National Evaluation Of Sure Start Research Articles

The Millennium Cohort Study: the making of a multi-purpose resource for social science and policy

This paper gives an account of the origins, objectives and structure of the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) – some 19,000 individuals born in the UK in 2000-2001 – and its use in a wide range of research on many aspects of their lives in childhood years. We highlight some of the mass of output on the first five surveys to age 11 in 2012. Topics discussed are social inequalities in child development; comparisons with other cohorts; areas not well covered by previous national cohorts: season of birth, fathers, ethnicity and childcare; parental behaviour; intergenerational links; social ecology and differences between and within UK countries. We also discuss the challenges faced by the National Evaluation of Sure Start (NESS) in drawing controls from the MCS. As the cohort marches to its seventh survey in 2018, and beyond, the potential for research across life course domains will only continue to grow.

Longitudinal research and early years policy development in the UK

Interest in early years issues such as early childhood education and care (ECEC) and early intervention has increased in recent decades internationally. Partly this reflects interest in facilitating the social and educational development of children, both for deprived children and the general population, and partly interest in increasing parental, particularly maternal, employment. Concern for such issues has led to substantial policy change in the UK in recent decades. For the general population, prior to 1998 there was no statutory obligation for the state to provide any early childhood services for children under the statutory school age of 5 years. However, there were provisions for ‘at risk’ children, as well as in some nursery education for 3- and 4-year olds, typically in more disadvantaged areas, but availability was haphazard around the country. Research evidence and social and political factors have resulted in radical change to the whole early years services system in the UK. The findings of two longitudinal research studies, the national evaluation of Sure Start and the effective provision of pre-school education projects were important factors in policy change and this paper discusses how the interplay of research and policy occurred. Initially changes were introduced by the Labour government, but more recent policy changes have been introduced by the Conservative government. The need for state involvement in early years services has become accepted by all political parties. There is substantially greater government investment in the early years, so that government-funded ECEC is now part of the infrastructure supporting family life for the whole population. This article discusses how research evidence has contributed to the substantial policy change in the last two decades.

Health of children born to mothers aged 40 years or over, analyses of two national cohort studies

BackgroundIn the UK in 2005 there were 10 000 births to women aged 40 years or over. This phenomenon of delaying child birth is on the increase. There is a...

The National Evaluation of Sure Start: Does Area Based Intervention Work?

The National Evaluation of Sure Start: Does Area Based Intervention Work?

Research and Policy in Developing an Early Years’ Initiative: The Case of Sure Start

Abstract The British government’s wish to eliminate the cycle of disadvantage for children from poor families led to Sure Start. The initiative set up 260 Sure Start Local Programmes (SSLPs) by 2001, which were expanded to 524 programmes within 2 years. SSLPs aimed to enhance the health and development of children under four and their families in deprived communities. SSLPs were area-based, with all children under four and their families in an area being eligible. This allowed efficient delivery of services without stigmatisation. SSLPs did not have a prescribed “protocol” of services. Instead, each SSLP had autonomy to improve and create services, with general goals and some specific targets but without specification of how services were to be delivered. The National Evaluation of Sure Start (NESS) undertook a multifaceted evaluation of SSLPs, and by 2005 research evidence led to a fundamental shift with SSLPs becoming Children’s Centres. The story of how this happened is discussed herein, with latest findings summarised.

Predicting impact in an Early Years intervention: the design of a tool using qualitative and quantitative approaches

This article focuses on the design and application of an instrument, the Programme Variability Rating Scale (PVRS), to measure the effectiveness of a complex social intervention in the UK. Sure Start aimed to improve outcomes for children aged under four years living in disadvantaged areas on a wide range of health, educational and social indicators. The PVRS was devised for use in the National Evaluation of Sure Start (NESS) to measure programme proficiency. It consisted of 18 dimensions (eg. parental empowerment, user identification, flexibility of service delivery), each with seven levels of proficiency. It was applied to 150 Sure Start local programmes involved in a longitudinal study of the impact of the intervention on a range of child and parental outcomes. Ratings of more or less proficient processes were related, using discriminant‐function analysis, with the impact outcomes from the cross‐sectional study of almost 20,000 children. The 18 dimensions of proficiency of the PVRS made a significant differentiation between the most and least effective programmes.

Variation in community intervention programmes and consequences for children and families: the example of Sure Start Local Programmes

An area-based initiative, Sure Start Local Programmes (SSLPs), was established by the UK government to reduce social exclusion through improving the well-being of children aged 0-3 years and their families in disadvantaged communities; a true community intervention in that all children under four and their families in specified areas served as targets of universal services. A national evaluation examined the links between variation in programme implementation and effectiveness. Data gathered from multiple sources produced measures of implementation in terms of proficiency, services and staffing. Measures of programme impact on child/parenting outcomes derived from multilevel models, controlling for child, family and area characteristics, were identified to demonstrate programme effectiveness. Some modest linkage between programme implementation (e.g., proficiency, empowerment of parents and staff, identification of users) and effectiveness for child and parenting outcomes. Overall proficiency and specific aspects of implementation may influence effectiveness, which should guide the design of other child, family and community services.

Constructing and sustaining Sure Start Local Programme partnerships: lessons for future inter‐agency collaborations

This article outlines the experience of the first 260 Sure Start Local Programmes of developing interagency partnerships in their areas. It draws on quantitative and qualitative data collected between 2000‐2005 by the implementation module of the government‐commissioned National Evaluation of Sure Start. Following a résumé of the aims and design of the Sure Start Local Programme initiative, a description of the implementation module methodology and an overview of existing knowledge around inter‐agency collaboration, five factors are identified which impacted on the partnership‐building task. These comprise: the nature of partnership history; clarity of purpose; the extent of strategic commitment at the highest levels; trust among partners; and the characteristics of the national workforce. The article concludes by highlighting the continuing relevance of these issues to the new collaborations required by the UK government's Every Child Matters agenda, including the work of children's centres.

Facilitating access to services for children and families: lessons from Sure Start Local Programmes

ABSTRACTWith the introduction of the highly publicized Sure Start Local Programme (SSLP) initiative in 1998, the UK government introduced a community‐based set of provisions targeted at families with children under 4 years who were living in some of the 20% most deprived and disadvantaged geographical areas in England. These programmes were designed to combat the adverse effects of poverty and disadvantage on the long‐term outcomes for children and families. One challenging dimension for programme development has been the facilitation of access to the services on offer in these programmes. Drawing on findings from the implementation module within the government‐commissioned National Evaluation of Sure Start, this paper examines the way in which SSLPs have sought to facilitate access to services for their local communities and to encourage community members to take up and continue using those services. This paper presents a detailed overview of programme activity in respect of access. It identifies a continuum of access and a model of three styles of parental service use. The paper highlights the implications of the SSLP implementation process for the development of subsequent related initiatives such as children’s centres and extended schools.

Sure Start Local Programmes: implications of case study data from the National Evaluation of Sure Start

This paper is based on case study data on Sure Start Local Programmes collected within the Implementation Module of the Department for Education and Skills commissioned National Evaluation of Sure Start, between 2002 and 2004. Part one describes and discusses some key challenges for programme stakeholders which are associated with the optimum delivery of services for children and families, including managing partnerships; meeting the needs of a diverse community; and targeting. Part two explores the relevance of these findings for future government policy for children and families; and concludes by highlighting the value of an emphasis on 'building knowledge'.

The National Evaluation of Sure Start Local Programmes in England

In the latter part of the 20th century evidence was accumulating about the effectiveness of various intervention programmes for young children in disadvantaged families. Some small-scale interventions were evaluated by randomised control trials as in the case of the Abecedarian project (Ramey et al., 2000), the High/ Scope Perry Preschool Project (Schweinhart, Barnes, & Weikart, 1993) and evaluations of home visiting (e.g. Olds, 1997). Others were evaluated by quasi-experimental methods as with the large-scale Head Start project (e.g. Barnett, 1995; Kresh, 1998). Despite some weaknesses in the evidence for large-scale interventions, the accumulating evidence of the benefits of early intervention was very influential in the planning and launch of the Sure Start programme (Glass, 2003), now known as Sure Start local programmes. Sure Start local programmes are central to the UK government’s policy for combating the adverse effects of poverty and disadvantage on young children and their families. Hence they have potentially great importance in the lives of hundreds of thousands of families and young children. By 2004 there will be 524 Sure Start local programmes in disadvantaged areas in England that will be serving over 300,000 children and their families. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own Sure Start programmes. This initiative represents a unique approach to early intervention for children aged 0–4, their families, and communities. The aim of Sure Start 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. Sure Start local programmes are designed to be comprehensive, community-based projects adapted to local needs, and making maximal use of local expertise and enthusiasms. Such a focus on local autonomy may capitalise on shared concerns of people for their community (Oliver, Smith, & Barker, 1998). The issue of whether preventative interventions should be targeted or universal in application is dealt with by Sure Start by targeting distinct areas of disadvantage and making the services universal within those areas. In this way there are the advantages of economy associated with targeted interventions and also the stigma-free advantage of universal provision. While some research has reliably documented the benefits of early intervention, there has been much prevention work that has either not been evaluated or where evaluations are so flawed as to preclude meaningful conclusions (see Mrazek & Brown, 2002; WebsterStratton & Taylor, 2001). The Sure Start programme recognised the need for rigorous evaluation and after a competitive commissioning process the National Evaluation of Sure Start (NESS) was initiated. Rather than providing a specific service, Sure Start local programmes involve changes to existing services. Improved services and community functioning are presumed to lead to enhanced family and community functioning that in turn enhance child development. This approach raises the following questions for NESS. 1. Do existing services change? (How and, if so, for which populations and under what conditions?) 2. Are delivered services improved? (How, and if so, for which populations and under what conditions?) 3. Do children, families, and communities benefit? (How, and if so, for which populations and under what conditions?) This journal article is available at Research Online: http://ro.uow.edu.au/sspapers/1975 NESS addresses these questions through four core research components: (1) implementation evaluation that considers how programmes are operating and changing; (2) impact evaluation that considers effects of Sure Start local programmes upon children and families; (3) local context analysis that considers communities as units of analysis and how they function and change over time; and (4) cost-effectiveness analysis that examines economic return on investment of the Sure Start local programmes. The NESS team also provides technical support to smaller scale evaluations being conducted by local Sure Start programmes themselves. The four core research modules of the evaluation are described in turn.