Does a Sure Start guarantee a sure future for childrens centres?
The Sure Start programme has been at the centre of the Government’s recent reforms of children’s services. With National Sure Start Childrens’ Centre week this week, and the 7th Annual National Sure Start Conference fast approaching, it is apparent how far the programme has come since it was first introduced. The first Sure Start Childrens’ Centres were established in 1999 and, ten years on, the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) is launching National Sure Start Children’s Centre Week to celebrate the successes of Sure Start Children’s Centres and promote the services they offer. As the centres are encouraged to hold open day events and generate publicity and participation in the wider community, we briefly examine the progress of these valuable centres and some of the practical issues which have cropped up from experience in advising on elements of the legal issues with the programme. The story so far In July 1998 a White Paper entitled ‘Modern Public Services for Br
