The Government's push for the Sure Start initiative to become a national programme, built around children's centres without area boundaries, has provoked fierce debate. However, Newham council, in east London, has spent the past two years quietly rolling out a new joined-up service for children under five across the whole borough.
As a result this service, which is being managed by the council's early years and childcare team, includes the borough's previously independent Sure Start partnerships. According to Janet Hicks, head of early years and childcare at Newham, it's a bold move as "we did it before we were asked to".
She admits, however, that it's not always been easy and says that even the Department for Education and Skills was initially sceptical of the council's plans. "The department said we could only extend Sure Start to cover the whole borough if we got the agreement of all the boards," explains Hicks. "But I don't think they thought we would."
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
