Sure Start project proves its worth

06/03/2008 by Tony Attwood.

Children behave better and are more independent if they live in areas with Sure Start Children’s Centres, according to an evaluation report.

Other findings show that parents have more positive parenting skills and provide a better home learning environment for their children, helping prepare children to do well at school and make the most of their talents.

Sure Start Local Programmes (SSLPs) were set up between 1999 and 2003 in the most disadvantaged areas of the country. From 2003 onwards the Government began to introduce a universal programme of Sure Start Children’s Centres, and by 2006 all SSLPs became children’s centres.

There are now nearly 2,500 centres open, with almost two million families now benefiting from the range of services on offer. The core offer includes early learning and childcare, parenting advice, health services and help finding work or training. The Government is committed to having 3,500 children’s centres by 2010, one for every community, so that every child and family can benefit from the services on offer through Sure Start Children’s Centres.

The National Evaluation of Sure Start is based at the Institute for the Study of Children, Families & Social Issues, Birkbeck, University of London.

The evaluation shows that the positive impacts of Sure Start extended across all population sub groups including workless households, lone parent and teenage parent families. This is a significant improvement on the previous 2005 interim NESS report which found evidence of varied experiences for different groups.

The positive results are encouraging, given that other research shows that young children whose social development is enhanced, and whose family life is more nurturing and stimulating, perform better socially and academically as they grow up.

The new initiatives announced are: the BME guidance, a national network for centre leaders, a brochure of children’s centre services and a communications toolkit for children’s centres.

Funding for the additional two outreach workers at each centre in the 1500 most disadvantaged areas was announced last year as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review settlement. The review of practice on outreach work and funding to allow 5,000 practitioners to take up new training opportunities were included in the Children’s Plan, launched in December 2007.

NESS Impact Study followed up over 9,000 three year olds and their families in 150 SSLP areas who were initially studied when the children were nine months old in the first stage of the Study. This fieldwork was undertaken between April 2005 and July 2007. The data collected from these children and families have been compared with data from the three year olds who participated in the Millennium Cohort Study (between September 2003 and April 2005) who resided in similar areas not receiving SSLPs in order to evaluate the effects of SSLPs on child and family functioning.

The research found there were positive benefits associated with living in areas served by SSLPs for three year old and their families.

Children in SSLP areas:

• Exhibited more positive social behaviour
• Exhibited greater independence / self-regulation
• They were also more likely to have received the recommended immunisations and less likely to have had an accidental injury in the year preceding assessment but these two outcomes may be due to factors other than Sure Start.

Parents residing in SSLP areas:

• Provided their children with a better home learning environment
• Exhibited less negative parenting
• Reported greater use of support services

The SSLP effects for positive social behaviour appeared to be a consequence of the SSLP benefits upon parenting.

The report discusses the evaluation methodology and in particular methodological differences between this NESS report and the earlier, 2005 interim report. The evaluation cannot entirely rule out that variations in methodology may explain some of the differences seen between the latest results and the earlier findings. The authors point out, however, that the 3 year olds participating in the latest study have been exposed to more mature and better developed local programmes throughout their early lives and that this is reflected in the positive findings. In particular, the government acted on previous evidence and placed a much clearer focus on providing high quality services, focused on improving outcomes for children.

It can be downloaded at: http://www.surestart.gov.uk/events/newsevents/whatsnew/index.cfm?news=322
and http://www.surestart.gov.uk/research/evaluations/ness/nesspublications/

There is a manifesto commitment that by 2010 there will be 3,500 Sure Start Children’s Centres, one for every community, so every child and every family can benefit from the services on offer through centres.

Lists of Sure Start Programmes are available from Hamilton House Mailings (01536 399 000)

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