social enterprise

This article is provided courtesy of the news feed at http://www.newstartmag.co.uk/news

Scaling back Sure Start to the poorest families risks stigmatising those who uses its services, the government has been warned.

A survey released today shows one in four people are worried Sure Start children’s centres will be cut back following next month’s spending review.

The poll was conducted by 4Children as part of an ongoing inquiry by the charity’s Family Commission, which will publish its recommendations on policies affecting families on 13 October.

The charity, a major provider of children’s centres in England, has been campaigning for Sure Start to be maintained for all families amid fears that cutbacks will result in the initiative being restricted to those on low incomes.

Chief executive Anne Longfield said it was important ‘that myths about middle classes families monopolising Sure Start are not used to justify cutting back on the important support they provide to families across the country’.

A review of Ofsted reports into the performance of centres by the charity found Sure Start does reach vulnerable families, she said.

As well as stigmatising those who use children’s centres, 4Children believes restricting Sure Start to low income families will exclude many people living in poverty but who are not in official areas of deprivation.

It will also undermine the benefits of children mixing with peers from a wide range of backgrounds, said the charity, and prevent parents receiving support for problems not related to income, such as postnatal depression and breast feeding.