"If we roll up the expertise in this room and storm the Treasury we would bring a revolution in childcare," Lisa Harker, chair of Children Now's inaugural conference, said as she rounded up the day.
And among the assembled gathering of Sure Start and early-years managers, plus representatives from the health profession and the voluntary sector, there was a feeling of militancy about the Government's plans for children's centres.
It is clear that Delivering the Vision - the title of last week's conference - is not easy.
Concerns about the lack of signals from central government over what is expected of local programmes, and uncertainty over the long-term funding commitment to implement plans, were flagged up by Norman Glass, chief executive of the National Centre for Social Research, and one of the architects of Sure Start. He said when Sure Start was being discussed, its creators were sure that money had to be ringfenced.
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