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Dept for Education and Skills

Answer

Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the impact of the Sure Start programme on families in The Wrekin; and if she will make a statement. [216051] Margaret Hodge: Telford and Wrekin local authority is served by two Sure Start local programmes: Sure Start Lawley Plus, which serves the communities in Lawley, Arleston and College, The Rock, Overdale and Newdale and Ketley Bank; and Sure Start Jubilee, which serves Madeley, Woodside and Cuckoo Oak. The programmes between them support over 1500 local young children and their families. Prior to the establishment of Sure Start Lawley Plus at the end of 1999, the area was identified as an isolated area with no early years infrastructure. It now has a nursery closely integrated with the local primary school and with social care and health services. It has strong links with the Carpenter Family Centre which has a parent and toddler group and training sessions. The programme also supports mothers with post-natal depression. It had meaningful contact with over 95 per cent. of the children in its catchment area in the year ending 31 March 2004. Sure Start Jubilee was approved in early 2003. It offers a range of services including family support through home visiting, parenting support, baby massage, home safety promotion and reading and early language development and support. It has had some success in reducing smoking during pregnancy and just under 19 per cent. of the mothers in the area gave up smoking prior to or during pregnancy. It is using its £1 million capital allocation towards two children's centres. One of these, Woodside children's centre will create a 64 place day nursery and family room in a building to which the PCT's health visiting team will relocate alongside the Sure Start team. The other, Sutton Hill children's centre will create 42 full day care places, training facilities and a health room. Although it was a very new programme at the time and had no dedicated building from which to deliver services, it had already had meaningful contact with some 17 per cent. of the children in its catchment area in the three months between its establishment and 31 March 2004. In addition to these services, between April 2003 and March 2004, both programmes contacted all pregnant women in their areas to give ante-natal advice and support. They also both visited 100 per cent. of these families within two months of the baby being born. In the last annual satisfaction survey, some 92 per cent. of families who responded said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the local services for young children.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

216051; 431 c545-6W;431 c541-2W

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Sure Start programme The Wrekin

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk