Craig Stockman, who sends his young daughter to ABC Day Nursery at Hadley, has held extra training sessions after the law demanded all nursery staff are qualified.

His company Firm Foundation First Aid, based in Telford, has trained 21 staff in the latest round of training at the Ofsted rated outstanding sites in Hadley, Hoo, Lightmoor and Hollinswood.

He said: “I have been running the company for around three years and obviously have a vested interested in ensuring all staff at ABC are trained.

“I have always found them to be highly professional and I wouldn't certificate them if they weren't able to achieve the recognised standard.

“Working with young children, their main concerns are choking and CPR so we hold practical sessions in this.

“At meal times they do baby lead weaning so there are a number of things which could be a concern, babies are developing fine motor skills, coordination and control, so we tailor the training to the needs of staff.

“The change of the law makes sense to ensure staff are trained to the relevant standard and that they can deliver skills efficiently.”

It recently became a legal requirement for all level two and three staff to have emergency paediatric first aid or a full paediatric first aid certificate if they are to count towards the staff-qualification ratios for Early Years Foundation Stage.

Previously providers only had to have one first-aider on the premises at all times.

As well as a practical assessment, a workbook has also recently been introduced which is assessed and marked.

The change in the law came as a response to a campaign run by Joanne and Dan Thompson, whose daughter Millie died after choking at her nursery in Stockport in 2012.

More than 100,000 people signed the couple’s online petition calling for compulsory first aid training.

Owner Penny Hustwick said she is proud of all her staff at ABC Day Nursery for completing their training.

Mrs Hustwick said: “We very much welcome the change in law. We have always had all of our staff first aid trained, the safety of our children in our nursery settings is paramount and our staff are trained to react in an emergency.
“We want parents to know their children are safe in our hands while they are away from them.

“Staff have worked hard over the last few months attending training in the evenings and at weekends.

“Obviously we hope we never need to use our skills but we know we are ready if an emergency arises.”

Craig, who also runs first aid training sessions for parents on basics such as CPR, added that all staff need to be confident in delivering the skills effectively so he will run continued professional development sessions twice a year.

“They are not using these skills every day,” he said.

“We will keep reinforcing the techniques to ensure that the staff can effectively deliver their skills especially when faced with an emergency situation.

“I will also pass on any changes in advice or the law.”
ABC was launched more than 20 years ago and has four Ofsted outstanding rated day nurseries across Telford in Lightmoor, Hollinswood, Hoo and Hadley.

To find out more about any of the four ABC Day Nursery sites visit www.abc-daynursery.co.uk/.