Whenever you meet a parent who uses a Sure Start Children’s Centre, they almost always fizz with enthusiasm about the support they have felt, services they have received and the staff that have been a vital source of advice. To these parents Sure Start Children’s Centres are becoming as central a part of the local public service infrastructure as GPs or primary schools. Yet so often what public debate there is about Sure Start still questions its achievements and value for money. We want parents’ voices to be heard and that is why we have launched a campaign today called ‘shout out for a sure start’.
We know that some Children’s Centres are better than others, and we know that they have to work even harder to reach out to the most disadvantaged families in our society, but parents tell us that, on the whole, local Sure Starts are doing a great job and the supporters of our campaign agree.
Ed Balls was joined today at the launch by Maria Miller MP and Annette Brooke MP – Conservative and Lib Dem spokespeople on children and families. The fact that there is a consensus amongst the parties on the principle of Sure Start is to be welcomed because it is good for families, and another example of how progressives have been successful at shifting the terms of the debate about public services. Ours is a non-party political campaign that welcomes anyone who will ‘shout out for a sure start’ – we hope lots of Progress members will get involved.