Childminder achieves gold standard

Childminder achieves gold standard

Members of Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Primary Care Trust’s Oral Health Promotion Unit are celebrating after a local childminder received a prestigious new award.

Childminder Gill Ashworth has been awarded the Gold Standard for the ‘Time for Smiles’ childminder award scheme – the first childminder for Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT Dental Service to achieve the award.

The new ‘Time for Smiles’ award scheme has been specifically designed for childminders who want to help the children in their care to prevent tooth decay and encourage a healthy diet.

The award scheme helps childminders to demonstrate to parents and carers that they are strong advocates of good health and want to promote nutritional information amongst their children.

Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Primary Care Trust’s Oral Health Promotion Unit provide help and support to childminders to achieve the award. They also help provide tooth friendly activities and information for the children and families to use in their own homes.

Ruth Bardsley, Oral Health Promotion Development Manager for HMRPCT, said: “I’m delighted for Gill who has worked incredibly hard along side the Oral Health Promotion Unit to implement this scheme in a childminder’s home as well as when the children are out on trips or visits to play centres. It’s important to have a healthy eating policy in place as it helps deliver and reinforce consistent messages to parents and children.”

Parents or childminders who would like further information on how to help children prevent tooth decay and encourage a healthy diet are can receive useful advice and literature by contacting the Oral Health Promotion Team on 01706 754695.

Special training sessions for child minders are delivered throughout the year at venues across the Borough.