In its manifesto for the May elections, the party said its proposal, which had drawn on experiences in other countries, was aimed at improving attainment in the early phases of primary education and smoothing the transition between nursery and primary school.
It states, 'This full-time teacher-led year will equip children from all backgrounds with the skills they need to make a success of education and allow early intervention from a wide range of professionals for children who need extra help.'
The LibDems also want an extra 3,000 teachers to help reduce class sizes, and believe the anticipated fall in school rolls will help meet this goal.
Reducing class sizes is also a key element in the Scottish National Party's education proposals. The party wants a rolling programme, starting with children in deprived areas, to reduce all primary 1, 2 and 3 classes to 18 pupils within five years.
In its manifesto the Scottish Labour Party says it 'will create a well-balanced core curriculum, widen choice to include vocational training and reduce the current overload for five to 14-year- olds'. The SNP also calls for a 'comprehensive review of the five to 15 curriculum guidelines to place greater emphasis on basic skills', while the Lib Dems want the five to 14 system of national tests scrapped.
The Labour Party says it will build on the pilots of new community schools, which provide education, health and family services within a single school setting, insisting that every school in Scotland should adopt this approach by 2007. It also reaffirms a commitment 'to maintain free nursery places for every three- and four-year-old in Scotland, helping every child get off to the best possible start in their primary school'.
All Scottish local authorities have been under a legal duty to make a free part-time pre-school education place available for all parents who want one since April 2002, when it was estimated that 96 per cent of four-year-olds and 80 per cent of three-year-olds had taken up such a place. The Scottish Executive announced at that time that as pre-school education is not compulsory, it did not expect 100 per cent of children to attend but believed that places had now been provided for all children whose parents wanted them.
But the manifesto of the Scottish Conservatives claims this pledge has been broken. The Tories say they will provide parents with 'a flexible voucher which will give them the power to choose the nursery education best suited to the needs of their child, regardless of whether the preferred provider was run by a local authority or an independent provider'. The manifesto adds, 'Unlike the Executive's promise to provide access to nursery provision for all three- and four-year-olds, which has not been met and is the subject of pending legal actions, our voucher will guarantee either a full-time place for a four-year-old or a part-time place over a child's third and fourth years.'
Other proposals in the Labour manifesto include reform of children's services by cutting bureaucracy and simplifying funding, tough new inspection standards for child protection, the introduction of a Children's Charter to assist the most vulnerable and the appointment of a children's commissioner before the end of this year.
