Description of funding programme

• Author: Applica, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (European Commission), Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER)
• Pages: 60-63

Case studies on the effectiveness of funding programmes – Key findings and study reports

60

1. Description of funding programme

This case stu dy presents the Sure Start Children’s Homes programme in Hungaryз which

provides children living in extreme poverty with support in their earliest years to prepare

for successful school education. Its significance in the context of the Child Guarantee

relates to the area of support concerned, and to its targeting of children experiencing

disadvantage.

In Hungary, due to the shortcomings of care institutions and services, not all children have

equal access to good-quality care best suited to their needs. There are maintenance

problems, shortages of specialists and extreme staff workloads – in particular in

disadvantaged areas such as smaller localities and rural regions. Neither children nor their

parents have access to appropriate assistance. Variations in the standards and available

capacity of services, and the fact that services are least available in the areas where they

are most needed, represent a major problem.

In addition, Hungary is a country where the impact of the socio-economic situation of the

family on school achievement is among the largest (OECD 2018:229). Poor parents with

low educational levels cannot guarantee the environment indispensable for their children

to acquire the cognitive and social skills needed for successful school achievement. Their

children often start school later and drop out of the school system with low educational

levels. Poor parents also tend to have a marginalised position in the labour market, and

they transmit the same disadvantages to their children. The programme is aimed at ending

this vicious circle at an early stage by focusing on disadvantaged children.

The Sure Start programme was first implemented in the UK in 1999; but unlike the UK,

where the state had previously played little role in early childhood education and care

(ECEC), Hungary had an extensive network of crèches and district nurses (home visitors),

and the aim of the programme in Hungary was not to create services, but to improve the

availability and accessibility of services, and reduce inequalities in access and/or service

qualityй Thereforeз Children’s Homes have been created in Hungary since the early нлллs

in disadvantaged settlements where alternative care is not available and the proportions

of Roma and socially excluded children are high (Szomor-László, 2014). The regions

selected for the programme are characterised by multiple social problems and limited

resources, and by the fact that early childhood services are lacking or very limited. The

original target age-group was children aged 0-5, but since kindergarten attendance

became compulsory in 2015 the target group has been children aged 0-3. The programme

is now one of the f undamental elements of the g overnment’s inclusion strategyз which is

aimed at ensuring children receive support ‘that prevents the development of an inherited

vicious circle of being disadvantaged’ as early in their lives as possibleй

All the following elements are needed so that the programme can be described as a Sure

Start programme.

• Sure Start services must be easily accessible for families with small children (by

pushchair or bicycle).

• There should be regular and continuous opening hours; and services77 must be

provided free of charge, and must be flexible and responsive to demands.

• A key feature of the programme is the involvement of parents – active participation

and meaningful co-operation with them – in order to strengthen their parental skills

and help families to access health, social, child welfare, educational and labour

market services.

77 Apart from regular play and skills development, most children also receive meals; and the Homes try to make

up for the absence of social services, e.g. providing cleaning and washing opportunities for families, and teaching

parents about healthy nutrition. The Homes also prepare status evaluations, and invite specialists for diagnosis

or specific necessary interventions.