Childcare has been a defining policy area for this Labour Government and is now regarded as the mother of all issues by the major political parties.

This is one reason why today’s report by Ofsted on the childcare and early education provision experienced by 1.7 million children deserves careful attention.

It is heartening that the report reveals significant improvements in early-years services over the past three years. While fewer than 80 per cent of registered settings met national standards in 2005, now almost all do (97 per cent) and two thirds (60 per cent) are good or outstanding.

But the failings identified in out-of-school care are a cause for concern. Good quality needs to be maintained from the nursery and into the after-school clubs attended by hundreds of thousands of children. It is particularly important for those who now, under the Government’s “extended services” umbrella, spend up to 50 hours a week at school – first in breakfast clubs, then in lessons and finally in after-school childcare.

The fall in standards among childminders is equally worrying, not least because they provide one fifth of all childcare in England.

Research suggests that childminders do best where local authorities have concerted programmes to drive up standards, but such provision is slowing down in some areas and needs to be stepped up again. There is also serious cause for concern over national variations in childcare. Services are generally poorer where families experience high levels of deprivation.

The Sure Start programme was supposed to eradicate these social differences by providing working-class children with the same opportunities as the middle classes.

Yet, as Maria Millar, the Tory families spokeswoman, points out, despite spending £3 billion a year on early years, the Government is still failing to reach the most needy families.

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