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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.

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.

Over the coming months, Nursery World will be analysing in detail all the ingredients of the strategy and the implications for the early years and childcare sector.

Initial impressions are that there is little firm information about the amount of funding and the mechanisms for delivery, there is still a reliance on demand-side tax credits to increase provision, and that there is little to reassure us that a high-quality expanded workforce can be found. But undoubtedly, it is an historic strategy.

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