Speaking at an event organised by the NCB in London last week, Ms Eisenstadt said that it was important that access to Sure Start children's centres remained universal.
It was 'deeply worrying', she said, 'this language about the neediest families. I'm not sure what they mean.'
She added, 'If you only target the neediest you will miss families on the cusp (of poverty). If you wind up with only 2 to 5 per cent, you will miss the 30 per cent' of the most deprived families.
Referring to Prime Minister David Cameron's well-publicised comments about the 'sharp-elbowed middle-classes' using Sure Start, she said, 'When did anyone say a school was rubbish because middle-class people want to use it?'
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