A nursery campaign group has called on Scotland's political parties to stop focusing on free childcare hours and commit to a 10-year plan to radically overhaul the system.

Fair Funding for our Kids has published a four-pledge manifesto ahead of the Holyrood election in May.

The group is coming to the end of its two-year campaign for improvements to the system.

The Scottish Government has pledged to increase free childcare for three and four-year-olds from 600 hours a year to 1,140 hours during the next parliament.

Other parties have also made pledges on the number of free hours which should be provided.

The group says this is "over-simplistic" because if families cannot use their free hours then they get nothing.

It estimates as many as one in five children miss out on their current legal entitlement to 600 hours.

It has also called for the parties to commit to a long-term strategy by bringing together the findings of reports on affordability, staffing and quality, and spending two years coming up with an overarching vision.

Further commitments called for by the group are capital investment needed to match the transformational plan, and an interim measure for children who require nursery places now.

Jenny Gorevan of the campaign said: "Experiences during our two-year campaign have reflected badly on policy delivery in modern Scotland.

"The childcare system is a mess. It needs a radical overhaul and a slogan jotted on the back of an envelope doesn't cut it."

She added: "Every party knows something needs to be done. We have won that argument.

"Our challenge now to the politicians is that they work together in the first two years of the parliament to develop a shared vision for the future of Scottish childcare and deliver it over 10 years. No single party gets the credit and no single party gets the blame."

A Scottish Government spokesman said planning is already under way for doubling the number of free hours, with local authorities, child minders and partner providers working in partnership "crucial" to the delivery of these additional hours.

"We are working closely with partners through the Early Learning and Childcare Strategic Forum to develop our plans to deliver a high quality, flexible system of early learning and childcare in Scotland," he said.

"Through the Children and Young People Act, we put flexibility on a statutory footing for the first time.

"Local authorities are now required to consult with groups of parents at least once every two years on patterns of childcare provision that would best meet their needs, which will introduce a greater level of flexibility and choice to the system as we work with local government to further develop and expand provision.

"Some local authorities have already started doing this. We have also agreed to look more closely at how we monitor and evaluate implementation of the policy."

Scottish Labour opportunity spokesman Iain Gray said: "SNP childcare policy is written to fit on an election leaflet rather than around the lives of working parents, and thousands of families miss out on their current entitlement.

"This can only get worse as the SNP budget will mean huge cuts to childcare services, including a 57% cut to the budgets to build more nurseries.

"Faced with a choice between these cuts and using the powers of the Scottish Parliament, Labour would use the powers and stop the cuts. Then we can start to plan for flexible, all age, year-round affordable childcare for all families."