Sure Start

Sure Start Children Centre is an initiative started in the late 1990s by the New Labour Government. The goal of the centre is to eradicate inequalities surrounding health, attainment and social capital for disadvantaged children and their families. Sure Start Centre encourages a joined-up approach of services for young children under one roof.

By 2010, the Government aimed to have a local Sure Start Centre in every community. However, Sure Start numbers are currently on the decline with many centre's facing closures. The media suggests hundreds of centres have already closed down.

Despite the closures, evidence released in June 2019 suggests that Sure Start centre's have reduced hospitalisation of young children. The centres are considered beneficial for children and their families within each community.

So why the closures?

Is this all down to financial cuts? Has the Government lost focus, with early years no longer a priority on their agenda?

On the other hand, is it actually that these children and families are provided with new support through initiatives such as free entitlement to childcare?

These are the current issues being debated with the Early Years Childhood Studies programme here at the University of Bolton. We welcome your views and experience of this subject, which inform the enjoyable daily discussions in our seminars.

If you find this, an interesting topic read more about here. 

Paula Walsh (Lecturer)

Early Years Childhood Studies (BA)