The proposal is outlined in ‘Balanced Working Life’, a paper written for the upcoming Autumn Conference, which also proposes extending the free entitlement and the introduction of a month-long block of paternity leave.
Only 46 per cent of local authorities in England feel that they have sufficient childcare to accommodate full-time employed parents; a figure that shrinks to only 12 per cent when considering parents with atypical shift patterns.
To encourage longer opening hours, the Lib Dems will recommend that Ofsted not award ‘outstanding’ unless the availability of flexible hours to parents is high.
The paper suggests that children and family centres and full daycare nurseries should open for 10 hours a day to accommodate parents who work outside the normal 9 to 5 shift patterns.
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