Building the foundations of a new “Sure Start”
Building the foundations of a new “Sure Start”
For a country that works for all children and young people
We are calling on the government to put children first. Our 2024 report series provides evidence-based plans and recommendations on how to improve outcomes for children and young people in the North of England and beyond. Published alongside 2025 report updates, new practitioner toolkits have been designed to support schools, child health services, and local authorities to implement the report recommendations and put children first. #ChildrenFirst
In 2024, Child of the North and Centre for Young Lives initiated a major campaign calling on the government to build a country that works for all children and young people. This campaign delivered a series of reports and webinars on twelve key topics identified by Northern child health leaders as major issues of concern, including poverty, special educational needs, school attendance and mental health. These reports provide rigorous research and pragmatic, evidence-based recommendations.
Published in May 2024, as the fourth report in our twelve-part series, An evidence-based plan to build the foundations of a new “Sure Start” in and around education settings, sets out the case for a new updated model of Sure Start that puts schools and nurseries at its heart.
An update, Reimagining Sure Start Update: Scaling Best Start to Best Start Ever, released in October 2025, forms part of the #ChildrenFirst campaign, drawing attention back to the issues highlighted in the series, and providing a series of toolkits designed to support schools, child health services and local authorities to implement the report recommendations and improve outcomes for all children.
We need the government, policymakers, practitioners, academics, communities and young people to work together to build a country that works for all children and young people.
Support our 2025 #ChildrenFirst campaign, by sharing the resources below:
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Reimagining Sure Start Update: Scaling Best Start to Best Start EverPublished October 2025 The fourth update in our #ChildrenFirst campaign highlights:
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An evidence-based plan to build the foundations of a new “Sure Start” in and around education settingsPublished May 2024, as the fourth report in our twelve-part series. Our analysis reveals that:
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How To Guides
A series of toolkits have been developed to help practitioners and organisations take practical steps to improve the health and wellbeing of the children and young people with whom they work directly. Building on the findings of the Child of the North reports, these ‘How To’ guides provide evidence and suggestions about how all parties can work together.
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Published October 2025
Building the foundations of a new ‘Sure Start’ – Guide for education colleagues |
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Published October 2025
Building the foundations of a new ‘Sure Start’ – Guide for child health colleagues |
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Published October 2025
Building the foundations of a new ‘Sure Start’ – Guide for local authority colleagues |
Webinar
In May 2024 a number of the report’s authors came together to discuss the findings and policy recommendations. Webinar participants included:
- Anne Longfield CBE – Centre for Young Lives
- Mat Mathai – Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Sean Harris – Tees Valley Education Trust
Anne Longfield, Executive Chair of the Centre for Young Lives, said:
“The dismantling and hollowing out of Sure Start since 2010, alongside the big cuts in early intervention funding, was a historic mistake and incredibly short-sighted. As the recent report by the Institute of Fiscal Studies shows, Sure Start was making a significant difference to the educational outcomes of some of the most disadvantaged children, as well as improving health outcomes. While many Family Hubs are doing good things, the network just does not begin to match the scale and scope of Sure Start.
“We cannot turn back time and, with little new money available to rebuild an infrastructure of this scale and impact from scratch, we need to look for new and creative ways to deliver more joined-up support for vulnerable families as their children grow up.
“This report shows how we can place schools at the heart of a fresh start for Sure Start around a core of breakfast clubs and after-school and holiday provision to provide childcare, local joined up services, and the sort of support that can transform neighbourhoods and life chances.
“This can be an exciting, ambitious moment of change for children and families. Whoever wins the next election, has an opportunity to deliver it.”
Professor Mark Mon Williams, Child of the North report series editor, said:
“University research shows early support for children improves their health and later life prospects. Our nurseries and schools can help connect health and education and other services. This is the once in a generation chance to reverse the poor health of our population and create a healthy workforce. The next government must seize this moment and create a reimagined Sure Start 2.0.”
Report author Liz Todd, Professor of Educational Inclusion at Newcastle University, said:
“The best Sure Starts had parents and children helping to develop services with professionals. Schools now have the opportunity, working with Citizens UK, to involve the community in shaping together the kind of interagency hub that is most needed.
“We don’t need to reinvent the wheel – there are lots of school hub models to build on. But we need to avoid having a succession of short-term initiatives that come and go, leaving people with almost nothing, by having long-term developments that are properly funded and evaluated.”
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Previous Reports
Previous reports can be found archived on our Child of the North Reports page.
Contact Us
Stephen Parkinson, Research Partnership Manager
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