Forty students were awarded the National Professional Qualification in Integrated Centre Leadership (NPQICL) at a ceremony last week in Whitehall, London.
Presenting their certificates, Ms Hughes said good leadership and integrated provision had a positive impact on the outcomes of children.
'This programme brings those benefits together. It also provides the opportunity for leaders from a range of professional backgrounds - health, social work, education - to work together to make a reality of integration.'
For the past year the qualification, equivalent to a third of an MA, has been piloted by the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) in partnership with the Pen Green Research, Training and Development Centre in Corby, Northamptonshire.
This month 400 senior staff will start the course. It is designed for leaders and deputies of Sure Start centres, Neighbourhood Nurseries and nursery schools that have become or are nominated as children's centres, early excellence centres and early years extended services in schools.
Maggie Farrar, assistant director of programmes at NCSL, said there are plans to expand the number of children's centres to 2,500 by 2008. 'NPQICL is giving the heads of these centres the strong leadership skills they will need to succeed,' she said.
