Sure Start worked. The network of holistic, community-based services for under-fives launched by the Labour government in 1998 delivered long-term benefits for those children. The latest research is not the first to demonstrate this. But the finding of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) that young people from low-income households who grew up near a Sure Start centre saw an average improvement of three GCSE grades offers some of the most dramatic proof of success to date.
It also places beyond doubt that the policy achieved its aim of helping children from poor backgrounds. The first phase, until 2003, was when investment was most tightly targeted at disadvantaged areas, with outreach and family health part of the typical centre’s remit. These are the interventions that the IFS suggests are linked to the best results. As well as improved GCSE grades, this cohort had less need for additional learning support as teenagers. Earlier diagnosis of special educational needs and disabilities appears to have led to better outcomes later on. Positive effects were particularly pronounced for children from minority ethnic backgrounds.
