Families to get £400m boost as government revives New Labour's biggest success story

Parents will get help to give their children the best start in life with £400 million of extra funding for early years and reception classes, the Sunday Mirror can reveal.

The cash boost comes as ministers prepare to bring back a revamped version of Sure Start - the family hubs introduced under Tony Blair's Labour government.

Up to 1,000 Best Start Family Hubs will be rolled out across every area of the country, to provide help with parenting skills, early development and childcare.

The hubs and early years support will be linked up through the government's "Best Start in Life" strategy - which aims to make sure tens of thousands of children are ready for school at age 5.

Sure Start centres helped millions of young children across England.

At its peak in 2010, there were about 3,600 centres operating. Survey data from 2011-12 estimates more than 2.5million children under four years old were registered at Surestart Centres - about 90% of that age group.

And the Institute for Fiscal Studies found the better health, education and social care outcomes for families enrolled in the programme generated £2 of financial benefit for every £1 in costs.

Today, some 1 in 3 children start formal school at age five without the basic skills they need to learn - with many still in nappies or not able to hold a pencil.

From next September English and Maths Hubs will be expanded to reach more than 100,000 reception-age children.

And reception teachers will get specific training to help teach young children maths basics.

A Labour source said the new raft of hubs would “build on the legacy of Sure Start” - taking some of the things the old scheme did well, but not uniformly - and spreading them out to all areas.

Hubs will be able to tailor their support to the needs and nuances of local communities. For example, Sure Start centres in Sunderland would provide specific sessions for fathers to bond with their children, because the area had a lot of dads who did shift work.

Before becoming an MP, Education Secretary Bridget Philipson ran a domestic violence refuge in Sunderland - and was impressed by how well Sure Start linked up with other support services in the region.

“I know from experience that when children and families get the right help early on, it can change the course of a child’s life,” she told the Sunday Mirror.

“But for too long, too many children have started school already behind – struggling with speech, language and the basics before they’ve even had a chance to get going.

“Our Plan for Change is putting that right by putting firepower behind proven programmes that work, alongside council targets to make early development a priority in every community — because being ready to learn by the age of 5 shouldn’t depend on where a child grows up.

“From early language to stronger maths and literacy in reception, this package will help give every child the foundations they need for the rest of their life."

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “Sure Start transformed lives - helping children and parents across the country.

“One of the Tories worst acts in government was the way they systematically closed Sure Start centres and stripped away local services.

“This new investment in family hubs is much-needed.

“Rebuilding what was destroyed under the Conservatives will take sustained funding to meet the true cost of high-quality early years care and supporting the workforce .”

Matt Buttery, CEO of Triple P UK, said: "This investment in Best Start Family Hubs is a hugely welcome and positive step forward for families across the country. By building on the proven legacy of Sure Start and expanding access to trusted, evidence-based parenting and early years support, these Hubs will help parents feel more confident and equipped to give their children the very best start in life.

"However, if the government wants to end the postcode lottery, it must truly transform the digital offer for parents, making support available whenever and wherever parents need it most.

"Triple P research shows that while most parents see parenting as the most important job they will ever do, 75% feel a stigma attached to asking for help. A national digital rollout of evidence-based parenting support could be a game-changer -- breaking down barriers, tackling stigma, and providing parents with the proven strategies and confidence they need to navigate modern parenting challenges, all from the comfort and ease of their own homes."

READ MORE: Join our Mirror politics WhatsApp group to get the latest updates from Westminster

Dan Paskins, executive director of Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns at Save the Children UK, said: "Focusing on family services for the under-fives will be vital in securing better outcomes for children, and we welcome the Best Start In Life announcement.

"We know from our work in local communities that bringing together parenting, healthcare and education support services in one place is an approach which works, so we are pleased to see the UK Government making it easier for families to get the help they need.

"With ministers now demonstrating an increasingly ambitious plan for children in the UK, we hope this drive for change continues when the child poverty strategy is released in Autumn. This must include scrapping the two child limit to Universal Credit, which is the only meaningful way to reduce the UK's record child poverty rate."

Cllr Arooj Shah, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said: “Councils want to ensure every child gets the best start in life, and we are pleased government has acted on our call to expand family hubs to all local authorities.

“Family hubs are an important opportunity for councils and partners to support families and to help them gain access to a range of vital services in their local area.

“We want to ensure the expansion sees fully integrated local support for communities. To do this, we need long term, sustainable funding, and local flexibility to ensure services meet local need.”