KIDDI Caru’s Burgess Hill Day Nursery lent its support to the global Safer Internet Day campaign on Tuesday.

Co-ordinated in the UK by the UK Safer Internet Centre, Safer Internet Day is celebrated in over 100 countries.

It saw Kiddi Caru Day Nurseries join hundreds of organisations right across the UK and globally to ‘be the change’ and help create a better internet.

This can be achieved by committing to communicating as far and as wide as possible, relevant messages to ensure children are safer online.

Kiddi Caru sends Internet Safety Packs featuring different information and leaflets to all their families and carers.

The packs also form part of any induction paperwork for potential new families and carers.

On Internet Safety Day the nursery staff talked to the pre-school children about internet safety and the children and staff read the story ‘Little Bird’s Internet Safety Adventure’ together.

Gemma Hicks, Nursery Manager, said: “Our Internet Safety Parent Packs are just the start.

“Internet safety is embedded in activities we do every day and staff work with the children to give them an understanding that the internet is a powerful tool with a wealth of information to support learning, but also to gain insight that not everything online is real and it is an additional resource to the ‘real world.’

“Our aim is not just to reach out to our children and families that attend our nurseries about the safe use of the internet, but further; our staff teams, our own extended families and network of friends who may have children of all ages right up to 18-year olds.

“The activities that we have put in place lay the foundations for later on in our children’s lives and more so with the use of social media.”

Meanwhile, it was party time at Kiddi Caru Burgess Hill when the children and staff celebrated the nursery’s 11th birthday.

As well as playing party games, everyone enjoyed a slice of delicious birthday cake made by the nursery’s chef.

Three members of staff, Nursery Manager Gemma Hicks and Nursery Practitioners Louise Morris and Rebecca Jones, were also marking their 11th year at the nursery.

Gemma Hicks said: “The children were very excited about celebrating the nursery’s birthday and they couldn’t believe how long it has been open for or that it’s older than all of them!

“We are very lucky to have spent the last 11 years working in such a wonderful nursery environment - it’s amazing to think that some of the children we cared for back then will be at high school now.”