Sure Start shown to improve outcomes for children

The report, published today by Birkbeck University, compared 6,000 three-year-olds and their families from 93 disadvantaged Sure Start areas with 2,000 of their peers from 72 similarly deprived areas.

Its first evaluation in 2005 revealed Sure Start was not succeeding in supporting children and families in the most disadvantaged areas of England. But the latest research showed that in five out of 14 outcomes, such as language development, positive and negative social behaviours, and independence, children in Sure Start areas were doing better.

Professor Jay Belsky, director of the Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues at Birkbeck University, said: "These results provide cautious optimism that the Sure Start local programmes and especially the transition to children's centres is positively affecting some of the most economically disadvantaged and socially excluded children and families in England."

The National Evaluation of Sure Start will report to the government again in mid- to late 2009.