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Sure Start (sure + start)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	53%

Terms modified by Sure Start

sure start programme

Selected Abstracts

Forming partnerships with parents from a community development perspective: lessons learnt from Sure Start

HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 6 2009
Virginia MacNeill FCIH PhDArticle first published online: 22 JUL 200
Abstract The aim of this study is to explore some of the issues of service user participation in the planning and delivery of public services from a community development perspective. It draws on an action research evaluation study of a local Sure Start programme, which was introduced into an area without a tradition of community involvement in decisions about local services. The study describes and analyses the challenges of parent participation in the organisation and delivery of the Sure Start programme at an operational and strategic level, using findings from semi-structured interviews, observations and critical conversations with Sure Start parents, staff and members of the Sure Start management board. The main substantive findings are that there was a lack of shared understanding of the nature of parent participation in all its facets and this undermined the efforts of parents and staff in the development of the programme. These findings also raise broader issues about participation, the place of parental partnerships with professionals and ways in which collaboration between the two may be interpreted and evolve. [source]

Factors affecting participation in Sure Start programmes: a qualitative investigation of parents' views

HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 3 2007
Mark Avis BA(Hons) MSc RN RNT Cert Ed
Abstract The objectives of the present study were to examine the factors that parents identify as promoting or hindering participation in Sure Start programmes, and to identify methods for enhancing parents' engagement with Sure Start. A qualitative, in-depth interview study was conducted with parents registered with two local Sure Start programmes based in the East Midlands, UK, and located in inner city areas with a range of health and social problems associated with social exclusion and disadvantage. Sixty parents, guardians or carers of children living in both Sure Start areas were recruited during autumn of 2004 on the basis of whether they were identified as a ,frequent user' or ,non-frequent user' of Sure Start services. The data were analysed using a thematic approach supported by NVivo computer software, and explanatory themes were subsequently tested for completeness and adequacy. The results of the study indicated that parents who used Sure Start services were positive about the benefits that they obtained for themselves and their children, in particular in overcoming a sense of isolation. Parents who were non-frequent users identified a number of practical reasons that prevented them using Sure Start services, although parents also recognised a loss of confidence and trust in the local communities summarised in the phrase ,keeping myself to myself'. Parents' awareness of the targeted nature of Sure Start can also lead to stigma and reluctance to use services. It is concluded that continued investment of time and effort in maintaining communication networks between Sure Start staff and local parents is vital if parents and children are to make the best use of Sure Start services. [source]

The effect of involvement in participatory research on parent researchers in a Sure Start programme

HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 6 2006
Ann Rowe M Med Sci BA RN RHVArticle first published online: 24 AUG 200
Abstract Involving service users, patients and members of local communities in health and social care research is becoming increasingly common. However, surprisingly little research has been carried out to examine the experiences of such lay researchers. This paper presents the findings of a study to investigate the experiences of a group of parent researchers involved in a community survey within a UK Sure Start programme. The survey was undertaken to provide insight into the early impact of the programme and inform Sure Start programme expansion. Researchers were recruited from the local community and were given an accredited training programme, before working on the development of the research itself. They took a lead role in the development, data collection, analysis and report writing phases of the survey and have been actively involved with the dissemination of findings. In order to gain insight into the experiences of the lay researchers involved in this work, three separate methods were used to collect data: questionnaires before and after the study, a focus group at the end of the data collection phase and by analysis of personal diaries kept by the parent researchers. Findings reported include lay researchers responses to the accredited training programme, the development of new skills and understanding, access and the conduct of interviews and the impact of the work both for Sure Start and the researchers themselves. Some of the strengths and difficulties of participatory research are discussed and comment made on the extent to which lay involvement impacted on the conduct of the survey. [source]

Prevention in integrated children's services: the impact of sure start on referrals to social services and child protection registrations

CHILD ABUSE REVIEW, Issue 1 2007
John Carpenter
Abstract Every Child Matters, the English government's plans for integrated children's services, proposed that preventative approaches such as those developed through Sure Start should be able to reduce the numbers of children requiring more intensive support from children's social services and, by implication, the numbers of children on the child protection register. This study examined the impact of Sure Start local programmes (SSLPs) on four local authorities with social services responsibilities in the northeast of England. The researchers analysed routinely collected statistical data concerning over 10,000 referrals of children under four years and over 1,600 child protection registrations (CPRs) in an eight-year period before and after the introduction of 19 SSLPs. They also analysed interviews with 36 key informants in eight case study SSLP areas. Contrary to expectations, the quantitative data revealed no discernable short-term effect on the numbers of referrals, or on CPRs. Interview data showed broad agreement on the potential impact of preventative work undertaken by SSLPs and many respondents believed that it was too early to draw conclusions. Alternatively, the universal approach to prevention within the Sure Start areas and the attempts to provide non-stigmatising and non-intrusive community-based services may be ineffective in reducing the need for intensive support for ,at risk' families. The findings are discussed in relation to ,targeted' prevention programmes and government policy intentions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Is Sure Start an Effective Preventive Intervention?

CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 1 2007
Jon Davies
No abstract is available for this article. [source]

Is Sure Start an Effective Prevention Intervention: Response to Jon Davies' Critique

CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 1 2007
Michael Rutter
No abstract is available for this article. [source]

Is Sure Start an Effective Preventive Intervention?

CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 3 2006
Michael Rutter
Background:, Sure Start was established with the aim of eliminating child poverty and social exclusion. Method:, The findings from the reports of the National Evaluation of Sure Start Team, published in November 2005, are reviewed and critiqued. Results:, The family and child functioning after 3 years of Sure Start, as compared with Sure Start-to-be areas, showed very few significant differences, with some indication of adverse effects in the most disadvantaged families. Conclusions:, These findings are discussed in relation to their service, research and policy implications,with the conclusion that the research evaluation was well conducted, but the findings are inconclusive. There are lessons on how to improve Sure Start and what should have been done differently. [source]

The implications of US experiences with early childhood interventions for the UK Sure Start Programme

CHILD: CARE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 6 2007
R. Gray
Abstract Background, The UK Government introduced a large-scale early childhood intervention programme, Sure Start, in 1999. Sure Start is to be further expanded, to achieve national coverage. US experience is highly relevant for anticipating challenges that this expansion will raise. Methods, This is a focused, narrative review. We examine the impact, funding, quality-improvement and programme objectives of Head Start and Early Head Start programmes. Results, (1) Early childhood interventions can make a significant difference to children's life chances; (2) expansion without adequate funding threatens quality; (3) narrower objectives, which are easier to measure, can crowd out broader objectives, which are difficult to measure; (4) programmes must balance fidelity to the model and flexibility to local conditions; (5) multiple objectives may conflict; and (6) programmes may have differential impacts. We consider the implications of these findings for Sure Start, focusing on funding, quality control and parental involvement. We also consider that the potential Sure Start should offer for tackling health inequalities in early childhood and suggest ways in which this aspect of the Programme could be enhanced. Conclusion, Head Start has been dogged by concerns about quality and effectiveness. Many of these problems stemmed from an over-hasty expansion, which locked the Programme into inadequate funding and uneven project- and staff-quality. These issues have been addressed through large funding increases and more rigorous performance measures. Nevertheless, concerns about the aims of the Programme and the extent of parental involvement in management remain. Current funding for Sure Start appears to be adequate, while systematic evaluation procedures have been built in from its inception. Concerns have been raised about the implications of expansion for funding, quality and for parental involvement in management of local programmes. US experience shows that these are centrally important issues and that, if they are not addressed early on, they can take many years to rectify. [source]

Sure Start: reflections from Down Under

CHILD: CARE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2002
Graham V. Vimpani
First page of article [source]

From Head Start to Sure Start: Reflections on Policy Transfer

CHILDREN & SOCIETY, Issue 2 2010
John Welshman
This article uses the history of debates over the US Head Start programme (1965), Early Head Start (1994) and the UK Sure Start initiative (1998), as a window on to policy transfer. In all the three, the aim was that early intervention could offer a means of boosting children's educational attainment and of countering the wider effects of poverty on development. Nevertheless, there were also important differences between them. The first part of the article looks at UK responses to Head Start, the second at Early Head Start and the creation and subsequent direction taken by Sure Start. In the Conclusion, we sum up the arguments relating to Head Start and Sure Start and offer some broader reflections on policy transfer. [source]

Bringing Back Community: Family Support From the Bottom Up

CHILDREN & SOCIETY, Issue 1 2006
Valerie Wigfall
This paper presents findings of an evaluation of a one-off, small scale, pilot project. Picking up where Sure Start, the government programme for families of newborns to threes, leaves off, ,Families in Focus' works with children aged four to 16 on a disadvantaged council estate in London. Through this route, the programme also reaches out to the families, providing a high level of on the spot local support. Feeding into the government's social exclusion agenda, the impact of the project has been significant, not least in restoring a strong sense of community to a previously alienated problem estate. [source]