Sheffield nursery receives award in recognition of staff training in paediatric first aid

Staff and children at the Bizzy Bee Family Childcare Centre celebrating the award

Bizzy Bee Childcare Centre, off School Road in Beighton, received the Millie's Mark award last month after going above and beyond the minimum safety requirements by having all of its 24 staff members trained in paediatric first aid.

Sheffield MP speaks out over tragic deaths of two Sheffield boys, aged 13 and 14

Millie’s Mark is named after Millie Thompson, who died after choking on food at a nursery in 2012 at just nine-months-old.

The children were joined by the Millie's Mark mascot for the celebration

Training consists of six key areas with everything from how to help a baby or child who is choking to what to do if a youngster is suffering from an anaphylactic shock.

It takes place over the course of the year with each area receiving a dedicated half-term in which the staff now have in-house training provided by mentors who support the nursery and check their safety processes.

As such, the nursery has also reviewed all their safety policies to ensure it is up to standards required to pass a safety audit, staff confidence audit, staff training matrix and floor plan review.

The popular nursery is only one of four in Sheffield to have received the award, marking a major milestone achievement for staff.

Bizzy Bee's was forced to close in November 2015 after the premises was damaged in an arson attack, resulting in over £75,000 worth of the building’s contents being destroyed and £26,000 of nursery fees being refunded to parents.

Nobody was injured in the fire - but 26 staff were made redundant as a result.

However, after generous donations from the Beighton community and beyond, the nursery eventually re-opened in August and has continued to thrive ever since.

Speaking of the award, Amanda Webster, Early Years Foundation Stage Coordinator at Bizzy Bee’s, said: “It is massive to receive this award, especially for our parents, both prospective parents and parents that come here already.

“It makes sure they know that we go above and beyond in paediatric first aid training it is just amazing that we finally have recognition for the fact that we are all paediatric first aid trained and we do the training here as well.”

The nursery will keep the award for three years upon which they will then be reviewed again.