AN EDUCATION minister has visited Leigh as part of a campaign to champion longer opening hours for nursery care.

Minister for Education and Childcare, Elizabeth Truss dropped into Little Rainbows Nursery on Guest Street on Thursday to promote the benefits of being open from 8am until 6pm.

She said: “Being open from 8am to 6pm helps support working parents and makes really good use of the school’s resources. This is one of the things that I’m really keen to promote nationally and it’s great to see that this part of the country is a real leader.

“Schools like this school are doing it and are making it work for children and you can see not only are children learning, it’s also helping parents with their childcare, it is provided at an affordable rate to parents and that’s really fantastic to see.

“What schools have told me is that it really helps the children’s vocabulary and their communication so when they get into the school they do really well and they can fly.”