Nursery World - Don't knock it

So, the Prime Minister thinks Sure Start isn't working. But has he seen the evidence or heard how parents feel about the scheme? asks Beatrix Campbell It's official, Sure Start is a failure. That was the word from the top man, the prime minister, at the launch of 'Let's Talk', the Government's purported dialogue with the people, and in the same speech as his complaints about judges and the criminal justice system. So, Sure Start became a proxy for what's not working.

It's official, Sure Start is a failure. That was the word from the top man, the prime minister, at the launch of 'Let's Talk', the Government's purported dialogue with the people, and in the same speech as his complaints about judges and the criminal justice system. So, Sure Start became a proxy for what's not working.

Sure Start is where law and order converge with family support, and the PM's comments 'confirmed' its failure to keep children away from crime and reach the people everyone fails to reach. Blair recently modified his criticism, but had he consulted the evidence and the very parents and professionals who are Sure Start?

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