PLANS for a ten-hour opening day for all primary school age children have been welcomed by a town-based educational care scheme.

The initiative, unveiled last Wednesday by education secretary Charles Clarke, would mean that all first schools could eventually be made to stay open from 8am to 6pm.

The Quality Extended School Team (QEST), which offers pre and after-school care for primary school children in Bromsgrove, believes the plans are much-needed and welcomed the move to help working parents.

"We all welcome the idea because parents who work carry enough guilt as it is," said Denise Phelps, a nursery manager who co-runs QEST.

"From what we've seen and heard from parents, there is a great need in Bromsgrove for child care before and after school."

QEST currently works in conjunction with Stoke Prior First School, on Ryefields Road, offering a breakfast club, which runs from 7.30-9am, after-school care until 6pm and a holiday club outside of term time.

Under the proposed plans, Worcestershire County Council would have to open at least one extended school by the end of next year. Although nationally, two-thirds of all schools already offer some kind of care.

It is hoped all primary schools in the country will eventually offer the additional care.

For QEST, the move is a step in the right direction. "It is important parents know their children are in a safe, happy environment having fun," said Denise.