Nick Clegg was the guest at a nursery in Colchester today as he launched the government's new childcare scheme.
The Deputy Prime Minister met with staff at the Busy Bees in Severalls Park amid coalition plans to introduce free care for 2,600 eligible two-year-olds.
He said: "I just want to make sure that the children in this area know they will be able to have access to childcare that will enable them to be ready for school.
"High quality early learning can make a huge difference to children at the start of their lives."
But the visit came after it emerged the Liberal Democrats have threatened to block government plans to change adult to child ratio limits.
Currently, the ratio is one adult per four two-year-old, with proposals to increase this by two in September.
Mr Clegg added: "The reason I expressed reservations about this is that the evidence wasn't very strong and the response from experts and from parents who gave concerns about this approach."
Lib Dem Colchester MP Sir Bob Russell also attended the visit and expanded on the coalition government's proposals:
