THE OBSERVER

Every primary school in the country will eventually open from 8am to 6pm in a bid to help working parents and boost pupils' health by providing good food and exercise.

It is the most radical change in the school day since the government introduced the numeracy and literacy hour in 1997.

Education Secretary Charles Clarke will announce the plan for 'wrap-around' extended schools at a conference for the charity 4Children on Wednesday. The Department for Education and Skills will help fund 1,000 primary schools to offer a total childcare package in the next four years.

It has already released funding for 250 fully operational wrap-around schools, which will be set up by 2006.

Two-thirds of schools offer some kind of out-of-hours support for parents, but Clarke wants to make the provision consistent. Schools will now offer extra sports and art activities, family learning and parenting classes as well as childcare and extra study support for pupils.

Anne Longfield, chief executive of 4Children, says: 'This is the big one. Schools and parents are in love with the concept. It maximises the potential of children in a way that enables parents to go out to work. It is redesigning what a school is for.'

Meanwhile, a fresh attempt to make schools healthier places by encouraging children to learn more about food and how it is produced will be announced tomorrow when Clarke launches his 'blueprint' for broader education about diet and exercise. It follows criticism over the poor quality of school meals, the introduction of vending machines offering fizzy drinks and chocolate, and the selling off of playing fields and the lack of opportunities for sports.

The obesity rate among children, which has risen threefold in the past 20 years, is partly blamed on their increasingly inactive lifestyle. Internal battles between ministers about the advertising of food and the role of school sports, along with their fears of being labelled a 'nanny state', have led to accusations that they have failed to act quickly enough to protect children.

Tomorrow's blueprint sets out plans to teach more about nutrition and about the production of food. But critics will say Clarke should have gone further, by outlawing vending machines in schools and banning any educational material from food companies, such as Cadbury.

Also today, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists will present new evidence of the risks facing children. The society is worried that parents don't make the link between bad habits in childhood and later illnesses. Heart disease, osteoarthritis, and kidney and liver problems are all associated with obesity and a lack of mobility.

Janice Clark, a paediatric physiotherapist, says: 'Many children still lack knowledge about the dangers of obesity and the nutritional value of food, and they know little about good simple ergonomics, such as how to sit at a computer or when doing homework.'

The society warns that parents need to do far more to help their children remain active, and to talk to them about diet.