Sure Start’s shaky start is shored up

Latest findings from the national evaluation of Sure Start show a reversal: the UK’s flagship programme for disadvantaged children and their parents seems to have started working.

Reported in The Lancet, the new findings contrast with evidence that emerged in 2005 which showed mixed results and led to arguments about the value of the programme, the integrity of the evaluation and the lack of useful relationship between the two.
 
The newer results indicate that children in Sure Start areas are showing significantly better social development, more positive behaviour and greater independence than those in comparable areas where the programem has yet to be introduced.
 
And the effects are not confined to children. The researchers from Birkbeck College at the University of London found that families in Sure Start areas are less likely to resort to negative parenting tactics, provide a better home learning environment and use other services for helping children and families more regularly.
 
In similar contrast to the 2005 results, which suggested Sure Start might actually be doing harm among some of the most disadvantaged populations, such as workless households, single parents and teenage mothers - the benefits being observed are now evenly spread.