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Plans to triple the number of free childcare hours in Wales

Plaid Cymru has pledged to increase free early education from 10 to 30 hours a week for all three- and four-year-olds in Wales if it wins the Assembly election next year.

Under the proposal, launched ahead of the 2016 Welsh Assembly election, all children from the age of three would be entitled to an initial 15 free hours of childcare, before rising to 30 hours a week.

Parents could take up the hours at private and voluntary early years settings as well as schools.

Plaid Cymru would invest an additional £100m over ten years to deliver the policy.

Currently, three- and four-year-olds in Wales receive 10 hours of free childcare a week. Children aged two to three from the most disadvantaged families are entitled to 12.5 hours under the Flying Start programme.

Plaid Cymru says its proposals could save parents around £100 per week and help close the attainment gap between children from advantaged and disadvantaged families, as well as help parents return to employment or take on more work.

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