The Everyone's Welcome guidance gives examples of good practice in areas such as outreach work, targeting of services, overcoming language barriers and inclusive staffing to help centres work better with ethnic minority families.
Children's minister Beverley Hughes said: "Children's centres play a valuable role in reaching out to ethnic minority families but we know this is not an easy thing to do."
The guidance, launched last week, also suggests employing family support workers for the groups centres want to target and emphasising the educational benefits of Sure Start centres to get families involved.
The latest National Evaluation of Sure Start identified black Caribbeans as the only ethnic group to experience a negative effect on social behaviour from involvement with children's centres. However, Professor Edward Melhuish, executive director of the evaluation, said: "This could well be a chance effect."
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
