An expansion of early-years provision for pre-school children will be at the heart of the five-year plan set out by Charles Clarke, the Education Secretary.
Funding for the Sure Start initiative will increase by £669 million to £1.9 billion by 2008 and the number of children’s centres, which combine education, health, and social services for the poorest fifth of council wards, will rise from 67 to 1,700.
A capital programme aims to ensure that every secondary school is either refurbished or rebuilt by 2015.