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The Latest Breaking News from Sure Start

Momentum to revive Sure Start is long overdue – it’s been a lifeline for my son and me

The early years service stayed open in my area as many others closed. A recommendation to restore it across England is long overdue, says Guardian columnist Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

The Guardian - UK · Jun 1, 2025

Future of world-renowned children’s centre in hands of Reform UK

Pen Green, a model for Labour’s Sure Start, could face closure if Reform-led North Northamptonshire council fails to act

The Guardian - UK · May 30, 2025

Delaying child poverty plan until autumn budget is ‘right call’, says Brown

Delay has caused anxiety among MPs, but former PM says ministers need time to secure funding for flagship strategy

The Guardian - UK · May 27, 2025

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

By delaying its child poverty plan, Labour has a chance to reverse 15 years of inequality

As a former chancellor, I know this challenge can only be met in a budget. But Starmer and Reeves must not waste their chance, says former UK prime minister Gordon Brown

The Guardian - UK · May 27, 2025

UK child poverty taskforce set to recommend return of Sure Start scheme

Despite praise for Sure Start from some in the Labour party, there are also concerns that resuming the service would be difficult and costly

The Guardian - UK · May 25, 2025

Sure Start centres generated £2 of financial benefits for every £1 spent, study finds

New Labour initiative created ‘remarkably long-lasting’ health and education improvements, says report

The Guardian - UK · May 21, 2025

We should celebrate Labour’s good news on nurseries – but it needs to be bolder

Funding schools to set up nurseries works. Why spend more on older children, when we know spending earlier is most effective, asks Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee

The Guardian - UK · Apr 4, 2025

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From Sure Start to youth centres, cutting children’s services is a false economy

Research reveals that Tessa Jowell’s programme not only helped early years children but went on to reduce youth crime

The Guardian - UK · Nov 24, 2024

Labour can find money for the great god of infrastructure – but what about actual people?

A new report lays bare the scandal of special needs provision, a crisis that sums up just how expensive austerity ends up being, says Guardian columnist John Harris

The Guardian - UK · Oct 27, 2024

The Guardian view on Sure Start’s legacy: investing in children brings rewards

Editorial: A reduction in serious youth offending can now be added to the benefits brought about by Labour’s flagship family support programme

The Guardian - UK · Oct 24, 2024

Labour gave us Sure Start to tackle child poverty. Now it should hike tax to keep it

The Tories put British children’s prospects of escaping a poor background into reverse. This is Labour’s chance to fix that, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee

The Guardian - UK · Oct 22, 2024

Today, our hearts are breaking for the children of Gaza. Tomorrow, we must give them peace

The damage that ongoing fighting will cause to young minds is incalculable. A peace plan that prioritises their needs is vital, says former UK prime minister Gordon Brown

The Guardian - UK · Oct 8, 2024

The Observer view on early years education: Labour must find the money to address the attainment gap

Class-based disadvantage manifests itself before children even start school, says a report from the Centre for Young Lives

The Guardian - UK · Oct 6, 2024

Rising cost of social services in England putting arts and youth services at risk, say councils

Some councils are already spending up to 80% of their budget on social care and say costs are rising and increasingly unsustainable

The Guardian - UK · Oct 2, 2024

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The Guardian - UK · Aug 25, 2024

In this new austerity moment, a fight is on: for the rights of children with special educational needs

Cuts ruin lives and raise costs. This scandal is already playing out in the system, and it should be a warning to Labour, says Guardian columnist John Harris

The Guardian - UK · Jul 12, 2024

Labour will rightly be judged by how it fixes our problems. But never forget who left the UK in such a rotten state

Although Cameron and Osborne have been rebranded as Tory moderates, look back to 2010 and you’ll see how much devastation they truly caused, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee

The Conversation · Jul 1, 2024

Labour and the Conservatives both plan to boost childcare by relying on the private sector

Childcare features prominently in both major parties’ plans for work and personal finance. Keir Starmer wants to make early-years provision as universal as possible while the Conservatives claim they’re already transforming childcare and increasing funding to both boost children’s development and get mothers back to work.

The Guardian - UK · Jun 25, 2024

Labour wants to ‘take back our streets’: Will this help people affected by crime?

Experts say Keir Starmer’s plans to cut serious crime levels are ambitious. The party also hopes to restore faith in the criminal justice system but with limited extra resources

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The Guardian - UK · May 18, 2024

‘People haven’t woken up to the scale of this’: Gordon Brown on the UK’s child poverty scandal

A quarter of Britain’s children live below the poverty line. Near his Fife home, the former PM shows how charities help families and says this issue must be a priority for any government

The Guardian - UK · May 18, 2024

Archbishop of Canterbury urges Starmer to ditch ‘cruel’ two-child benefit cap

Head of Church of England Justin Welby tells Observer that ending policy would lift thousands of children out of poverty

The Guardian - UK · May 14, 2024

Millions of British children born since 2010 have only known poverty. My £3bn plan would give them hope

We know about the hardship of ‘Thatcher’s children’, but a new generation of Tories has raised inequality to even higher levels, says the former UK prime minister Gordon Brown

The Guardian - UK · May 14, 2024

Children of austerity need a rescue plan, Gordon Brown says

Former prime minister proposes £3bn support package for ‘blighted generation’, including Sure Start relaunch

The Guardian - UK · Apr 18, 2024

Sure Start could have changed everything for my family. Labour must be brave – and revitalise it

A new report shows how transformational the initiative was. But Keir Starmer’s early-years plans lack the same vision, says journalist Terri White

The Guardian - UK · Apr 11, 2024

Reviving Sure Start would be a vote-winner for Labour

Letters: John Bercow says the early years programme was a crucial life enhancer for millions of children and could be a key election battleground. Plus letters from Prof Gary Craig, Deborah Hayter, Keith Reed and Ian Wrigglesworth

The Guardian - UK · Apr 10, 2024

‘Gift of hope and confidence’: parents recall how Sure Start was a lifeline

As calls grow for Labour to reinstate the centres for early years support, we hear from some of those who saw its benefits

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Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

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