Nursery World - Scots rate Sure Start success

An evaluation of the Sure Start Scotland programme has found huge enthusiasm for the initiative, with one interviewee going so far as to say, 'Sure Start Scotland is one of the best things that the Scottish Executive has come up with.' The evaluation of the first two years of the programme found that it had reached over 15,000 children and 6,000 parents. The Scottish Executive has allocated 80m funding for the first five years, to be distributed to all local authorities on a weighted basis to reflect population, deprivation and rural location.

The evaluation of the first two years of the programme found that it had reached over 15,000 children and 6,000 parents. The Scottish Executive has allocated 80m funding for the first five years, to be distributed to all local authorities on a weighted basis to reflect population, deprivation and rural location.

The evaluation, carried out by the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships at the University of Edinburgh, found that Sure Start was seen as a catalyst that had galvanised the energies of staff across agencies, the voluntary sector and people in local communities.

Many local authorities said it had allowed a co-ordinated and comprehensive approach to services for the under-threes for the first time, while service providers felt it had altered the focus of work with children, as they now saw them in the wider context of family and community rather than working with the child in isolation.

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