TMP Online

The Guardian reports today that the government’s much vaunted Sure Start centres are failing ethnic minorities, according to research by the University of Hull.

Sure Start Local Programmes (SSLPs) support children under 4 and their families by integrating services such as early education, childcare, health and family support in specified geographic areas. All programmes work within a framework of key principles which include ensuring that all local families are able to use Sure Start services, and are culturally appropriate and sensitive to particular needs.

The research report found, amongst other things, that experiences and practice vary widely, because SSLPs ability to respond to the diverse needs of their communities was affected by the complexity of the ethnic composition of the population and the balances between ethnic groups in it. The most successful work was based on a good understanding of these complexities and a willingness to be flexible in creating and delivering services.

Also, because creating links with minority communities could take a long time, especially where an area was ethnically very diverse, some programmes had been discouraged from pursuing relationships with certain minority groups and abandoned the attempt, effectively excluding some already very marginalised communities.

Solutions proposed in the report include ensuring services are targeted in order to reach minority groups and doing outreach work, especially using venues familiar to minority ethnic populations.

To read an overview of the report, click here.