Basingstoke MP Maria Miller recently visited Hatch Warren Under 5’s Pre-school at Hatch Warren Community Centre, where she was met by the Pre-school’s Manager Pam Jones, and the Manager of their sister Pre-school, Kempshott Under 5’s (which is held at St Mark’s Church in Kempshott).
Maria met staff and children at the Pre-school, and was able to watch them taking part in a range of activities.
Both pre-schools have recently been awarded the “Millie’s Mark” accreditation, which is named after Millie Thomson, who died after choking on food at a nursery in 2012, when she was 9 months old. Her parents campaigned for changes to first aid requirements for childcare providers. The Mark is backed by the National Day Nurseries Association, Ofsted and the Department for Education. It involves all staff being trained in paediatric first aid, and regularly practising and refreshing that training; it means they would be confident in saving a child’s life if they had to.
Maria said: “I was very pleased to visit the Hatch Warren Pre-school and meet staff and children, and hear about “Millie’s Mark”. I applaud the Hatch Warren and Kempshott Pre-schools on achieving this exceptional award, and was particularly interested to hear about how they are able to look after children with more complex health needs.”
“I understand that they are the only two early years settings in the Basingstoke area to have achieved “Millie’s Mark” and I would encourage other pre-schools and nurseries to look into this and work towards achieving “Millie’s Mark”, as an important way to enhance their care for young children and offer greater peace of mind to parents and carers.”