Nursery World - In brief...Pre-school and out-of-school

Pre-school and out-of-school services in Wales are to benefit from an extra 1.5m in Government funding. Welsh health and social services minister Jane Hutt revealed that 500,000 will go to playgroups and out-of-school clubs this year for the purchase of equipment. Of 1m earmarked for next year, half will go towards the childcare strategy and half will be added to the play grant element of the Children and Youth Partnership Fund to provide facilities for older children. Ms Hutt said, 'I know the crucial value to children of the high quality play experiences provided by playgroups. Benefits include development of social skills, communication and co-ordination.' The new funding means 3.5m is being spent on the Welsh childcare strategy this year, while 5.05m is earmarked for 2002-2003. A report from the National Childcare Strategy Task Force is due to be heard by the Welsh Assembly's health and social services committee this week.

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