Inventing our future Collective action for a sustainable economy

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Chapter 3 – Effective interventions
• raising educational attainment of children and young people (SO3: 2, 3, 11)
• providing additional opportunities for all young people to develop social skills and knowledge for transition
to adulthood but using a range of specialist interventions for those most vulnerable to exclusion
(SO3: 3, 12, 13)
• targeted interventions within a system which is about helping every child or young person achieve his
or her potential (SO3: 5, 6, 9, 10, 14)
• increased access to employment opportunities for lone parents, to redress child poverty (SO3: 1).
In particular, there is strong evidence to support the cost-effectiveness of early childhood interventions.
Because early investments lay the groundwork for later success, the benefits of pre-school interventions
accumulate and are compounded over time. Surestart is an example of public policy, implemented at a
local level, which provides comprehensive support for families in disadvantaged communities.
Educational attainment is an important tool for overcoming childhood disadvantage. This is particularly evident
where programmes are accompanied by measures to support parental involvement, enhance community
provision of health and social care (as in the full-service extended schools/children’s centre model (SO3: 12)
and stimulate and extend children and young people’s life experiences through after-school and holiday
activities. The provision of integrated services is especially important for children with multiple disadvantage
or complex needs.