children’s centres

A six-year study by Oxford University researchers has highlighted how children’s centres – known as Sure Start – were making a difference in some of the poorest areas of the country, but have suffered acutely from cuts or restructuring.

The final report was agreed in August, but the Department for Education (DfE), which commissioned it, held back publication for months before apparently quietly slipping it out on 17 December, along with hundreds of other statements, documents and reports. The DfE indicated that the delay was caused by the large volume of work associated with the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. The study is the most detailed ever conducted into the impact of children’s centres on the families who use them. The researchers examined 117 children’s centres in 2011 and 2013 – many of which may have been hit by further cuts since – and analysed interviews with more than 2,600 parents who used them, in order to calculate the impact the centres were having on families using different types of service. The report identified various benefits for mothers and families who regularly attended children’s centres in poorer areas: improved mental health for mothers, better relations between parents and children, a less chaotic home life and enhanced home learning environments. In all cases, the impact was greater in centres with improved funding than in those with budget cuts. Professor Pam Sammons, who led the research, said: “It’s sad that as findings emerge of the way in which children’s centres can have positive effects to help ameliorate some of the impact of social disadvantage, the services are being cut across the country.”