“We Wanted To Try And Ensure That No Other Parent Had To Go Through What We Did”
Joanne and Dan Thompson write of their wish to improve the standard of first aid expertise in England's nurseries, via the introduction of the Millie's Mark safety assurance scheme…
Making the decision to put your child in a nursery is one of the first decisions that you will make regarding your child’s education.
Of course, you want to have a strong learning environment whilst letting your child have as much fun as possible – but you also want to ensure that they are in one of the safest places, other than in your own arms.
After we lost our daughter Millie in a choking incident at nursery, we wanted to try and ensure that no other parent had to go through what we did on that terrible day: taking your smiling child to nursery and never bringing them home again.
Extra comfort
We wanted to ensure that if a child had an accident in a nursery, that the carers had not just the knowledge but also the confidence to deal with whatever paediatric first aid situation arose.
The development of Millie’s Mark following our campaigns is a fabulous legacy for our daughter, and a legacy that will help parents to decide which nursery to choose. Any parent searching for a nursery via the Millie’s Mark website or recognising the Mark in a nursery will know that all its staff are trained in paediatric first aid and have rigorous processes in place, which is a weight lifted off their shoulders.
All parents want to ensure that their children will be looked after appropriately if an unfortunate accident was to happen. Knowing that all staff working with children in the nursery are trained gives parents that little bit of extra comfort when they have to walk away from the nursery on that emotional first day.
We are extremely pleased that the first 10 nurseries from the pilot scheme have now been awarded Millie’s Mark. This is a fantastic achievement for every single person that signed the original petition.
Above and beyond
Working with NDNA, which is delivering the mark, has been a great experience and a positive learning curve for everyone on the team. Together with the DfE, we’ve been able to shape the assessment process that all the settings that sign up have to go through.
NDNA completely understands why Millie’s Mark is such an important thing – not only for us as Millie’s parents, but for thousands of other parents across England.
We are encouraged that so many nurseries are training above and beyond the current legal requirements to meet the stringent and comprehensive criteria of Millie’s Mark, and that first aiders in nurseries are supported to work as teams rather than as individuals to ensure the correct emergency treatment is given. 
We look forward to seeing Millie’s Mark appearing in more nurseries throughout England in the coming months.
For more information, visit www.milliestrust.com or follow @Milliestrust
