of russian capital being invested here. 0ne russian capital being invested here. one thing i think would have an effect is to ban rt. we should laugh at rt. it is a terrible tv animal.

the best way to treat it is to ridicule it and british people who go on to it should be made to feel ashamed. 0k, welll go on to it should be made to feel ashamed. 0k, well! am obviously going to ask anna to respond to that. people should laugh at you rather than take you off air. it is disappointing to hear that and busily i disagree with that point of view entirely. that said, i am sure if rte was taken —— if rt was taken off at, british media operators within russia would see a similar fate, as has already been indicated by the russian government. 0k, thank you all very much indeed. we will bring you the latest news and sport at 10am bring you the latest news and sport at10am and of bring you the latest news and sport at 10am and of course awful weather forecast just before at 10am and of course awful weather forecastjust before then. tv presenter and former strictly come dancing head judge len goodman wants

to stop the over 60s falling to —— falling victim to bank scams. specially designed courses are being offered at branches of santander to try to teach them what to look out for and stop them becoming victims of fraud. len, who is 73, got involved when his daughter—in law lost £16,000 through a cash point scam. good morning. how are you? please tell us what happened to your daughter—in—law. her scam was slightly different. it was a phone scam. the phone suddenly wouldn't work and what had happened was somebody had her phone... listen, the reason i got involved with this is because i am not tech savvy adult. somehow, her phone got planed and they downloaded all the information of her phone including bank details and taiwan and the upshot was she lost £16,000. the

thing is, this is mainly targeted at the over 60s, but by daughter—in—law, this shows that anyone... santander have got this scam avoidance school and they invited me to go along, which i did. what did you learn?|j invited me to go along, which i did. what did you learn? i learned so much. and what will you do differently now? the thing is, they tend to try to rush you and us older people, we tend to panic and we don't want anything wrong. if we get an e—mail, a phone call and people are trying to rescue along, don't listen. we don't like to be read, we don't like to switch off the phone. if people start to be rushed, you have got to think, no, something is wrong here. you know, don't be frightened to say, no. and then say,

well, i want to speak to one of my family. if they don't want that... it is always urgent, you know? what i like about what santander have done, next week, monday to friday, every sa ntander done, next week, monday to friday, every santander branch, all 800 of them... don't mention the bank name again. sorry. if you pop into any one of their branches, you can put your name down and go on the scam avoidance scheme. it is totally free, it lasts 45 minutes, you don't necessarily have to be a member of that bank. see what i did there? and although it is mainly aimed at older people, anyone can go along. do you know, age uk found that over 5 million over 60 guys feel they have been targeted. have been targeted,

by scammers? that is an extraordinary figure, it really is. so with all the goodwill in the world, it was such an eye—opener to me, even with your cash machines. you know, they put hidden cameras in there and get your pin number. the slot that you put your card and can be faked, even the whole front of the atm can be false. be faked, even the whole front of the atm can be falselj be faked, even the whole front of the atm can be false. i know, it is outrageous. you have got to be aware of that. please don't think, it is as much for me, i am doing my self a favour in hopefully helping others, so basically, all next week, every branch, just checking what time and date it will be, there were long, if you can't go along, there are leaflets a nd you can't go along, there are leaflets and things to explain all the points. and it is a serious

thing done in a very fun way. there's a quiz, there are jokes. it's a good bit of fun and a great way of hopefully those scammers, they target over 60s most of all. before you go, please can i ask you about sloan? what did you think —— cani about sloan? what did you think —— can i ask you about strictly? what did you think of shirley?” can i ask you about strictly? what did you think of shirley? i thought she did fantastically. when you step into someone's shoes after 12 years, if the nerve—racking process, but i thought you stayed true to herself, she gave good, constructive criticism. i thought she did a really good job. she has remained really good job. she has remained really tight—lipped about whether she will be back for the next series. the bookies have stopped taking money on view coming back. would you come back? well, i have

got 50 quid on myself. no, i had a wonderful time. i watched got 50 quid on myself. no, i had a wonderful time. iwatched it got 50 quid on myself. no, i had a wonderful time. i watched it as a viewer and it was a funny feeling. it was the right thing to do. it's a bit like if you split up with a girlfriend. you know you are not getting on... but you are still doing the american version and people called you a traitor for that. that gets on my wick, honestly. it is all to do with your contract. the bbc, your contract is manual. they can check you out, they can keep you. america, you are booked for four can keep you. america, you are booked forfour in can keep you. america, you are booked for four in a row. plus, why would i not want to go to los angeles in the middle of the winter? as my wife wants to come. that's a very good point. before you go, why has brendan cole left?” very good point. before you go, why has brendan cole left? i haven't spoken to brendan cole or shirley. i don't know. he was a really nice

quy: don't know. he was a really nice guy, i don't know. he was a really nice guy, i phoned up america for him to ta ke guy, i phoned up america for him to take over as a dancer, i read, but what it was, because that is nonsense, i do not know. in america, they have a pool of professionals and some are not on one season and then the next season, they come back, all you missed two. you know, it changes it up a bit. whatever the bbc do, god bless them, it is with the right decision. thank you very much. i went to mention santander. 0h, much. i went to mention santander. oh, you are so naughty. you get away with it though. you are so cheeky. c‘i : ir. mi nexti right, 7:7 bring. ,. . . right, 7:7 bring you . . right, 7:7 bring you the . . hour. right, let's bring you the webinar. thank you.

not a bad start for many across the day. this is the scene over the river tay in dundee, a lovely sunrise. conditions like that in the east, but in the west, outbreaks of rain and for many in the west, conditions like this through the day. this area of low pressure will be throwing in areas of rain throughout. strengthening winds, touching gale force in the west. it also drags in milder air across much of the country. after a chilly start in the east, sunshine in the east; sunshine avérhéad. in, , , w ,. f the west, in the east; sunshine overhead. in, , , w w f the west, staying. grey here, it and

south—east towards the end of tonight. chilly across eastern scotla nd tonight. chilly across eastern scotland and north england. here, we go into tomorrow with some of the brightest conditions and morning sunshine. some sunshine to start the day in west england and wales. heavy and thundery showers pushing in. a look at the rain. in northern ireland, the midlands and the

south—east, turning dry, rain pushes into southern england and southern scotla nd into southern england and southern scotland through the day. wintry flurries over the hills of scotland as well. tomorrow, 6 degrees in aberdeen. colder air pushes in across the north with a greater chance of snow on the hills. i don't have much positive things to say about motor neurone disease but it taught me not to pity myself and to get on with what i still could do. i'm happier now than i was before i developed the condition. professor stephen hawking — world—famous for his ground—breaking scientific work on black holes and for re—defining perceptions of people with disabilities — has died at the age of 76. we'll be assessing his impact and legacy. we'll be assessing his with kids was a

because of safeguarding concerns, they - worried, particularly, they were worried, particularly, what parents might think and stuff like that. this tweet saying that all children should be learning from both sexes, especially in the early stages of school life. so can —— some kids do not have a father figure, so can —— some kids do not have a fatherfigure, i'm shocked so can —— some kids do not have a father figure, i'm shocked at the prejudice that these men face. your experiences are particularly welcome. we will be talking more about that in the next hour. also... the government is spending £50 million to make more cohesive communities, will it make a difference? we have members of various different communities saying they have experienced various segregation. good morning. here's joanna gosling

in the bbc newsroom with a summary of today's news. britain's most famous scientist, professor stephen hawking, has died at the age of 76. hawking's fame came largely from his best—selling book, "a brief history of time" which outlined his theories about the universe. he had a brilliant career despite being diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 1964 and being told he had just a few years to live. professor hawkins's children have paid tribute to their father. in a statement, lucy, robert and tim said: "we are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today. he was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years. his courage and persistence with his brilliance and humour inspired people across the world. he once said, ‘it would not be much of a universe if it wasn't home to the people you love'. we will miss him forever." moscow has warned it will respond to any measures imposed by the british government after a soviet nerve agent was used in salisbury. the

kremlin has insisted that it is in no way connected to the poisoning of a former russian double agent sergei skripal and his daughter. theresa may is expected to announce a response today after chairing a meeting at the national security council. the 0utgoing us secretary of state, rex tillerson, who was fired by president donald trump yesterday, has described the poisoning as a "really egregious act... that "clearly came from russia" and there should be "serious consequences". much work remains to respond to the troubling behaviour and actions on the part of the russian government. russia must assess carefully as to how its actions are in the best interest of the russian people, and of the world more broadly. continuing on their current trajectory is likely to lead to greater isolation on their part. a situation which is not in any one's interest. five councils in england will be asked to draw up plans to improve community cohesion in their areas as pa rt community cohesion in their areas as part of wider proposals on

integration. 0ther proposals outlined in the government's integrated communities strategy green paper included teaching british values in schools, promoting the english language and for councils to provide language tuition to non—english speakers. women who have had breast implant surgery are being urged to make sure their details are registered. around a third of nhs clinics and a quarter of private ones offering the surgery in england have not sent any patient data to a national safety registry. nhs digital set up the service in 2016 to safeguard patients after the pip. scandal, when thousands of women received faulty implants. the university of mosul, in iraq — which was left in ruins by islamic state militants — is to begin re—stocking its library, with new books donated from the uk. it's believed that well over 100,000 manuscripts were destroyed or looted during the is occupation. a lecturer told the bbc he was so happy when the books arrived from britain, he danced.

that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 10.30. joanna, thank you. thank you for your messages about professor steven hawking. colin says a truly inspired man. a great ambassador for britain and his legacy will be far more than simply academic. simon said that this man inspired him to go into physics and into always wanting to be more and never giving up. he was a truly inspiring individual who will be sadly missed. never let down, always looked to the stars. —— never look down. colin on facebook says that he is disabled with ms, he has a similar attitude to his disability. he does not garner sympathy and he hates it when people pity him feel sorry for him. it rather they have compassion and understanding. i do not mind if someone asks me about my ms, i keep active. last year i had two—week holiday in cyprus on my

own. i don't think much about the future at all, live for the moment. and one more, this text says that they were a hairdresser in cambridge and the use to cut his hair. a wonderful and generous man, an honour and a privilege to have spent time with him. thank you to the bbc for all of the tributes to such a great man. thank you for those, keep them coming in. use the hashtag, you can text, whatsapp or use facebook. here's some sport now with hugh. manchester united manager jose mourinho says he "doesn't want to make a drama" of their champions league last 16 tie with spanish side sevilla... the first leg finished goalless in spain, and sevilla took control by scoring a crucial away goal with less than 20 minutes left. the spanish side put things to bed with a second soon afterwards, wissam ben yedder‘s second. manchester united fans won't be too pleased with mourinho's view that the 2—1 defeat‘s "not the end of the world." i sit in this chair twice in the champions league and i have

knocked out man united at home at old trafford. i sit in this chair with porto, man united out. with real madrid, man united out. so i don't think it's something new for the club. and of course, being manchester united manager and losing a champions league tie, at home, is a delusion, obviously. well, spurs and united are out — but can chelsea make it three english sides in the last eight? manager antonio conte says there will be moments his team ‘has to suffer‘ as they visit lionel messi and the spanish league leaders barcelona at the nou camp. it's finished 1—1 in the first leg. every single player wants to play this type of game against barcelona at the nou camp. you must be excited. a lot of my players have never played in this stadium, at the nou camp, but this is the first time and we want to try to do our best.

more good news for great britain at the paralympics. there's been another medal for great britain at the winter paralympics in pyeongchang. kate grey has the details. if you have been watching the paralympic games over the last few days, you know the names well, menna fitzpatrick and her guide, jen kehoe, have got their third medal of the games, to add to the silver and bronze that they won earlier this week. this time it was a silver medal in the giant slalom. they get two runs down the giant slalom course and in the first run, they managed to finish in second place as they move into the second run, they managed to maintain a silver medal position, just behind slovakian henrieta farkasova, who has dominated the class from day one here in pyeongchang. the british pair managed to safely negotiate their way around the winding course.

they were over the moon when they got to the end of their race. clearly thriving in this paralympic environment. this is theirfirst games, a brilliant achievement for them and hopefully much more to come. despite wet ground underfoot the sun was shining on the opening day of the cheltenhamn festival as buveur d'air took the big race on day one... the odds—on favourite — underjockey barry geraghty — was pushed all the way in the champion hurdle... by the seven to one shot melon, winning by barely a neck on the line. it means buveaur d'air retains his title and gives trainer nicky henderson his seventh winner in the race. the queen mother champion chase is the feature race today... coverage on radio 5live from 1pm. good morning. a brilliant and extraordinary mind, one of the great scientists of his generation. just one of thousands of tributes to professor steven hawking, who has died at the age of 76. the most talked about scientist since

einstein, he turned theoretical physics bestselling books, and changed perceptions of with disabilities and made quite a few cameo tv appearances. the british astronaut tim peake is among those who have paid tribute to professor hawking. he said... the stargazing live presenter dara 0'briain said;... and nasa said... joining me from our 0xford studio

is professor chris lintott, who presents bbc four‘s the sky at night and is a professor of astrophysics at oxford university. and chris james is the director of external affairs at the motor neurone disease association — he joins us via webcam from north london. and we're also joined by professor of extragalactic astronomy and head of physics at bath university carol mundell — speaking to us on webcam from bath. welcome to all of you, thank you for coming on the programme. chris, how would you assess what this man achieved? well, you have mentioned his work as a communicator. that was hugely important but even without that he was one of the greats of 20th—century physics. he told us for the first time with others that the big bang was a real thing. that it allowed the universe to start in

this hot and dense state, allowed by einstein's equations. he went on to explain a lot of the formula that surrounded black holes, the most mysterious objects in the universe. there are armies of people today following up on his insights that he gave us following up on his insights that he gave us over many following up on his insights that he gave us over many decades of productive physics. and carol, what would you draw from what he achieved? for me, it is the immensity of the theoretical physics and cosmology, the breadth of the problems he worked on. as chris said, these theoretical predictions, many of us will be designing experiments for generations to come to test. for me, working at the forefront of general relativity, physics on the largest scale, governed by gravity, combining physics and the tiniest scale with quantum mechanics come he was pioneering in working with these new theories and quantum gravity. we don't yet have a complete theory of quantum gravity. i think of him as an einstein of our time, really. i'm

getting messages from people like simon, for example. saying that they we re simon, for example. saying that they were inspired to go into physics because of him? it wasn'tjust the immensity of the physics that he was thinking about in how he approached his problems. mathematically he was very gifted but he was able to be very gifted but he was able to be very creative and think differently about the universe. turning that into a serial hypothesis. he was able to communicate the wonder of the universe, where he said do not look down at your feet, remember to look down at your feet, remember to look up at the stars. for me, he was a scientist. we don't talk about a disabled scientist or his disability, because it was not a disability. he was an eminent physicist. we were all rather in awe of him. he had incredible wit, and he was quite miss gb is with his wit. he was keen to travel into space as well and think about the

future of humankind. he used to mention that the fact that humans we re mention that the fact that humans were made of star stuff, and connected with the universe. but also our place on our planet, caring for it and thinking of the dangers of artificial intelligence. he was a great mind far in and beyond physics. chris james, from the motor neurone disease association, what did you think of his approach to his illness? he really was quite an extraordinary man. it is a sad day, he really wasn't defined by his motor neurone disease. he caught it ata motor neurone disease. he caught it at a very early stage in his life. he overcame many of the challenges that he faced. he understood that when he was diagnosed, he only had a few used to live, he was told. some people with it die with thin two years of diagnosis. but he was a brilliant man and a brilliant

physicist. he did a tremendous amount to raise awareness of mnd and to support the association. am getting messages from people with disabilities, who said that his approach inspired the way that they concentrated on what they could do their own what they couldn't do? he was very much like that, encouraging people to live their lives, and not be defined by their disease and to really try and achieve as much as they possibly could. and chris, something that brian cox said this morning that sticks in my head. in thousands of years, when we are long gone, people will still be talking about professor steven hawking.- arguing about his ideas, how he would have wanted it! he was brilliant at making connections, thatis brilliant at making connections, that is why his physics communicates to physicists. he has these great series, showing that they were

connected at a deep level. that is what he was doing in his communication as well. taking very a bstra ct communication as well. taking very abstract and theoretical work that he was doing and connecting it to everyday life. to the kinds of thoughts that we all, as humans, have as well as physicists. i think the greatness of his mind was in making those leaps and allowing the rest of us to follow along the bridges that he set out for us. it is amazing to see the connections between this two house and see that he was doing the same thing throughout. thank you all, we really appreciate your time. still to come... what can be done to help muslim communities integrate better into british society? community leaders share their views on a plan to help address if your child is under 5 — the chances of a man teaching them is very slim. the numbers of men working as early years teachers has always been low. in fact, for the past 20 years, it's been around 2 per cent of the total workforce in the sector.

there are currently around 25,000 job vacancies and the government has recognised how important men in early years can be to the children they teach. efforts have been made by small groups across the country to increase those numbers, and we've been given exclusive access to proposals being drawn up to advise the government about how they can help. chris hemmings reports. jamal campbell is a rarity. he's a member of the london early years foundation, and part of the just 2% of the teaching bid teachers under five who are male. he started teaching 16 years ago, and is still frustrated by how little status is given to his job. we deserve more. we deserve more because it is such an important profession, you know, we spend more time with their children than they do. and we're helping them

so when they go to primary school, when they go to secondary school, they've got the tools. yes, there is a lot of stigma based on negative stories that are out there about men in childcare, you know, and just children being at risk, men not being able to be nurturing, men not being able to work with children so small. james is just 23 years old, and injanuary this year, parents had him removed from a class on the first day of his very firstjob. because i was a man, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to work in early years, basically because of safeguarding concerns, they were worried particularly what the parents might think and stuff like that.

i was obviously shocked as you might expect, but also i had heard stories and rumours that this was the kind of thing you could kind of expect. as part of that early years strategy, the government set up a task force. its aim was to advise them on how to improve gender diversity. it is chaired by david wright, he runs paint box nurseries in southampton, and has helped set up a network of men in early years across the uk. we do have a problem attracting good staff, and 50% of the population are excluded from that because they are not interested, they don't know that they are welcome and there is a career for them they are. because it is mostly female staff working here, they do act in some sense as gatekeepers, and i think there is the whole issue around your sense of masculinity — what do you tell your friends down the pub that you're doing? despite that figure of 2% not having

changed almost 20 years, there are pockets across the country where those are improving and david and his team want that to improve across the country. let's talk to david wright — he runs paintpot nurseries in southampton and is chair of the government's taskforce on increasing the number of men in early years. june 0'sullivan's from the london early years foundation, who are today launching their strategy for increasing men in early years. shaddai tembo is head of the bristol men in early years network and imran hafeez is from the national literacy trust in bradford and works to encourage more men to get involved with the early years sector. welcome, all of you. i start with

this message from simon. i started my career as a nursery nurse/ teaching assistant when i was 16. i am now 33 and i am in early years teacher. so much has changed. i remember a comment from a teacher saying i must be a paedophile to wa nt to saying i must be a paedophile to want to work with young children. at the time, this mortified me and made me question my choice. however, i realised this was the very reason i needed to carry on, to challenge these damaging perceptions and to encourage other men to consider this career. let's cut to the chase, this is one of the issues that puts people off? absolutely. there is still a massive stereotype of men working in early years and it's been that way for a long time and is still the case now, which is why we are here today to promote the message that men working in early yea rs message that men working in early years is a good thing for boys and girls, to promote equality in wider society. how do we overturn that

worried for some parents, that misconception from some parents, that prejudice from some parents?|j suppose it is down to the representation that we have now in early years settings and education settings, for that to represent society as a whole so that when we go into early years settings that mono gendered monocultural, it is not representative of society. there has been a space for the debate to happen for many years where that has beena happen for many years where that has been a space for a father to be involved as well and over that change has happened. you wouldn't necessarily get the same attitude towards male teachers in primary or secondary schools, would you? as you come down the age groups in terms of education, you do see more concern and people express this as a sense of fear and and people express this as a sense offearand a and people express this as a sense of fear and a feeling they have that it's inappropriate for men to be

involved with children, the younger they are, and we do see that in primary schools. 55% of primary schools have no men in them and only about 14% of the workforce are mild air. and most men are often in leadership roles, not with younger age groups. this is madness. as we said in the introduction, 25,000 vacancies? i know. eight years ago we did research and we have only vacancies? i know. eight years ago we did research ar we; have only vacancies? i know. eight years ago we did research ar we hates only—r— g? a. need;