James Bowen, assistant general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “The family hubs scheme has the potential to do a lot of good. The decision to scrap Sure Start was a mistake and it is right that support for young children and their families is rebuilt. However, this represents less than a third of local authorities and means that a large proportion of areas are not covered. Early intervention and support makes such a difference to young people and can be a lifeline for parents too. There must be a clear plan to extend this sort of provision across the whole country.

“The work of such hubs is vital, but the government also needs to do far more to address the underlying issues many families are facing. We know that childhood poverty has a clear negative affect on short-term and long-term outcomes. Too many children continue to live in poverty in this country. Until we start to properly tackle this as a nation we won’t be giving children the start in life they need.”