The Latest Breaking News from Sure Start

Early-years education can determine a child’s future – which is why a Labour government must make it a priority, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee

The prominence Liverpool Hope University places on its early years education training and research reflects its commitment to help children and society

Naomi Eisenstadt, first programme lead, says there is lack of attention on what childcare is actually for

"At the end of the day it does take a village to raise a child, and Sure Start was our village in our time of need."

If we get those early years right, we can avoid so much harm later in life. So why don’t we properly support parents?, says Beverley Barnett-Jones of Nuffield Family Justice Observatory

The shadow education secretary is determined to put childcare reform at the heart of Labour’s policy – and stop Jeremy Hunt stealing her thunder

Letters: David Blunkett says the chancellor has distorted the truth about childcare in his budget statement, while Tony Roberts says the Tories have always misunderstood the importance of early years provision. Plus letters from Margaret Varley and Ursula Shone

Letters: Anne Johns bemoans the disappearance of au pairs, Anne Tyndale hopes for a return of Labour’s Sure Start programme, and Alice Schofield on affording childcare for twins

Pen Green nursery’s plight shows why Labour again needs the radicalism of Sure Start, says the Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee