Nursery World - Sure Start starts before birth

Up to 60m is being injected by the Government into the Sure Start programme to extend it to cover pregnant women and their partners, as well as families with children under four, public health minister Yvette Cooper said last week. At present Sure Start programmes offer support and advice to families with children aged under three in the most disadvantaged areas of the country. They can now apply for funds to provide services during pregnancy, with the aim of tackling problems such as poor nutrition, low infant birthweight, smoking and access to benefits.

At present Sure Start programmes offer support and advice to families with children aged under three in the most disadvantaged areas of the country. They can now apply for funds to provide services during pregnancy, with the aim of tackling problems such as poor nutrition, low infant birthweight, smoking and access to benefits.

The 60m will be made available over three years and is part of the package announced in the Government's Spending Review 2000, which paved the way for a massive expansion of Sure Start to a target of 500 schemes by 2003/2004.

Ms Cooper told a seminar in London organised by the Institute for Public Policy and Research, 'I am delighted to announce a 60m boost to support pregnant women and their partners in low-income areas.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included