A Burton nursery has become the first in the area to receive a 'Millie's Mark' accreditation, in memory of a toddler who died after choking on food at nursery.

The Co-operative nursery, based at Queen's Hospital, has been given the accolade for high quality of first aid training for its 25 staff members.

The accreditation was developed in 2015 by the parents of Millie Thompson, who died when she was just nine months old in 2012 after choking on food when she was at a nursery in Greater Manchester.

After her death parents developed the accreditation so that all staff working in childcare settings are trained on what to do in similar situations to prevent a similar tragedy.

Although Millie did not attend a Co-operative nursery the firm, which runs the chain of nurseries, heard about her story and decided that the first aid accreditation was something it wanted to achieve to help keep its youngsters safe.

Manager, Sian Edwards, and deputy manager, Molly Wain, with their certificate

The Co-operative nursery in Burton was accredited with the award in February, being one of just 242 nurseries to have been given the mark across the country.

Sian Edwards, manager of the nursery, said: "Over recent months we have strived to achieve the Millie's Mark accreditation for going above and beyond the minimal health and safety requirements.

"This has included all colleagues being paediatric first aid trained, continual self-assessments of confidence and competence and also involving the children to self-assess their health, well-being and environments.

"Through this we have also made links within the community involving St Johns Ambulance Service and our local hospital.

"We hope this will inspire other settings to strive towards this achievement."

The nursery has room for 58 children on a day-to-day basis and, while it primarily caters for staff at Queen's Hospital, anyone from the local community is welcome.

Mollie Wain and Sian Edwards joined by youngsters at the nursery

Ms Edwards added: "We have 25 inspirational staff members who were all overwhelmed when we were awarded this recognition in February 2018, being the only in the area to achieve this award.

"At our nursery we pride ourselves on our passion and dedication, and Millie's Mark allowed us to develop our practice, implement new ideas and allow our staff confidence to continue to grow.

"We pride ourselves on having all our staff members first aid trained as this allows us to inspire the children in our care to learn to care for themselves and the people around them.

"Two of our staff members of part of the St John's Ambulance team, who are regularly invoted in to setting to educate the children on bandaging, medicine and emergency services.

"As the majority of our parents are doctors, nurses and surgeons themselves, it is vital that all staff members are first aid trained to reassure parents when leaving their children in our care."

The Co-operative childcare runs alongside the organisations other ventures including food stores and funeral homes.

What is Millie's Mark?

Millie's Mark is named after Millie Thompson, who died after choking on food at a nursery in 2012 when she was just nine months old.

Her parents, Dan and Joanne Thompson, founded the trust and have successfully campaigned for changes to first aid requirements for childcare providers.

The mark is awarded to organisations that are well equipped to save a child's life if the worst happened. This means that, not only do staff have to be trained in complex first aid, but they also have to have the confidence to carry it out in an emergency.

Millie's mum, Joanne, said: "Millie's Mark is our gorgeous daughter's legacy, and to see the development of a voluntary scheme mark introduced into nurseries is an achievement not just for us, but for parents everywhere.

"We put out children into the hands of nurseries and we expect they will be cared for in the best possible way. A nursery achieving Millie's Mark is an exceptional achievement for not only the staff but for the children and parents too.

"Our journey towards this mark has been tough, hard work and there have been many tears shed, but we are so amazingly proud that this mark is now established and we will soon see the logo appearing in nurseries throughout England."