Sure Start schemes that target babies in poverty pay off in teenage years, study finds

Early intervention with toddlers in poverty could save the NHS millions by reducing their chances of hospital treatment as teenagers


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Childcare

Sure start-style schemes could save the NHS £600 million a year by reducing the number of children requiring hospital treatment by 13,000, a study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has found.

The IFS said Sure Start, where poor young mothers got extra help, delivered long lasting health benefits to their children through their teenage year which kept them out of hospital.

At its peak, when the Government was spending some £1.8 billion a year on the scheme, it prevented 13,000 hospitalisations a year among 11 to 15 year olds.

Taken together, the IFS said the savings from reduced hospitalisations up to age 15 offset around 31 per cent of the £1.8 billion spent on the programme.

The findings represent a boost for new plans by Boris Johnson to create a network of family hubs which were recommended in a review by former Cabinet Minister Andrea Leadsom.

Like Sure Start, the Family Hubs will offer services to disadvantaged mothers such as childcare, early education, healthcare as well as advice on jobs and training.

Maud Pecher, a co-author of the report, said: “By bringing together a wide range of early years services for children under five, Sure Start centres dramatically improved children’s health even through their teenage years.

“Children who had greater access to Sure Start in their early years were far less likely to be hospitalised later on – at its peak, Sure Start provision prevented over 13,000 hospitalisations of 11- to 15-year-olds each year.”

Sure Start provision at the level of its peak (in 2010) reduced hospitalisations at age 5 by seven per cent, equivalent to around 2,900 fewer hospitalisations a year.

These long-term benefits persisted as children aged. For example, peak levels of Sure Start provision during childhood prevented over 13,150 hospitalisations of 11- to 15-year-olds each year (an eight per cent reduction on pre-Sure-Start hospitalisation rates).

Boys enjoyed longer-lasting benefits from Sure Start than girls, reflecting their greater sensitivity to disadvantage in the early years.

After the end of primary school, the impact of Sure Start on girls’ hospitalisations fades out, but the benefits for boys continue to grow. By age 15, an extra Sure Start centre per thousand children during childhood prevents over 3,200 hospitalisations a year among boys, but has no effect for girls. 
 

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