Challenges facing interventions to promote equity in the early years: exploring the ‘impact’, legacy and lessons learned from a national evaluation of Children’s Centres in England

Abstract

This paper discusses the challenges facing a national evaluation of an early years intervention programme, Sure Start Children's Centres (SSCCs), that was implemented across England in the first decade of the 21st century. The paper describes the rationale for the evaluation's mixed methods research design and the ecological theoretical approach adopted. It investigates the SSCC policy aim of combatting the 'impact' of multiple disadvantage on outcomes for families, parents and children. Based on a clustered sample (2,600 families) it provides evidence of statistical effects for different user groups, including non-users. It points to the complexities in evaluation in non-experimental interventions where there was an emphasis on services to meet local needs and where families could choose which services to access and change patterns of service use over time. The paper synthesises findings and considers how complex, volatile and uncertain environments affected SSCC provision, particularly linked to a change of government and austerity policies after 2010. The paper identifies lessons learned, explores implications for future early years interventions in uncertain times, and proposes alternative approaches to evaluation (a realist approach based on mixed methods and theoretically driven models) where randomised experimental designs are inappropriate for the evaluation of certain complex policies.

Children's social care and early intervention policy: Evidence from sure start

“…A second study-the Evaluation of Children's Centres in England (ECCE)-run between 2011 and 2013 collected data from a subset of centres and related service use to child outcomes. The study found that more intensive service use was associated with an improved home learning environment, improved children's social behaviour and reduced parental distress (Sammons et al 2015). Focusing on health outcomes, and exploiting the full expansion of SSLPs and SSCCs, Cattan et al (2022) found that increased centre availability increased hospitalizations among young children (by 10% at age 1) and reduced hospitalizations at later ages (by 8-9% at ages 11-15).…”

“…The study found that more intensive service use was associated with an improved home learning environment, improved children's social behaviour and reduced parental distress (Sammons et al . 2015). Focusing on health outcomes, and exploiting the full expansion of SSLPs and SSCCs, Cattan et al .…”