Research and analysis

Evaluation of children's centres in England: strand 3 - delivery of family services by children’s centres

This is the fourth report from the evaluation of children’s centres in England, a 6-year study commissioned by the Department for Education.

Documents

Evaluation of children's centres in England: strand 3 - main report

Evaluation of children's centres in England: strand 3 - report summary

Details

The evaluation of children’s centres in England aims to provide an in-depth understanding of children’s centre services, including their effectiveness for children and families, and an assessment of their economic cost in relation to different types of services.

The findings presented here are from the first wave of detailed fieldwork regarding the organisation and delivery of children’s centre services. This fieldwork aimed to assess:

  • the range of activities and services that centres deliver
  • partnership working methods
  • leadership and management
  • evidence-based practice
  • area profiling of centre ‘reach’

The fieldwork took place in 121 phase 1 and 2 children’s centres across England during 2012, and involved staff completing self-report questionnaires, fieldworker observations and document scrutiny, as well as face-to-face interviews.

Published 18 July 2013