Should the Tories limit SureStart?

To Andy Reed (MP)’s Facebook

Should the Tories limit SureStart?

SureStart may be a victim of its own success. In the same way that grammar schools were originally for poor boys and, because of their success became bourgeois, so SureStart is desired by many – including those in Andy’s Facebook stream – for whom it was not intended. For SureStart to be justifiably well-funded it must stick to its original brief: To stimulate brain development of those children who are statistically most likely to be the low-achieving, low-functioning and, yes, criminal, members of the next generation.

By stimulating them and supplanting the poor parenting skills that their parents are not giving them – and this should be the case if SureStart is recruiting correctly – these children have a better chance in society and society will get more in return.

In a comprehensive dream stimulated by Tony Blair, for which he is not given credit, these SureStart children are then picked up by schooling, Extended Schools and other initiatives (though Extended Schools was prompted by the Victoria Columbié scandal, not quite part of the original plan). From there they are passed on to Connexions (which hit problems from the start because of hostility from already established agencies).

Organisations like mine www.Billbrookman.co.uk placed ourselves ready to take up structured (predominantly circus) provision with these young people 3 years ago. We could not persuade the powers-that-be to give us this mandate inspite of our clarity of purpose and comprehension of the programme. Perhaps our failure showed that already then the vision was becoming blurred.

Had SureStart/Extended Schools/Connexions et al been allowed to run for 20 years for whom it was intended then we might have been able to see if we had managed to create a country where a whole generation of society destined for the dust-bin would have pulled through.

I cannot give my support to SureStart if it is not true to its purpose. If it is, then I support it.