Book Description

The Government launched the Sure Start programme in 1998 to help give the best start in life for every child, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds, by bringing together early education, childcare, health and family support services. From April 2006, local authorities have been responsible for managing the programme for their area and decide whether to do so directly or to contract out management to a private or voluntary provider, whilst the DfES issues guidance to local authorities and monitors performance. The first 800 centres were located in the most deprived areas, but the Government has pledged to create a children's centre for every community by 2010, around 3,500 in all, committing £3.2 billion of funds until 2008. Children's centres also have income from various other sources including grants and fees for childcare charged to parents. This NAO report focuses on the capacity of the centres set up by September 2005 and the performance of responsible local authorities in delivering value for money through sound financial management, in reaching the most disadvantaged families, and in monitoring their performance effectively. It finds that good progress is being made although the full effectiveness of the centres will be measurable only in the long term. The centres are valued by most of the families who use them, although the early signs are that more still needs to be done to reach and support some of the most excluded groups. The costs of centres and activities vary widely, and local authorities and centres that the NAO visited need to understand their costs better and assess whether they were using their funds cost-effectively.