LFoSS broadly endorses the recommendations of the House of Commons Education Select Committee Inquiry into Sure Start Children’s Centres.
We completely agree that there needs to be a sharper vision for Sure Start allied to a much clearer outcome framework. We support the Committee’s call for more effective targeting of the most vulnerable and better data-sharing – though we are exasperated by the number of reports which have now made these recommendations with insufficient impact on the ground.
We warmly welcome the Committee’s praise for Early Intervention to narrow the attainment gap and we concur with their reservations about funding and place-planning of the two-year old offer.
We would have liked to see more creative ideas about the role of Sure Start in the future, particularly as budgets continue to be squeezed. But we welcome the Committee’s comprehensive contribution to the debate. We would also like to thank all those who used our LFoSS briefing pack to make submissions to the Inquiry.
