The evaluation looks at how outreach and home visiting contribute to working with parents and children to promote intellectual and social development. It highlights the need to reach families and sets out the evidence base for home visiting services.

The scope of outreach and home visiting services is considered, and the distinctions between them. The evaluation examines predominant approaches and sets out the lessons for practice, including the importance of creating relationships with families to gain trust and interest, and the need for health services to be integrated into the outreach and home visiting programme.

This research study forms part of the national evaluation of the Sure Start programme. The Sure Start Local Programmes were designed to improve the prospects of children under four years of age who were living in poverty in neighbourhoods which scored high on the Index of Multiple Deprivation. They were resourced both in revenue and capital funding and were required to coordinate and enhance existing services and provide new services for children and families in response to local need and demand.

The study was carried out using applied research methods and drew on data collected by other modules of the national evaluation to develop an overview of outreach and home visiting services and to look at practice in greater detail in 22 areas. The case studies were built from analysis of relevant documents and interviews with users and staff.

Outreach and home visiting are ways of targeting the families in most need and they are aimed at getting parents to participate in services which are outside the home. Creating relationships with families to gain their trust and interest is essential for Sure Start, but it is a delicate business which requires sensitivity and persistence.

The local programmes showed a wide range of options in creating the outreach and home visiting services, and it was found that it is essential that health services, midwifery and health visiting, are integrated into the programmes.

Levels of ‘reach’ have been disappointing with an average use of between 25 and 30 per cent of the eligible families. Care must be taken to ensure that these services, which have been designed for hard-to-reach groups, do not become stigmatised.

Department for Education and Skills
Phone: +44 870 000 2288
info@dfes.gsi.gov.uk

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01/11/2006

Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues, Birkbeck College, University of London

research

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Quality of life

Social services