Professionals would back return to Sure Start, survey suggests

A poll of CYP Now readers reveals that 97 per cent of those who responded said they “would like to see a return to Sure Start for children and families” while just three per cent disagreed with the statement.

Sure Start is a UK-wide programme that was introduced to support children under four and their families in disadvantaged areas in 1998 under a Labour government.

• Risks of returning to Sure Start

• Recalling the impact and value of Sure Start should be seen as a resource

However, research carried out by the Early Years Alliance in 2022 found that over the last decade more than 1,000 children’s centres in England had closed.

CYP Now launched its survey following the publication of an article by Rob Wilson, Conservative MP for Reading East from 2005-2017 and former minister for civil society, which states that a review by the Social Mobility Commission “shows the flagship New Labour childcare scheme had little impact”.

He said the review found “discrepancies in the quality of provision across England” and a lack of “significant focus on cognitive and socio-emotional skills acquisition”.

Wilson added that Sure Start “failed to measure its impact on skills when assessing child outcomes”.

“If a future government decided to return to Sure Start as the blueprint for family and parenting programmes, it would be taking a risk. Instead, it should use the example of Sure Start as a reminder of the importance of designing family and parenting programmes around fixed, measurable outcomes – and understanding what parents truly need first,” he said.

However, a response to the article by Ray Jones, emeritus professor of social work at Kingston University, highlights that the Social Mobility Commission’s review “did not explore each of the many impacts of Sure Start in depth”.

He quotes the report as saying: “In the longer term, there have been several significant positive outcomes associated with Sure Start.”

“Recalling the impact and value of Sure Start should be seen as a resource rather than a risk in regaining so much of the ground lost for children and families during in the past 14 years,” Jones said.

Responding to the debate on LinkedIn, Carrie, a family court advisor, said: “The hub at the centre of a community, where staff understand the key disadvantage factors in that community, is valuable in terms of reducing need for more targeted services.”

Academic Michael Morton added: “There is much to learn from Sure Start, but I would argue that there is a risk that reintroducing this model will not necessarily mean that the lessons are learnt. It would be better to start with a review of this model in comparison with alternative approaches.”

The debate comes as the government rolls out its Family Hubs scheme in 75 local authorities in England alongside a further £12m investment for 12 local authorities to transition from Sure Start services to Family Hubs by next month.

• Would you support a return to Sure Start? Email your views to cypnow@markallengroup.co.uk, contact us on X @cypnow or search Children & Young People Now on LinkedIn