First nurseries succeed in making Millie’s Mark

The first settings to qualify were part of a pilot that occurred of ahead of last month’s official launch by the charity Millie’s Trust in partnership with the Department for Education.

The trust was set up by Joanne and Dan Thompson in memory of their daughter Millie who died after choking on food at her nursery in Stockport.

The trust has campaigned tirelessly for all early years staff to be trained in paediatric first aid.

Joanne Thompson said, ‘As Millie's parents, we are extremely proud that Millie's Mark is our daughter's legacy and we are so pleased that the first ten nurseries in England have now received their award.

‘The response from the sector has been fantastic and we are pleased that so many nurseries across England have already made an application for the mark.

‘For parents, choosing a nursery with the mark allows them to have confidence in the paediatric first aid training that the people looking after their children will have.’ 

Millie’s Mark is awarded to nurseries where all staff members who work with children are qualified in paediatric first aid and who have well-deployed first aid processes.

It is administered by the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) following three to six months of work and training supported by an NDNA mentor, including completion of an audit, risk assessment and spot checks.

If areas for improvement are identified, the mentor will work with the setting to develop an action plan to support improvement.

The full list of accredited nurseries includes,

• HeadStart Day Nursery in Horsham
• Happy Tots Preschool Play Group in Ipswich
• Little People Nursery in Shepherds Bush, London
• Sansway House Day Nursery in Bristol
• Elm Cottage Nursery in Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• North Cheshire Jewish Nursery in Greater Manchester
• Granby Nursery in Worksop
• Cooperative Childcare Newburn in Newcastle Upon Tyne
• Nature Trails Day Nursery in Rugby
• Turnbridge Day Nursery in Goole.

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of NDNA, said, ‘Millie’s Mark is a fantastic achievement for these nurseries. It will give reassurance for parents and help keep young children safe in nurseries across the country.

‘We hope it will help parents make an informed choice about childcare.’

Stephanie Beschizza, manager of Elm Cottage Nursery in Cheadle Hulme, one of the first nurseries to receive the award, said, ‘Being part of the pilot for Millie's Mark and achieving the award has been such an achievement for our nursery. 

‘It helped us to reflect on our practice and realise our many strengths surrounding paediatric first aid as well as evaluating what we could do further to improve on standards. 

We will be proud to inform our parents that we have this award and hope this is a reassuring factor for them when leaving their children in our care.’ 

• For more information about Millie’s Mark visit https://www.milliesmark.com/ or http://www.milliestrust.com/