University Nursery receives prestigious Millie’s Mark award

The accolade recognises that the nursery has gone above and beyond the legal requirements stated within the Early Years Foundation Stage in nursery paediatric first aid qualifications. 

The University Nursery, which opened in 1992 and last year marked its 30th anniversary, takes children from staff and students at the University of Bradford and members of the public.

Millie’s Mark is an accreditation by the National Day Nurseries Association in collaboration with the Department for Education and Millie’s Trust. The Millie’s Mark accreditation launched in 2016 and is named after Millie Thompson, who tragically died as a result of choking in a nursery in 2012.

Millie’s parents Dan and Joanne Thompson campaigned for all nursery staff to have full paediatric first aid training and having Millie’s Mark demonstrates that nurseries have met this standard. In addition, nurseries must go above and beyond to minimise risks and accidents, have extremely robust processes and documentation, and work hard to keep crucial first aid skills in the forefront of their employees’ minds. 

The award will be celebrated at the nursery’s next family fun day on June 10.

University manager Rochelle Smith said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded Millie’s Mark and to be the only current setting in Bradford to hold this prestigious award. This demonstrates the robust processes and procedures which we have in place to keep our children safe and keeps crucial first aid skills in the forefront of our staff’s minds. It has given us the opportunity to reflect on the strong practices which we already had in place and build on these, providing additional reassurance to parents when leaving their children in our care.”

University Vice-Chancellor Professor Shirley Congdon said: “This is a thoroughly deserved nationally recognised award and it reflects the hard work of staff and their commitment to continuous improvement."