Value-added staff

Hear, hear, Kate Rice! It is fantastic to hear somebody else consider issues of professionalism before issues of the balance sheet ('Make room for an extra pair of hands', Letters, 24 June). We have had supernumerary staff for several years now. Not only does it take a huge amount of pressure off staff who have paperwork to catch up on, it also means that our first line of defence during staff sickness is a permanent member of staff who knows all of the children, all of the parents and all of the routines.