'Millie's Law' requires all nursery practitioners to be paediatric first aid trained

After the loss of their daughter Millie, in a choking incident on her third day at a Stockport nursery in October 2012, Joanne and Dan Thompson channelled their loss into establishing Millie's Trust - a charity that aims to make first aid training available to all.

Millie Thompson

They also fought hard to have the law changed so that by September 2016, all newly qualified staff with a childcare qualification must be trained in vital, lifesaving paediatric first aid. A change that will add approximately 15,000 additional trained early years professionals to nurseries and pre-schools each year.

Nurseries with 100 per cent trained staff will be able to display a new kite mark scheme, known as 'Millie's Mark' which will help reassure parents that their child is safe and being cared for by knowledgeable staff.

“Millie's Mark is a direct outcome of our campaign as parents, for parents,” said Mr and Mrs Thompson. “Following the loss of our darling daughter Millie, we strive to encourage nurseries to be exemplary in paediatric first aid practice and we are looking forward to seeing the first Millie's Mark being awarded later in the year."

’Staff will be able to respond to emergencies more quickly’

“We are both extremely pleased that the Government has listened to our awareness campaign, and changes are being made that could ultimately save a child’s life. We are proud that these changes are being made in memory of our precious daughter and that her legacy continues to grow - but we are heartbroken that these changes are only coming into place because we lost her.

“The estimate of 15,000 new childcare workers entering the workplace with this specific qualification is fantastic news for parents and we are looking forward to working with the specific Government departments to help turn this into a reality.”

The new proposals will mean all newly qualified staff with a childcare Level 2 and 3 qualification must have an emergency paediatric first aid or full paediatric first aid certificate from September 2016.

Under current rules, early years providers must have at least one paediatric first aider available on the premises at all times.

Millie’s Mark recognises ‘gold standard provision’

After the plans received the support of Millie’s parents whose campaign culminated in an e-petition signed by over 103,000 people, Millie’s Mark was launched by the previous Childcare and Education Minister, Sam Gyimah.

He said: “As a parent myself, I know that every single mum and dad wants the confidence that those tasked with caring for their child have the right training should the absolute worst happen.

“The proposals will mean that thousands more staff will be able to respond to emergencies more quickly, making sure parents really can access the very best possible childcare choices for their families.

“Not only will this help ensure children are safe while they learn, grow and develop, but it will also raise the quality and skills of the early years workforce to help them deal with day-to-day first aid issues, such as allergies and knowing when to call parents.”

Joanne and Dan Thompson with daughter Millie

The announcement of Millie’s Mark was made in a keynote speech at National Day Nurseries Association’s (NDNA) Nursery Conference 2016 in Milton Keynes, which has been working with the Department for Education (DfE) and with support from Millie’s parents in an advisory capacity, to develop and pilot the scheme.

Millie’s parents believe the change will be the first step towards ‘Millie’s Law’, where all nursery staff are eventually trained in first aid. As part of the changes, Mr and Mrs Thompson have also given their backing to the creation of a new certificate which will be known as Millie’s Mark.

The endorsement will be given to nurseries who have achieved gold standard provision, where 100 per cent of staff hold paediatric first aid qualifications, and have well-deployed first aid processes. This will provide reassurance to parents that their child is being cared for by safe and knowledgeable staff.

Awarding of Millie’s Mark

The awarding of Millie’s Mark will be dependent on all of the criteria being met in addition to the legal requirements as set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework.

Childcare providers will work to keep these crucial skills in the forefront of their employees' minds, so that they are competent and ready to act in an emergency situation.

However, Millie’s Mark is valid for three years in which time nursery providers must maintain the standards set within the criteria.

The aims of Millie’s Mark are to keep children safe and minimise risk and accidents by:

• Raising standards in paediatric first aid;

• Increasing numbers of first aid-trained staff;

• Increasing competency in applying first aid;

• Enabling staff to respond quickly in emergencies;

• Raising the quality and skills of the early years workforce and helping them with day-to-day first aid issues, such as allergies;

• Providing reassurance to parents.

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive at NDNA, said she is delighted to have been successful in their bid to develop Millie’s Mark. She said: "We believe passionately that it will make a difference in keeping children safe. Millie’s Mark will soon be well-known to parents all over the country as a clear indicator of the highest standards in keeping children safe from harm.

Millie’s mark will help nurseries validate quality

“Seeing that a nursery has achieved Millie’s Mark will help parents make informed decisions when they are choosing childcare and it will be great for nurseries to show how serious they are about providing the best services possible.

“Millie’s Mark will also help nurseries to validate quality and reflect on their current practice as well as providing best practice guidance to support them to increase competencies and confidence of practitioners in applying paediatric first aid.”

Delivering Millie’s Mark will build on the work that NDNA carried out last year in working with nurseries to produce a series of case studies of exemplary practice in first aid training in England.

A total of ten nurseries, chosen from more than 200 applicants, have been taking part in a pilot to test the new standards that settings will be required to demonstrate. These nurseries will be the first to receive Millie’s Mark.

’This change could ultimately save a child’s life’

Liz Bayram, chief executive of Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (PACEY), believes the changes to paediatric first aid training is 'fantastic news' for the sector and for all children in early years settings and their families.

She said: “A recent member survey found that 94 per cent of PACEY members were in favour of more first aid trained staff in group settings.

"The tragic Millie Thompson case in 2012 brought into sharp focus the fact that paediatric first aid training can mean the difference between the life and death of a child. We are delighted the Government has listened and made this change that could ultimately save a child's life."

As part of the process for Millie’s Mark nurseries will need to complete an audit, which will ask how due diligence has been carried out on the training provider, how they have chosen the supplier, and what quality checks they have carried out on staff competencies and confidence post-training.

For Ms Thompson, Millie's Mark has been an ‘amazing achievement’ for Millie's Trust to be involved with’. She said: “We see this as the beginning of the process and we will continue to campaign to ensure that Millie's Mark is not just restricted to England. We have already seen demand for it in the rest of the UK and we will be following this up over the next year to attempt to extend the scheme to other areas.”

For more information on Millie’s Mark visit: www.milliestrust.com/