All-party group to champion Sure Start children's centres

By Joe Lepper Thursday, 11 March 2010

An all-party group of MPs has been launched to champion the work of Sure Start children's centres within Parliament.

Shout Out for a Sure Start

The move is part of a wider campaign by 4Children called Shout Out For A Sure Start, which is backed by Children & Young People Now and aims to promote the work of centres among families as well as share good practice.

The all-party group met for the first time this week and is chaired by Liberal Democrat MP Annette Brooke, with Labour's Caroline Flint MP and the Conservatives' family spokeswoman Maria Miller MP as vice-chairs.

Priorities identified at the first meeting included exploring ways to improve outreach work, involving parents in the running of centres and partnerships with local services.

4Children chief executive Anne Longfield said: "We know there is a lot of parliamentary support for children's centres across both Houses and this new all-party group will provide a way of channelling that commitment, alongside our recently launched Shout Out For A Sure Start campaign."

The campaign includes a website and Facebook group for supporters of children's centres to share concerns about funding cuts that are affecting centres in their areas and experiences of using the centres.