Centres exist to reach the most disadvantaged families, but the NAO reports that on average they succeed in allocating just 38 staff hours per week on outreach.
It is tempting to respond by disputing these findings. I have no way of knowing how robust they are. But what I do know is that targeted outreach work is extremely difficult to do.
The pressures are contradictory. On the one hand, there is the desire to make the centres places that families want to come and use. Services like Stay and Play, relaxation and pampering, and respite creches for tired parents, are all popular, and to that extent they are worthwhile. But the evidence that they make any significant difference to the lives of young children is not easy to come by.
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