Education secretary Ruth Kelly revealed more details of the pilots on Tuesday as part of the ten-year childcare strategy implementation plan. Ms Kelly also confirmed that there are now more than 800 designated Sure Start children's centres.
Free childcare and nursery education will be offered to families in areas of disadvantage, determined locally, with the aim of reaching up to 12,000 children.
Most local authorities will offer a seven-and-a-half-hour a week place, with no more than two-and-a-half hours a day.
The aim is to increase the take-up of the free nursery education entitlement for three- and four-year-olds by involving families earlier and in areas where participation has been low.
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