Sir, – I could not agree more with Eileen McDermott ("Ready for school?" February 22nd).
If we are to be serious about providing high quality pre-school services for our children, we need to ensure that proper salary structures and contracts are introduced for the many highly qualified professionals working in our pre-schools and Montessori schools.
Most debates on our so- called “childcare crisis” concentrate on the cost of childcare to parents, and neglect the fact that the staff providing this very important service are working for as little as €11 to €13 an hour, on 10-month contracts.
Surely the people that we entrust with the early education of our three-year-old and four-year-old children deserve the same rights and protection as those who take over their care, one year later, ie their primary school teachers and special needs assistants. – Yours, etc,
MARY O’MALLEY,
Dublin 3.