The Government's decision to mainstream the Sure Start programme hascaused disquiet in a number of quarters and for a variety of reasons -from the speed at which local authorities must hit the target of 3,500children's centres to the amount of money allocated for the buildingprogramme.
However, one major worry for practitioners on the ground, despiteGovernment assurances to the contrary, is that these new centres won'treplicate Sure Start's success in involving parents.
"Listening is important, but responding is equally important," pointsout Helen Kara, social researcher and director of We Research It, whohas been working with Sure Start programmes and children's centres since2000, with a strong emphasis on encouraging parental involvement. "Realresponsiveness means being willing to let parents lead, even when thisseems like a risk, and being willing to let them get it wrong. SureStart encouraged this to begin with, but it's not so easy in the currentclimate because there is a fear that children's centres will be a localauthority-controlled, under-resourced initiative."
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