Speaking at the Scottish National Party spring conference in Glasgow last week, Mr Salmond said that from September 2014, all three- and four-year-olds will be entitled by law to at least 600 hours a year of nursery provision.
The expansion of free nursery provision from 475 hours to more than 600 hours a year is expected to be included in the party's Children’s Bill next year.
The SNP leader said, ‘We have long cherished the ambition to increase pre-school education. In our first term we moved it from 412 hours to 475 hours free pre-school per annum, benefiting 100,000 children a year.
‘Now we intend to move further and to place it in statute so that families in every part of Scotland can share in the benefit.
He went on to say that Scotland will offer the best package of free nursery education anywhere in the UK - in England, parents are entitled to 570 hours of free nursery education per annum.
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, said, ‘NDNA Scotland is pleased that free nursery education is being extended in Scotland to enable more children to benefit from this. Early years education leads to better long-term outcomes for children and families and it is excellent news that this is being recognised and that investment is being made in early years.
‘It is important however that local authorities allow parents to choose to send their child to a high quality nursery of their choice which best suits their needs and the needs of their child and helps them balance family life with work commitments. It is also vital that the right level of funding is reaching nurseries to enable them to offer these places at a sustainable level and to continue to provide high quality provision.’