The survey of 1,500 parents of children under five and expectant mothers, carried out for the DCSF, found that nine out of ten of those using children's centres were satisfied with the services available.
Seventy-eight per cent of those questioned were aware of their local centre and 45 per cent had used their local centre.
The most heavily used services, childcare and nursery education, were used by 24 per cent of respondents.
Awareness of childcare and nursery education services at local centres was highest for playgroups (52 per cent of all respondents), followed by day nurseries (42 per cent), nursery schools (39 per cent), creches (34 per cent) and pre-schools (30 per cent).
However, parents seemed to know less about the health, family and parenting services at centres. Just 13 per cent said they had used health services in the past three months and 9 per cent had used family and parenting services.
The research concluded, 'Overall, the findings from the survey are positive and suggest that Sure Start children's centres are effectively servicing the communities for which they were established. There is no evidence that particular groups of parents or carers are monopolising the centres. Equally, the results suggest that no sub-groups are being excluded from or failing to access the centres.'
Of those who knew about their local centre, 33 per cent had heard about it by word of mouth, 26 per cent from a health visitor and 20 per cent by seeing a children's centre nearby.
Dr Margy Whalley, director of Pen Green Centre for Children and Families and chair of the Sure Start Children's Centres reference group, said, 'These are exciting times to be working in children's centres. The group is convinced that by 2010, increasing numbers of children and parents will be talking about "my children's centre" in the same way that they currently talk about "my teacher, my GP and my health visitor".'
Further information
'Sure Start Children's Centres Survey of Parents' is available at www.dcsf.gov.uk/research