New research proves beyond doubt the incredible popularity of Sure Start.
The Department for Education’s own Evaluation of Children’s Centres in England clearly shows that the overwhelming majority of users strongly value Sure Start services.
The evaluation surveyed over 5,000 registered users of Phase 1 & 2 Children’s Centres in England. It collated reams of fascinating information about the nature of the families and children that use Sure Start, including their levels of health, housing and educational development.
But the most interesting section concerns “Parents’ Use & Views of Children’s Centres.” This shows that 49% of users were “very satisfied” and 29% were “fairly satisfied” with their Children’s Centres. 22 Sure Start services were covered by the Evaluation; the proportion of users rating them “very” or “fairly helpful” hit 100% for some services and was never lower than 88%.
This is politically neutral analysis which backs up one of Labour Friends of Sure Start’s key messages: families trust Sure Start and they believe in it.
It is scandalous that the Government is slashing a service which is not only incredibly effective, but incredibly popular.
Labour Friends of Sure Start 