Sure Start was a UK government programme, announced in 1998 by Chancellor Gordon Brown and launched by Tessa Jowell, that funded local Children's Centres to give disadvantaged children the best possible start in life through integrated early learning and childcare, parenting support, family health services and help with parental employment. It grew from 250 local programmes in 1999 to roughly 3,500 Children's Centres by 2010, but austerity-era cuts between 2010 and 2023 closed about 1,400 of them; in 2025 the government relaunched the initiative under the name Best Start, with 500 million pounds committed to expand to 1,000 hubs by 2028. Research has found that children living within 2.5 kilometres of a Sure Start centre for their first five years performed measurably better academically, and that the centres improved the mental health of mothers and family functioning.
Facts
Key ProvisionFunded local Children's Centres offering integrated early learning and childcare, parenting support, family health services and employment support for families with children under five. 2 Enacted / Adopted Year Classification
Education LevelEarly Childhood Education (ISCED 0) 1 Policy Status
Policy Status (category) FAQs
Did Sure Start work?
Early results were modest. Later evaluations found gains in family functioning and in GCSE results for children living near a centre.
Evaluations found benefits, though early results were modest. The National Evaluation of Sure Start ran from 2001 until 2012. Its first findings, published in 2005, suggested the impact of the local programmes was not as great as had been hoped, but by 2010 it could identify a significant impact on some of the outcomes set for Sure Start. A later evaluation of Children's Centres in England concluded that centres can improve the mental health of mothers and the functioning of families, but that these benefits were being eroded by cuts. A 2024 study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that children who lived within 2.5 kilometres of a Sure Start centre for their first five years performed 0.8 grades better in their GCSEs.
Connections
Associated With
Sure Start, the UK early-years programme launched in 1998, had similarities to the older, similarly named Head Start programme in the United States.
Source Wikipedia
Sources
1. Best Start (Wikipedia)
Lead section
Best Start, formerly known as Sure Start (named Flying Start in Wales) is a UK Government area-based initiative, announced in 1998 by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, applying primarily in England with slightly different versions in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Sure Start (now Best Start), Overview and Historical Development sections
giving children the best possible start in life
Sure Start, Key Provisions section
health services, parenting support, early learning and childcare, and parental employment support
View the Source2. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationSure Start, Historical Development sectionQuote, Sure Start, Historical Development section
announced in 1998 by Chancellor Gordon Brown
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