Clarke reiterates vision for affordable childcare and wrap-around care

Education secretary Charles Clarke outlined the
government’s plans for wrap-around care at the Labour Party
conference this week, writes Clare Jerrom in
Brighton
.

Building on Tony Blair’s earlier promises, Clarke pledged
that primary schools would offer education and childcare from 8am
until 6pm all year round.

The education secretary highlighted that this would give
children “a genuinely exciting choice of learning, sports and
culturally activity and families can make the best choice to
balance their home and working lives”.

But earlier this month, visitors to www.communitycare.co.uk
had mixed feelings to whether they would use wraparound care with
53% saying they would and 47% claiming they would not.

Speaking in Brighton this week, Clarke also promised to create
across the county, “a seamless system of high quality,
flexible and affordable childcare for under fives”.

By the end of the next parliament there would be a childrens
centre in every local community.

Clarke warned that failure to education effectively carried a
personal, social and economical cost demonstrated by the fact that
over half of those sent to prison have no qualifications.

He concluded by offering “a crusade to give every child,
whatever their background, a good start in life and to give every
parent, wherever they live, flexible, affordable, quality
childcare”.

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