It was New Labour’s vision: Sure Start children’s centres across the country improving the life chances of socially and economically disadvantaged children.
These centres would offer a range of services including childcare, healthcare, parenting classes, job skills and playgroups. They could and would make a difference.
At its peak, Sure Start had 3,600 centres and a budget of £1.8 billion. Now, the Closed Doors report from charity Action for Children (2019) finds that spending has fallen by more than £300 million in the last four years and it is estimated that around 1,000 centres have closed between 2011 and 2017. It is expected that the trend of closures will continue.
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