Labour revives family support services to give Rotherham parents and children the best start in life
Sarah Champion MP has backed Labour’s plans to build on the legacy of Sure Start. Parents in Rotherham are set to benefit from greater support on their doorstep, as the Labour government rolls out ‘Best Start Family Hubs’ across every local authority. Backed by over £500 million, today’s announcement will relieve pressure on local parents and give half a million more children the very best start in life.
Under the system left behind by the Conservatives, one in four families with children under five cannot access local children’s centres or Family Hubs, rising to one in three lower income families. Champion has been calling for the protection of Sure Starts throughout her political career and has regularly raised concerns at how the loss of such services would lead to withdrawal of crucial support for some of Rotherham’s most deprived families.
Rolling out in every local authority by April 2026, Labour’s Hubs will offer interventions and courses which work for parents – such as stay and play groups which help parents connect or sessions which help manage children's emotional needs – while providing a single point of access for services across health, education, and wellbeing. The rollout will help transform Rotherham’s existing Family Hubs and Start for Life programme and create up to 1,000 hubs across the country by the end of 2028.
Sure Start revolutionised family and community services when the last Labour Government introduced it in 1998, with research showing that children who lived within a short distance of a Sure Start centre for their first five years were 0.9 percentage points more likely to achieve five good GCSEs at grades age 16.
Labour’s plans will draw on lessons learned from the legacy programme, as well as build on infrastructure from the current Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. It complements work the Labour government already has underway to make family life easier and alleviate the burden on parents, including increasing the reach of school-based nurseries and rolling out free breakfast clubs in every primary school to support working parents.
Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson said:
“It’s the driving mission of this government to break the link between a child’s background and what they go on to achieve – our new Best Start Family Hubs will put the first building blocks of better life chances in place for more children.”
Sarah Champion MP for Rotherham said:
“My Mum worked in the very first Sure Start so I watched first-hand how transformative they could be. It is tough being a parent and having a Centre there to support and encourage you, without judgment, is so important.
It also means that all children get the best start in life so by the time they reach school, they are ready to learn. I found it shocking that the Conservative government tried to shut these Centres down and I was proud Rotherham Council saw their worth and fought hard to keep as many as they could.
This announcement means that all Rotherham children will have the best start in life and I could not be more pleased.”