Educational impact of children's centres 'impossible to measure', Zahawi claims
Neil Puffett
Friday, February 23, 2018
It is impossible to measure whether services provided by children's centres improve educational outcomes, children's minister Nadhim Zahawi has said.
Speaking in parliament, Zahawi said there are too many variables involved to know for certain whether children do better at school as a result of accessing Sure Start provision.
"Due to the wide range of services that affect educational outcomes for young children, it is not possible to draw a causal link between children's centre services and a child's educational attainment."
Zahawi made the comments in response to a parliamentary question from Labour MP Dan Carden who asked what assessment he has made of the effect of the closure of Sure Start children's centres on the school readiness of children in Liverpool.
More than 1,000 children's centres across the country have closed or been downgraded since 2010.
But Zahawi said that outcomes for children in Liverpool have in fact improved in the past seven years.
"Early Years Foundation Stage Profile results show that the proportion of young children achieving a good level of development at age five has increased across Liverpool since 2010," he said.
He added that: "If a council decides to close a children's centre, statutory guidance is clear that they should demonstrate that local children and families would not be adversely affected and local areas continue to have sufficient children's centres to meet their needs.
As part of Sure Start funding arrangements, local authorities are required to notify the DfE of proposals to "dispose of or change the use of buildings or assets funded wholly or partly through Sure Start capital grants", and must provide details of the level of early years services that will continue.
The DfE then decides whether the council is continuing to provide a sufficient level of early years services to meet the original aims of the grant. If it decides they are not, it is able to reclaim capital funding.
Money has been clawed back from just four councils - Leicestershire County Council, Wiltshire County Council and Northamptonshire County Council and Sandwell Council - since 2013.
A consultation on the future of children's centres was announced by former childcare minister Sam Gyimah in July 2015. At the time Gyimah said the government would launch an open consultation on the future of children's centres in autumn 2015, but it is yet to take place.
