Nursery World - Blair pegs provision to schools' hours

Childcare was at the forefront of the political agenda last week as both the Labour and the Conservative parties pledged to increase provision and give parents more choice in the run-up to the next general election. The prime minister himself took to the podium at the Daycare Trust's annual conference in London to announce the Government's plans for childcare for parents of school-age children and a move towards universal childcare for those from nought to 14 by the end of a Labour third term.

The prime minister himself took to the podium at the Daycare Trust's annual conference in London to announce the Government's plans for childcare for parents of school-age children and a move towards universal childcare for those from nought to 14 by the end of a Labour third term.

Tony Blair told the delegates, 'Today and over the next few weeks we will publish detailed, costed steps to expand the choices and services available to every parent and to ensure every child has the best start in life.'

Mr Blair said that during the next Parliament there would be before- and after-school care available to all primary school children, with schools open from 8am to 6pm throughout the year. By 2008 a third of secondary schools would be extended schools with activities for children aged 11 to 14.

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