Latest Reviews
Here are some of the latest reviews that we have received from parents who have used childcare providers and tutors listed on Childcare.co.uk.
Reviewed
Sherry was fabulous. From the pre-sit comms, punctual arrival, bath, pre-bed play and tidy up and bedtime story. Sherry has years of experience and a very calming nature. Nothing was a problem
by
kipbip
Reviewed
My children are now 13 and 10 and no longer need a childminder. When they did, it was Helen. No other childminder would do. She made them feel at home, as did Ben, Jessica and Ryan. Helens was always a calm happy place to be with good home made food and the most amazing opportunities for the children to learn. Helen always made learning great for the children, lead by their interests so they loved going every day knowing there would be something amazing to do. Trips out to the park, the beach, picnics and so much more.
Helen provided a real home from home, family environment with so much to enrich the children’s development. She was clearly very knowledgeable in the early years arena and I felt settled with the knowledge that she always had the children’s interests as the core of everything. We had great communication every day, never wondered what they had been doing, the pictures and diaries told me everything. The children loved going to Helen’s, no question. If I could’ve kept them small they would still be there now!
I always recommend Helen to anyone looking for childcare in the area, although she very rarely has space, the Honeybees setting is my only recommendation for childcare.
by
Dianeb
Reviewed
I was quite excited to meet this lady but she arranged to meet me twice and failed to show up twice. Not heard from her since. Shame!
by
Zoe
Reviewed
Brilliant communication, friendly and helpful
I enquired if Ruby could babysit for me at very late notice. Even though she wasn't available on this occasion, she offered to help another time and was very polite and prompt with communication. Many thanks. Recommended :)
by
Ellie Wr
Reviewed
Racist husband and setting not ideal for babies
the big thing…. I overheard her husband Chris use racial slur, and the ‘n’ word. He then used the ‘f’ word and shouted at my baby. That was the last straw for me.
This setting is NOT ideal for younger babies. This is because Marianne is a very stubborn lady who doesn’t respect a mother’s wishes or medical advice from the NHS that a mother is following.
Our disagreement was about me wanting to follow the NHS guidelines on weaning from 6 months, by giving the infant the same amount of breastmilk and adding semi-solids as complementary. But Marianne wanted to substitute his breastmilk with semi-solids. Simply because it is faster for her! She wants to stuff an infant’s belly with solids in 10minutes, make him sleep for hours so she can do other things. Not caring about the nutrition, immunity and growth of the child. I had to repeat myself on several occasions, send screenshots from the NHS about nutrients during weaning, and finally wrote an email before she reluctantly adhered to my instructions on prioritising breastmilk over semi-solids. Only for her to revert back in a few weeks! She has convinced herself and tried to convince me that breastmilk is ‘just like water, too thin, won’t fill him up, won’t let him sleep’.
I informed her of everything she might find challenging (like him feeding often and taking longer if distracted) and I was open to ways to help make things easier (such as providing self-feeding bottle, fruit soothers, etc). she said she could handle things, but what she was expecting was that she could ’train’ the infant to fall into her own schedule and convenience. She expects all babies to act and react the same way to her ‘training’, no matter their age, gender, metabolism or personality. I did all I could to make things easier for her except compromise on my baby’s nutrient and safety.
She agrees to do some things, then stops, but when reminded, she says it’s ‘fault finding’. She does not understand that an infant needs what he needs, and parents/caregivers can’t just stop providing them just because they don’t feel like it! Why accept to do something only to stop doing it?!
Asking her to clean surfaces in public restrooms before changing my baby was ’too demanding’! My baby wiggles a lot and is at the stage of touching, mouthing and licking everything, including walls! Marianne and Chris’s thoughts on this?… I’m smothering him, he’s going to be weak, and all sorts of rubbish! A mother being cautious of hygiene, post covid19 global pandemic is what they class as smothering. It’s shocking what they don’t consider and then have issues with when you request them. Funny how they feel being childminders automatically means they know better than the parents and NHS combined! Even though they are not yet parents themselves.
There was nothing wrong in her just accepting and admitting that she wasn’t suited to take care of a younger baby and I would understand and we could have parted ways nicely. But instead her and chris went on saying all sorts about me, using racial slurs, etc. because she feels embarrassed and thinks it makes her look incompetent. Also because it’s a full time space and the largest chunk of their income, I guess.
Disagreements are normal and talking crap about people is not shocking. What is shocking are the racist slurs and shouting at an 8 months old baby. Using words like that in front of a 1 and 2 year olds is shocking! Although according to them, one of the kids ‘will never talk and will be a slow learner’. Can you imagine childminders saying that about your kid, in front of them?! Horrible!
I will however say that Marianne told chris off immediately when he swore and shouted at my baby. But she was okay with the racial slurs.
I have evidence for all these as I needed to be sure my baby was well taken care off after we agreed to end the contract. And boy am I glad I did! Feel free to contact me for more details.
If Chris is not in the setting, the place will be good for older kids who do not require as much flexibility, attention or care. Chris should NOT be allowed to childmind, so I will be reporting him to the council and offsted.
by
Ola
Reviewed
My 2 year old son has never had a babysitter before , and the first he met Holly he was so comfortable with her , telling her stories and showing her all his toys.Holly she's very pleasant, friendly ,warm and loving.
by
Thenjiwe
Reviewed
My children love spending time with Tripta
Tripta took care of my youngest daughter alongside collecting my eldest two from school. My youngest daughter was always very reserved with strangers as she was born in lockdown. On our first meeting with Tripta my daughter was immediately drawn to Tripta and we knew she was the nanny for us. She has continued to create a lovely relationship with my youngest and my older children and will be missed when she leaves us.
by
AlexGum9
Reviewed
Our little girl has been with Sarah almost 2 years now and she absolutely loves going there. First of all, the communication is outstanding. All parents are given ‘home link books’ where you will find an overview of your child’s day, so you never get to worry that you won’t know if your child had a nap or ate lunch. All health concerns are flagged immediately via a phone. Sarah also prepares very detailed developmental reports for children. For example, we found it useful when our little girl had a review with a health visitor as we were given Sarah’s notes along with pictures. The health visitor was very impressed and it was reassuring to know that our observations as parents match Sarah’s. Secondly, you will find evidence of continuous development as Sarah does a lot of online trainings and that proves that she really wants to be the best at her job. Third, every day is different for the kids as they do so much there – arts & crafts, baking, fancy dress, water painting etc. Every activity teaches the kids something. For example, the kids would build towers out of Lego Duplo blocks but at the same time they would also recognise the colours and name them. Sarah also provides a lot of healthy snacks for the kids – plenty of fruits and vegetables. There is this lovely family atmosphere in Sarah’s house and you can really feel it. Oh, I almost forgot! Sarah has a dog named Milo and the kids adore him. He is very friendly and loves kids. Finally, Sarah has been granted an ‘outstanding’ rating from Ofsted and I can definitely see where that came from as she very dedicated and hard-working.
by
Mateusz
Reviewed
Bilqees nannied for our 1 year old daughter for two days while i had work commitments. She very quickly gained Hannahs trust and took care of her very well, she was completely self sufficient and didn’t need or ask for anything from my husband who was working from home. She even went with the flow and was happy to accommodate supervising our older child when he was sent home from nursery poorly late on the first day. We wouldn’t hesitate to use Bilqees again or recommend her to someone else!
by
BethMc
Reviewed
Becci is a great babysitter and has such a calming presence. She is polite, friendly and great fun. She's reliable, punctual and great at communicating with us. Our 3 children all have additional needs and Becci was very intuitive and adapted straight away. Having autism, our children struggle with change and find it difficult to warm up to new people but Becci was a huge hit from her very fist visit. Our children have very different personalities and needs but Becci dove straight in and managed them all perfectly, including the odd meltdown! She could also tell the twins apart immediately (they are identical). She's an absolutely wonderful lady and I would highly recommend her.
*our children are aged 3, 3 and 6
by
Loretta
Reviewed
Our little boy has been going to Nellys since he was 1. He’s 20 months now. From the moment we met Karen we knew this was setting we wanted him to attend. He has a wonderful relationship with Karen, his keyworker Zoe and the rest of the children.
Our boy has developed a true interest in animals and I put this down to Karen’s two dogs and rabbit. Our son is thriving at Nellys and she makes every effort to ensure she communicates with parents about how our child is developing.
by
Lia Jade
Reviewed
My 4 month old has been having over night care for nearly 2 months now, once a week for 12 hours. Dawn updates me with what he has eaten each morning and is great at communicating. She cleans and sterelise's the bottles for me which is a great help for the next day. My little one is always happy to see dawn and always has a great night with her. She stays up all night with him to tend to any needs he has. Super flexible and a great childminder.
by
Harriet
Reviewed
Alex is absolutely fabulous as a babysitter. She’s really normal, professional, has proof of all documentation and our children instantly bonded with her, which is unheard of for our lockdown baby. We feel completely relaxed when our boys are in her care. I highly recommend her services.
by
Fidget29
Reviewed
Giovanna looked after my wee boy while I was busy yesterday and done this on late notice, I knew he was in good hands and could relax while I was out, he seemed so happy when I got back and I was so happy with his care, he doesn’t always take to people straight away but he was so good with Giovanna😁
by
Caitlin
Reviewed
My son has been going here since he was a baby & he is now 3! He loves everyone at nellys elephants! Karen & her team are amazing! Feels like a little family! My son learns so much from karen & her team. My son is always asking when he has nursery. Highly reccomend karen & her team 💖
by
Tamarac
Reviewed
A creative and carrying childminder 💜
Helen has looked after my little boy since he was 7months old. My son was little to start with a childminder, but we knew Helen was the right choice. She reads loads of books, always lets the kids play in the garden, and makes sure every child feels safe and cared for. Helen has learned all my little boy’s baby signing, so she always know what he needs, and she keeps me up to date on his developments. Would highly recommend.
by
JoSlater
Reviewed
Best childminder in the world! Highly recommend.
Jane currently looks after my youngest daughter who is 2 but also looked after my other two children too from age 1 - who are now age 8 and 6 so we have used Jane for the last 7 years.
I couldn't recommend Jane highly enough, she is warm and welcomes children into her home and family and they see it as their second home. She was recommended to us by a friend all those years ago and we have been forever grateful that we found her. She is everything you would want in a childminder; kind, affectionate, , respectful, loving and does so many different activities with the children she looks after and takes them to nice places. Her home offers a really relaxed atmosphere and they love her play room, garden and all the puzzles and crafts she has there.
My children also made friends through Jane too, she helped them create friendships and bond with others. She also takes them to toddler groups which are great for their social skills.
I have found Jane very flexible and adaptable over the years and is always willing to help out where she can. She also uses common sense and isn't one of those childcare settings where children are sent home instantly if they have a temperature for example.
My kids have all loved 'Janey' and I feel very grateful that they have so many wonderful childhood memories and had so many wonderful experiences. The older two still talk about Jane now.
by
AnnaW
Reviewed
It such an amazing nursery with shut polite staff and caring staff my son has mad so much improvement in his development how much work the staff have done is amazing they mad if more fun and enjoyable for the children and safe I would recommend there nursery to anyone as it amazing
by
Channice
Reviewed
Lucy took care of our 7months old son as I was preparing to transition back to work. As a mom, it is hard to leave your baby with someone else after being so close to him, and I loved how attentive and caring Lucy was, it gave me reassurance that I would be leaving him with a good-hearted and warm person. She was also very proactive offering to prepare meals to him, find baby groups in the area if we’d like, etc. You could tell for her this is not just a job that she’s indifferent to, and to a first-time mom, that means the world. Thanks Lucy!
by
Nevena
Reviewed
Fantastic and welcoming childminder.
Gemma is an excellent childminder who has made our son feel happy and safe from the first day. He looks forward to seeing her and I have always felt confident he is in safe hands.
Gemma is reliable, flexible and has great communication which has been really important for us as a family.
Gemma’s family home is the perfect setting as a home away from home. She always tries to include my son’s favourite toys and encourages him to try new activities too.
I have been very happy with her service.
by
Rebecca
