Awarded Setting:

Meithrinfa Si-Lwli is a Welsh Language day nursery in Whitchurch, Cardiff. We offer 58 places for children between 6 weeks to 5 years old, and provide wrap around care to the local Welsh language primary school in our community.
We pride ourselves on being a child led setting using responsive planning as part of our pedagogy, and despite being close to the City Centre, we have a strong nature and outdoor play ethos.

Why did you embark onto NDNA Millie’s Mark scheme?
As a management team, we had been discussing and comparing our Paediatric First Aid training experiences, as well as our varying levels of confidence in applying this knowledge in practice. This was particularly relevant as some members of the team had completed 12-hour training, while others had undertaken 6-hour courses.
Embarking on our first Millie’s Mark accreditation provided an ideal opportunity to review this collectively as a team, alongside meaningful self-reflection as individual practitioners.
The Millie’s Mark audit documentation encouraged thorough reflection on our practice and highlighted that, in order to best support all staff in delivering the highest standard of care to our children and families, this could be most effectively achieved by ensuring all staff complete the 12-hour, two-day Paediatric First Aid training.

What were the barriers?
The only barrier we encountered was the limitation of being able to put forward only two members of staff at a time to attend the two-day Paediatric First Aid courses with our training provider.
Meithrinfa Si-Lwli is a Welsh Language day nursery in Whitchurch, Cardiff. We offer 58 places for children between 6 weeks to 5 years old, and provide wrap around care to the local Welsh language primary school in our community.
We pride ourselves on being a child led setting using responsive planning as part of our pedagogy, and despite being close to the City Centre, we have a strong nature and outdoor play ethos.
Currently, three staff members are awaiting their training dates in the Spring; however, all other staff have now successfully completed the 12-hour, two-day training. Our Paediatric training from here onwards will be renewed every two years rather than three as previous.

Positive aspect of achieving NDNA Millie’s Mark?
We feel that completing the Millie’s Mark Accreditation has had a positive impact on our practice. As a result, we have introduced Paediatric First Aid scenario discussions into our monthly team meetings, informed by the insightful Confidence Audit provided by Millie’s Mark, which all staff completed as part of our portfolio.
In addition, we have incorporated a dedicated section within staff supervisions, allowing practitioners to openly reflect on their confidence levels and identify any areas where they feel further support is needed. These two developments are already proving effective in keeping First Aid at the forefront of practitioners’ minds and enable the management team to continually review practice and provide ongoing support. This ensures that, as a setting, we are well prepared and confident in responding to risks, accidents, and emergencies to better Safeguard the children in our care.

Outcomes & Reflections
When we shared our positive news with our families we had a good response, many reacting to the post and a few comments of congratulations.
We are extremely proud to have achieved this accreditation and are committed to maintaining and upholding its standards.