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Sure Start presents an opportunity that must be seized to influence the way children's policies are developed over the next 30 to 40 years, a conference heard this week.

Naomi Eistenstadt, director of the Sure Start unit, told delegates from Sure Start projects around the country that failure was "not an option".

She was speaking in London as the £1.4bn initiative for under-fives is about to be integrated into mainstream services in seven pilot areas. Birmingham, Manchester, Leicester, Sunderland, North Tyneside, Southampton and Rochdale have been given a total of £10m to take part in a two-year pilot. Bradford and Leeds are expected to gain approval for their mainstreaming plans in the next few months.

Junior minister for Early Years and School Standards Cathy Ashton said: "We want Sure Start to set an example to the provision of children's services generally. We want them to adopt the methods of Sure Start, to absorb the new culture."

The pilots will cover a range of activities including training parents to be part of home visiting teams to support other parents. According to initial research carried out into implementation of Sure Start, parent involvement is high. Unveiling the findings, which were based on data from 118 of the 126 programmes, Professor Jane Tunstill said 99 per cent had parent representation.

But housing and regeneration minister Lord Falconer, when asked whether he could guarantee more money for mainstreaming in all areas if the pilots are a success, said he could not.