Editor's view

At last the ten-year strategy for childcare has been unveiled by Chancellor Gordon Brown (see News, page 4). The 90-odd pages of Choice for parents, the best start for children contain much of interest, and quite a few proposals that haven't been flagged up before. There are increases in the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit, planned extensions to the amount of free nursery education offered to three- and four-year-olds, and the proposal for all managers of daycare settings to be qualified to graduate level.