Colsal
Childminder in London: Bromley (also available for babysitting)
Usually responds within 24 hours
Female Member since Jun 2014 Last Updated Feb 2024 Last Login 02 May 2024
My Summary
About Me
We no longer have vacancies moving forward I’m afraid.
Our names are Colin, Sally and Amber We have been awarded our second OUTSTANDING grade by OFSTED. Our daughter Amber is also now a registered childminder. We are husband/wife/daughter and work as a team. We have been childminding since 2006. We initially started childminding so we could be with our children as they grew, We have just carried on as it is such a rewarding job. Our daughter is a big hit with the children. We are big on arts and crafts and creativity. We like to take the children on walks around our beautiful allotment site and the country park. We have an allotment that runs along the side of our house. There are many learning opportunities there. We have a beautiful playhouse in the garden which the children love. It gives us more space to spread out and allows us to have more toys out to play with. As there are three of us working we have children of different ages so there is a lot of social interaction going on for everyone. We all sit down together for lunch which is a cooked home made meal.
The children will learn through play and we follow the EYFS guidelines. We stay in touch through the day on WhatsApp with photos and videos and daily diary. We have many toys for different ages and interests. We have a large art box with lots of fun things to make. We care for ages 8 months to 3 years
My Experience
We have been childminding since 2006. Sally and Amber have always done babysitting. Probably the best experience of all is being parents ourselves. Sally used to teach children art workshops at the art shop in Bromley, also hosted arty parties for the children. Amber went to the Brit school and has qualifications in art and design. Amber babysits for most our clients now.
My Qualifications
We are all OFSTED registered and CRB checked, we all have up to date paediatric first aid training, Sally has qualified in CACHE Level 3 Diploma In Home Based Childcare, we are all up to date with Safeguarding courses, we have full public liability insurance with Morton Michel.
We are OFSTED rated OUTSTANDING.
My Availability
We no longer have any availability but can sometimes offer babysitting if very local
Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Before School | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
Morning | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
Afternoon | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
After School | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
Evening | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
Overnight | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
Last Updated: 16/02/2024 |
My Fees
- Childminding from £7.36 per hour
- Babysitting from £13.00 per hour
£70 day rate (subject to change), minimum 2 days attendance and open from 8 to 5.30
28 days unpaid leave plus bank holidays a year
My Local Schools
- I provide pick ups at Churchfields Primary School
My Ofsted Inspections
The inspection grades below have been obtained from the Ofsted website based upon the registration number the childminder has provided to us. You should verify this information yourself prior to using the childminder.
My Documents
- DBS Check (added 21/04/2020)
Reviews
Below are the latest reviews for ColSal. Please note that reviews represent the subjective opinions of other Childcare.co.uk users and not of Childcare.co.uk. Parents must carry out their own checks and references on childcare providers to ensure that they are completely happy before enaging in the use of their services.
We were absolutely over the moon to have found Sally, Colin and Amber. The setting was really important for us and it’s so wonderful to see pictures of the children having fun running around the allotments and learning about nature. We loved how much Sally gets the kids outside and how much effort she puts in to make the days varied. Our little boy has absolutely flourished under their care, from learning how to look after smaller babies to creating beautiful arts and crafts and having lots of fun along the way! We feel lucky to have found Sally, Colin and Amber and would have no hesitation recommending.
Our son has got so much from being with Sally - I moved him from another setting as it had too many babies and that was limiting the amount of activities and fresh air outdoor time he was getting. I was so glad I looked again and Sally and from the off she was speedy, responsive and organised, getting back to my call on a Sunday and organising a visit.
I was very taken by the setting immediately, her home and garden and the cabin are ideal - it gives a range of places for the children to spend the day - not just cooped up in one room! I also loved the mix of ages and the size of her setting - there were 9 children, and most were toddlers of either 2, 3 or 4 and there were just one or two babies so the mix was perfect for Rowan and for their splitting the group into activities. Their house is cosy, quirky full of creativity and fun and a real family home. This was also very important having gone to visit so many soulless corporate looking 'nurseries'!
Then the allotments were a big part of. our decision to go with them, it was amazing to see how much green space they have on their doorstep, the river where the kids play poo-sticks, the chickens and all the learning about growing food. Our son Rowan is a keen gardener now and loves learning about how things grow, I am sure Sally has had a part in this!
I was very anxious that Rowan keep his nap routine and I was so worried about how he would get to sleep without me but Sally patiently listened to all my concerns, and was also good reminding me kindly that she had done this many times, which was a helpful reminder as it was a real wrench for me leaving him, even though I had lucked out with such a great setting. I especially loved that Rowan would sleep in his own cot in her spotless and calm bedroom, and that she would rock him to sleep in her arms, while her daughter Amber and husband Colin looked after the other children. This level of care and individual attention was a huge relief to me, as were her regular updates on text with lovely photos and videos of our son. I felt so reassured. Sally was patient with my many requests and understood our gentle/attachment parenting ethos and respected our ways entirely and Rowan had his regular nap throughout his time there (nearly 2 years). This was very important for us and allowed him to be the calm, happy, emotionally well regulated child he has always been.
Rowan settled very quickly and enjoyed the setting very much, the variety or art and craft, the allotment walks, the walk through a country park on the afternoon school run, the singing and dancing, the nursery rhymes and language learning - Rowan always had great language but it has developed a lot with their input.
They helped with toilet training and Amber especially helped with this and encouraged his love of building of Lego! All in all, we are so very glad we met them and want to stay in touch. For us it was a great first step in separating from our son for a day, I never worried all day at work, I loved getting the updates and news and Sally was super diligent at replying to any concerns and questions, all this while looking after 8 other children, hats off to Sally!
Thank you for all your support and the care and love you showed our son. We will always remember you so fondly x
We've had our son and daughter with Sally, Colin and Amber for several years. It's been a really positive experience for our children and us. We've all enjoyed a genuine and personable relationship. It's been (and is) more like an extended family than anything else.
The setting is lovely, with a playhouse at the back of the garden and an allotment nearby. There are always fun activities on the go including lots of arts and crafts (Sally and Amber are rather passionate about it).
We feel really lucky to have found Sally back then. There are enough children to make it a suitable social environment for everyone but not too many for it to become impersonal.
Sally has always been very helpful and accommodating when things go left-field (we've been 'blessed' with a fair amount of that over the years, as most young parents are).
We happily and highly recommend Sally and gang to anyone who is looking for a wholesome setting for their children.
Thanks for the wonderful experiences you've helped provide to our children, Sally, Amber and Colin.
Greetings from P & L, F & L
Our little boy stayed with Sally, Colin and Amber from age 2 to nearly 4 when he started preschool, and we were delighted to have found them. They had a lovely setting, with a great playroom, full of varied toys for free-play. They live alongside the allotments and regularly go on little adventures there, to pick fruits, visit the chickens, have little races and throw sticks in the river. They also do crafts in the house as well as reading stories, singing songs, dancing, learning numbers and plenty of garden play. Sally and family took great care of our little boy and he really grew in confidence during the time they looked after him. Highly recommended!
I would highly recommend Amber, sally and Colin- there setting is safe and loving- lovely food and regular updates showing happy and engaged children! My son robin was so well looked after in setting- I didn’t worry about his well being at all while there- which is the most important thing I could ask for in my opinion!!
The nicest thing about the team as childminders is the lovely homely environment they create- on my first ever pick up of robin I ended up getting two flat tyres while driving to collect him! I was over 4 hours late!! They were so understanding and supportive of the delay- and sally even gave us jam sandwiches and a banana for the ride home in the tow truck (to robins delight!!)
Thanks for looking after our son so well sally, Colin and amber xx
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