‘Good enough' children's centres are better than closed centres

Or that's what it seems like reading the Children & Young People Now Daily Bulletin. Nearly 20 years after Sure Start local programmes were first launched, the future for children's centres is in real doubt.

Over the years, around £10bn of public money has been invested by the government in setting up more than 3,000 children's centres, creating what was a brand new service for children and families offering help and advice on child and family health, parenting, money, training and employment within their local community - with some centres providing early learning and full-day care for pre-school children.

While important questions have been raised about their success in reaching out to the most disadvantages families, the best children's centres have pioneered really effective multi-agency working, bringing together a wide range of services and organisations around the concept of "progressive universalism", providing a continuum of support depending on need.