The impact of Sure Start on school performance

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The impact of Sure Start on school performance

• Justine Schneider, University of Durham,
• with Alan Ramsay and Shelagh Lowerson, Education,
  Durham County Council on behalf of
• Durham University Centre for Applied Social
  Research
• Sure Start Research Team

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Aims of the analysis

• To investigate whether Sure Start made any
  difference when a child started school.
• To do this, we had to allow for differences in
• Age
• Gender
• Social backgrounds

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Methods

• We compared Sure Start graduates to their
  classmates who did not use the local programme,
  but were eligible to do so.
• We controlled for age, gender and social
  background (IMD) using multiple linear regression
  analysis.
• In this way we explored the impact of Sure Start
  use on Flying Start summary scores.

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IMD scores (high more disadvantaged)


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Flying Start scales

• Significance level of correlation between score
  and IMD
• Speaking and listening
• Writing
• Reading
• Language and literacy subject total
• Using and applying
• Number
• Mathematics subject total
• Independence
• Relationships
• Personal social development total
• Statutory assessment total
• Non-statutory assessment total

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Flying Start scores 1

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Flying Start scores 2






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Four areas compared (1)

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Four areas compared (2)

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Implications

• We found that we also had to look at the
  differences associated with coming from certain
  areas/programmes.

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Sure Start inputs
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Sure Start targets

• ised Improving social and emotional
  development
• ih improving health
• ial improving ability to learn
• sfc strengthening families and communities

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Childs attendance
ised ih ial sfc
Ante-natal clinic X X
Bookstart X
Christmas party X
Parent toddler group X
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Mothers attendance
ised ih ial sfc
Smoking cessation X
Post-natal visits X
Computer literacy X
Toy library X
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Sure Start inputs for 125 families
Target of activities Mean Sum
Child Improving social emotional development 2.95 366
Child Improving health 3.11 386
Child Improving ability to learn 7.56 938
Child Strengthening families and communities 1.16 144
Mother Improving social emotional development 1.64 203
Mother Improving health 4.52 561
Mother Improving ability to learn 1.24 154
Mother Strengthening families and communities 2.22 275
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Findings 1

• Age, gender, the index of social disadvantage for
  the ward in which the child lives and the Sure
  Start area from which they come all affected the
  summary scores on Flying Start assessments.

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Findings 2

• Children from some areas did worse at school,
  which could be due to selection into programmes
  of children with special needs.
• Thus, comparisons of average outcomes for
  intervention versus control groups across the
  four areas are not valid progress over time at
  the level of the individual would be a better
  measure.

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Findings 3

• Controlling for age, gender, area and IMD,
  mothers participation in education and community
  activities through Sure Start predicted higher
  statutory scores for their children (language
  and literature, numeracy and personal and social
  development).

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Findings 4

• Again controlling for key variables, childrens
  use of Sure Starts creative and social
  facilities was associated with higher
  non-statutory scores (knowledge and
  understanding of the world, physical and creative
  development).

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Caveats

• Teachers rate Flying Start, which could introduce
  some bias.
• Robust measurement of inputs relies on programmes
  using the database.
• Missing cases make the results less reliable.

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Conclusion

• These findings lend support to a positive impact
  from Sure Start.

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Acknowledgements

• The researchers wish to thank the programme staff
  who supplied data for these analyses.
• The analyses would not have been possible without
  the assistance of DCC Education Performance
  review section.