Alfie is 7 months old now. His house training is going well. He is crated if left alone during the day in a large crate and doesnt soil it. When we are in the house he always ( well almost ) asks to go out by sitting at the patio door and pawing the glass if he needs to pee or poop. At night he sleeps in our bedroom in his own bed, no crate, and sleeps through the night. On the odd occassion he wants to go out he will cry at the bedroom door. 

We want to try and start leaving him out of the crate during the day. Today my sister in law forgot to lock the crate when she left and he got out. Needless to say we came back to pee, poop and a chewed jumper ( gate to upstairs left open as we thought he was in crate :( ) Can anyone advice us on how to progress to eventually not needing the crate and how to prevent the same happening that happened today ;) Do you think now is the right time to start, how do we start and any tips greatly recieved!

my staffy was crated until she was over a year old as she kept chewing wires and walls etc.  I did it in very short bursts at a time e.g. popping to shop, and gradually extended it.

I would start by leaving the cage open but restricting him to a single room such as the kitchen or utility area.  This will have the benefit of easy cleaning within a generaly safe environment but also they tend to get a lot less stressed out if they have a small area to patrol/look after or whatever it is that they think they are doing :-)   A restricted area means they are more settled and more likely to just sleep until you get back.

How long is he crated for? I think he does very well concidering he is left. 7months is still a baby. His bladder would not be fully grown.
To go too long without a wee will make his urine very strong and will not do his kidneys any good. He needs to be let out approx. every hour. Has he got toys chews and bones to keep him occupied ? It is quite normal for a puppy to get up to mischief if left up to his own devises. Don't leave thing around. Leave a radio on low. 
Do you take him a walk before he is crated and left. He may sleep a couple of hours. It depends how long he is left on his own.

Denese   

He is crated 1 - 4 hours max as me and my husband work shifts so we dont work the same hours. He does hold his bladder very well even when we are there. He always gets a good walk in the morning and evening and is left with plenty of toys and the tv on! Some days he isnt crated if we are off. He can hold it well over an hour now and that isnt a forced hold, he is free to ask when we are there to go out.

at 7 months i would expect a dog to go longer than an hour without needing to urinate. i take my dog to work with me, and his daily routine is, short walk in morning, pee and poo, then in my office area until lunch 12.30pm where i walk him for 45mins of my hour, then leave work at 4.30p, again out to pee, then a walk around 8pm at night with a final pee in garden at 11pm. he has hasd this routine since 4-5months.
with regards to the crate, i used it until 6 months at night, then gradually left him with door open in my hallway, then allowed access to my room, lower hall, ad finally living room. now at a year old he gets full run of house except kitchen as he is too greedy and determined lol.