Sure Start is a government inspired initiative introduced as part of the government's strategy to tackle child poverty and to reduce the effects of social and health inequality by 'creating pathways out of poverty'. The aim is to:
Work with parents-to-be, parents and children to promote the physical, intellectual and social development of babies and young children - particularly those who are disadvantaged - so that they can flourish at home and when they get to school, and thereby break the cycle of disadvantage for the current generation of young children.
Although government driven, the Sure Start initiative forms part of the worldwide concern to remove inequality and break the cycle of poverty and disadvantage affecting families and children.
Research conducted for the World Health Organisation (WHO) has shown that children from financially and socially deprived backgrounds are more likely to suffer from poor health and less likely to attain the educational, social and financial achievements than those of their better off peers.
In Britain, there is evidence that those from low-income households are more likely to have higher levels of poor health; to have low expectations for the future; to leave education at 16 years; to become teenage parents; to be unemployed as adults; earn relatively low wages and to come into early contact with the police.
As a result, the government made a commitment to halve child poverty by 2010 and to eradicate it within twenty years to ensure that no one is disadvantaged simply by where they live. The Sure Start initiative forms an integral part of this commitment.
Recent changes to the aims and objectives of Sure Start programmes and the structure of the initiative includes affiliation with EYDCP, the introduction of Children's Centres and a new ten year strategy for early years and childcare. Children's Centres are intended to form part of a wider strategy targeting social and health inequality with a ".commitment to invest in childcare, early education and work life balance so that families are able to secure the best start in life for their children".
Northern Research Associates have been involved in the evaluation of Sure Start programmes and services for several years. The importance of regular evaluation in order to ensure the effective delivery of services, along with measuring cost effectiveness cannot be underestimated and was recognised by the government from the initiation of the programme.
Evaluation is one of the most important factors in ensuring effective service delivery in Sure Start and, indeed, in any other sphere.