The Sure Start scheme launched in Barkerend seems to have got off to an encouraging start - so encouraging, in fact, that the Department of Education and Employment is to feature it in a Government document.

But perhaps more important than the opinion of Government officials are the views of the people directly affected by this £2.5 million, three-year project aimed at improving the lives of under-fours in a district said to be one of the most deprived in the country. They seem to be full of enthusiasm and praise for it.

One woman approached by the T&A said there was a lot of parental involvement now, with mothers who did not normally venture out of their homes being given more confidence. Other women are taking the opportunity to go on courses designed to benefit both them and their children.

The latest project - the creation of a community orchard on the site of a disused allotment - could be good for Barkerend in several ways. Primarily, it should eventually help to produce some of the vital fruit the youngsters need to improve their general health.

It will also be helpful from an educational point of view, establishing a few facts about food cultivation in the minds of a group of city children.

Perhaps the most important aspect of all, though, is the potential the scheme offers to pull the whole, diverse community of Barkerend together behind a project from which so many of them stand to benefit.