Sure is a sure start
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10 / 06 / 2008 | Author: dnorris
Sure is a Sure Start
Robert Nyrere famously stated the obvious when he spoke about the educational provision in Tanzania.
He pointed out that Tanzania was a poor country and therefore could not afford to educate the very young.
“We expect parents to teach social and family skills to their children up to the age of 8. We will then offer an education to everyone up to the age of 12. After that only the most gifted will be educated at secondary schools.”
This contrasts starkly with the provision in England. The Government is intent on cutting what it calls child poverty, mainly because the link between poverty and poor educational achievement is so well documented. They have introduced an ambitious scheme called Sure Start and it is affecting all aspects of a child’s education from 0 – 14 and even higher for disabled children.
Children’s Centres have been set up in what are deemed to be deprived neighbourhoods to offer child and family health services such as health screening and health visitor services. There is advice on parenting, and local childcare provision. All offer some form of early year’s educational provision with a qualified nursery nurse teacher on hand. There is even help to get parents into work.
Is it working?
The answer seems to be yes. A recent survey of 9,000 families showed that children who had been through the Sure Start Children’s Centre programme were more likely to be helpful, much more independent, generally more obedient and certainly kinder to each other. There was also a significant improvement in parenting. As a result the children were more likely to have started to read, know some songs and to have tried their hand at painting.
All of this has a knock on effect when they start nursery school and head teachers have gone on record to point out that they can now spot the children who are Sure Start children. They are more independent, their language skills are more developed and one teacher even pointed out that they know that they ought to put an apron on before they start using water.
Given that the first such centres opened in 2003 then these findings are based upon a growing set of observations. The aim is to have 3,500 such centres up and running by the year 2010.
It may be irksome to have so many so called strategies and frameworks floating around in the information packs but there is a recognisable pattern. The slogans about joined up thinking are beginning to take shape.
‘Every Child Matters’ is an extension of the integrated approach to education, health care and public service provision. ‘Excellence and enjoyment’ is an attempt to head off alienation and drop out in schools that do not have a high level of children going on to higher education.
The most recent is The Rose Report. This is an independent review carried out to analyse best practice in the teaching of reading. It has been compiled by Jim Rose a former Deputy Chief Inspector of schools. It aims to promote a greater literacy level across the whole population including adult education.
As such the education world is awash with pending reform....much as it has been for the last forty years.
