Schools secretary Ed Balls said parents would benefit by being able to leave their children at school clubs or in childcare earlier in the day and later in the evening.

Results will improve as pupils attend homework clubs or extra catch-up classes when they are falling behind, he said. But most importantly children will get more opportunities to have fun.

"You cannot raise standards and close achievement gaps without focusing on all the needs of every single child," said Mr Balls.

"Extended schools help families juggle work and home life by giving parents greater flexibility and providing learning and parental support.

"But above all they give children the chance to take part in fun activities - they can practise sports, learn a musical instrument, have drama classes or simply catch up on their homework. All children should have the chance to learn new skills and have fun out of school hours - and extended schools will give them those opportunities."

Every school will be a so-called "extended school", open from 8am to 6pm, by 2010 under the scheme. The plan was first announced under Tony Blair, who said he wanted to end the culture of "latch key kids" returning to empty homes after school.

But some teachers have voiced concern that children will be deprived of contact with their parents, undermining family relationships. More than 5,000 - or one in five - schools already offer some extended services, such as breakfast clubs.

Mr Balls said £1.1 billion will fund capital projects. This is on top of the £265 million extended school subsidy scheme to ensure that children from poorer families can take part when fees are charged.

Under the plan, all schools will offer study support, "wraparound" childcare from 8am to 6pm, parenting advice, easy access to specialist services like speech therapy, and community use of facilities such as computers. The money will also fund an extra one hour per week of teacher-led academic study support for pupils in about a quarter of secondary schools.