SURE Start - a Government scheme aimed at children who live in the poorest areas - is set to open two more centres in Worcester.

Plans are at an early stage but the organisation, which has centres in Fairfield, Tolladine, and Tudor Way, Dines Green, is planning to open two more sites in the city this year.

It is a part of a project that will see the Government scheme transferred from Worcester City Council to Worcestershire County Council.

It comes after a report criticised the scheme and now the Government has decided all projects should be run by county councils or unitary authorities. The Government wants more centres to be up and running in Worcester and is planning on opening two more in Ronkswood and the city centre.

The centres offer support for parents and health and education services for children aged up to four years old.

The age for children using Sure Start is also changing in April to allow five-year olds to use the service.

Ian Craigan, Sure Start programme manager in Worcester, said: "The county's track record in childcare is excellent. We think it's a positive move.

"It means staff will have to change employer, which carries some risk, because change can be a demotivator.

"It's like any business that faces a takeover. Irrespective of who has the money, change is taking place anyway, because we're making plans to create two new centres in Worcester. So it's an exciting time."

The £20m Sure Start evaluation, conducted by London University researchers, suggests the overall benefits of Sure Start on children were "limited". The report, on children aged nine months and three years, concluded that children of teenage mothers or lone parents did worse in Sure Start areas than those in deprived communities elsewhere.

Families appeared to function marginally better in Sure Start areas - the report cited less "negative parenting" - but the overall benefits were limited to children aged three, not nine-month olds.

City council cabinet member for customer focus Councillor Barry Mackenzie-Williams said: "Sure Start is a very successful initiative in Worcester, and it is essential they continue to get a proper amount of funding stream."