When Ian Everitt (In My View, 1 April) wrote to the Government and asked why the early years was not seen as a profession, a civil servant told him it was not a graduate profession. We early years professionals all know it is not a graduate profession - but it deserves to be counted as one. We also know what the job of childcare involves and that it is not a job for the fainthearted.
Nursery nurses are seen by many people in society as being the equivalent of mothers, doing the job of caring for children for love, not money.
Britain needs to do more if it wants to keep these amazing people - who have most likely gone on to develop their qualifications in their own time and with their own money to do very intense courses.
But while studying, nursery nurses won't - and don't - stop caring for young children, giving them a solid foundation, wide experiences, acceptance, love and food. Only when wider society acknowledges the value of nursery nurses and what we do for millions of children will we feel that our job is justified. If we were all paid a better wage and recognised for what we do, then perhaps morale would be higher within the profession.
I finished my training in 1997 and during the seven years that I worked as a nursery nurse I felt that Margaret Hodge, now minister for children, helped to make childcare a very exciting profession to be in. But the Government needs to recognise that the job of nursery nurse is not what it was 40 years ago, as nowadays it seems to be more that of a teacher of young children rather than their carer.
I feel the pendulum has swung too far in the direction of education rather than care. We are required to be carers and educationalists at the same time, and this is too much for some of us to take on. But those who do it well deserve recognition and a salary to match.
When working as a nursery nurse I stood in as room leader when someone went on holiday. But I found this job too pressurised as I felt overloaded with information, paperwork and high expectations. I realised that I preferred to work alongside children instead and so have left to train as a teaching assistant.
Alice Tims Hove, East Sussex
