To the point...

The road to hell is, we know, paved with good intentions. This millennium began with multiple good intentions by early years and education providers towards travellers and their children.

But travellers are wondering if they are forever doomed to be corralled around inhospitable sites with attenuated access to inhospitable services.

With the demonisation of gypsies and travellers by The Sun and the Daily Mail, and their champion Michael Howard, the best efforts at an inclusive and flexible approach are being overwhelmed by hate campaigns and by institutional inertia.

Early years providers have prided themselves on their multiculturalism and their flexible provision. There are some subtle and successful exemplars of co-operation between travelling communities and providers. In Northern Ireland, for example, travellers and Barnardo's have worked together on pioneering provision that meets the children's need for safe and secure services that protect their identities as travellers and their rights, within and without their communities, as children.