Child Care Services and Female Labour Force Participation; Did Sure Start increase Female Labour force participation in the most deprived areas in the United Kingdom 2003-2007?

Abstract: In 1997 the UK government launched the Sure Start early year’s intervention scheme, offering early years education, health services, adult employment advice and free or highly subsidised child care located in one convenient service available to the most deprived areas. The aim was to improve the life chances of the most disadvantaged children, but also to increase employment for mothers of young children. Through logistic regression this paper examines the employment outcomes for mothers in Sure Start areas compared to a nationally representative sample of mothers of children of the same age. The findings show a small increase in the odds of employment in comparison to the national sample however the magnitude is small and tensions central to the concept of the scheme may potentially have hampered delivery of the Sure Start employment agenda.