THE Scottish Government aims to spend £880 million per year providing free childcare by the end of the decade, Nicola Sturgeon has revealed in a wide-ranging speech on the power of education.

For the first time, the First Minister put a price on previously announced plans to extend the amount of free nursery care to 30 hours per week, matching the time children spend in primary school, if the SNP win next year's Holyrood election.

The £880million cost is double the £439million the Scottish Government will spend in the coming financial year providing three- and four-year-olds with 600 hours of care.

Delivering a lecture to the David Hume Institute in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon said: "Early learning and childcare promotes opportunity twice over.

"It enables parents to enter the workforce now and provide a better standard of living for their children, and it helps all children to make the most of their potential later in life.

"It's one of the best investments any government can possibly make.

"In my view, it is central to any enlightened view of what modern Scotland should look like and that is why it is such a driving priority of my government."

She said Scotland must be a "land of opportunity for young people".

Scottish Conservative young people spokeswoman Liz Smith said: "The SNP is under huge pressure on this issue not least because so many parents are angry that they cannot source the nursery provision and childcare they want, and the first thing she should do is explain what this announcement means and where the money is coming from.

"It is very likely that this new announcement is a direct response to the very revealing statistics that there simply aren't enough nursery and childcare places in Scotland despite the very firm promises made by the First Minister and her predecessor eight years ago."

A Scottish Labour spokesman said:

"Even when you've heard it for about the third time it is still welcome news that more money is to be invested in childcare.

"It's all the more welcome as Scots had originally been told this could only happen if we voted for independence."

Ms Sturgeon's speech came as the SNP welcomed a poll suggesting the party was trusted on education.

Asked which party "do you trust the most with Scotland's education system," 40 per cent of voters said SNP; 17 per cent Labour; nine per cent Conservative and three per cent Lib Dem.

The Survation poll of 1011 Scots aged over 16 was conducted for the SNP between February 12 and 17.