Zoozoo
Childminder in Haydock
Female Member since Apr 2009 Last Updated Apr 2024 Last Login 18 Apr 2024
My Summary
About Me
Ofsted Outstanding home-based childminding setting in Haydock, St Helens. Level 6 with Qualified Teacher Status. Experienced and professional staff. Please contact us for current availability.
Welcome to ZooZoo Childcare - a family run childminding setting owned and run by husband and wife team Victoria and Gareth from our own family home in Haydock, St Helens, next to Sankey Valley Country Park. As parents of two children ourselves we understand how difficult it is to choose a childcare provider, so please take a look at what we can offer here at ZooZoo and then get in touch, thank you.
Why choose ZooZoo Childcare?
- a safe and loving home from home environment
- Ofsted Outstanding childcare
- only a small amount of children to mix with
- just two members of staff: husband and wife team Victoria and Gareth
- run by a degree qualified and experienced primary school teacher
- plenty of indoor and outdoor space to play in
- we have Sankey Valley Country Park and woodland running alongside our home and garden and we take the children into the woods regularly for nature-based learning opportunities
- male and female role models for your child
- we offer 15 and 30 hour government funding
- siblings age 0-11 can be cared for together
Hello and welcome to ZooZoo Childcare – an ‘OFSTED OUTSTANDING’ childminding setting in Haydock, St Helens. We are a husband and wife team and the aim of our setting is to provide a welcoming and friendly family home environment with both male and female adult role models, where siblings and friends can play together, care for various pets and go on outings just as they would at home. As parents ourselves we understand the difficult choices parents face when choosing childcare, so we treat all children like our own and welcome them into our ZooZoo family. We have experience of caring professionally for all ages of children from newborn babies up to teenage years.
At ZooZoo Childcare we have now celebrated two ‘OFSTED OUTSTANDING’ judgements as well as being one of the three finalists for the ‘Nursery World Childminder of the Year’ award. We encourage creativity in the children by including music, art and craft in their daily lives. We also nurture a love for animals, nature, gardening and the outdoors by getting the children learning outside whenever we can. I was previously a primary school teacher and then a nursery manager and my husband was a deputy nursery manager.
Features:
• Ofsted registered
• PACEY member
• Local authority registered
• ICO registered
• First aid qualified
• Full and enhanced DBS checked
This is what Ofsted says about us…
• The quality and standards of the early years provision: OUTSTANDING
• Effectiveness of the leadership and management: OUTSTANDING
• Quality of teaching, learning and assessment: OUTSTANDING
• Personal development, behaviour and welfare: OUTSTANDING
• Outcomes for children: OUTSTANDING
Summary of key findings for parents:
• This provision is outstanding.
• The exceptionally dedicated and skilled childminder works extremely closely with her assistant. Together they strive to maintain consistently high standards, including parents and children in their deeply reflective evaluation of the service they provide.
• The childminder uses her detailed knowledge of child development to provide a very exciting range of activities that inspires and challenges children. The childminder and her assistant are exceptionally skilled in identifying and making the most of learning opportunities as they arise during activities that children choose for themselves.
• Observation, assessment and planning arrangements are both rigorous and meticulous. Accurate assessments are used extremely well to identify precisely what children need to learn next.
• The highly qualified childminder swiftly identifies any gaps in children’s learning. She promptly implements detailed plans to help to ensure that all children receive the specific support they need to make excellent progress.
• Children are extremely happy and settle well in the friendly, homely and caring environment that the childminder and her assistant have created.
• The childminder has established exceptional partnerships with parents and other settings children attend. She diligently shares information about children’s development, such as her online observations, to provide continuity in children’s learning.
What else does Ofsted say about us..?
• The childminder cares deeply about the children and families who attend her provision and is passionate in her pursuit of excellence.
• Children’s safety is of the utmost importance.
• The childminder and her assistant have a superb knowledge of what each child needs to learn next and act as playful partners.
• Children develop extremely close bonds with the childminder and her assistant.
• Both are exceptional role models.
• The childminder and her assistant have extremely high expectations of children’s behaviour.
• All children are exceedingly well behaved.
• Children are superbly taught about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.
• Children enthusiastically play in the vibrant outdoor area.
• Children are highly motivated learners.
• All children demonstrate the qualities of highly successful learners.
• They are taught extremely valuable skills that help to prepare them for the next stage in their learning, including their eventual move to school.
Please contact us for more information and availability - make sure you book well in advance as our places fill up very qu
My Experience
Victoria - qualified and experienced primary school teacher, nursery manager, childminder and parent of two children. I am very musical and play the piano and guitar, incorporating music into our daily life at ZooZoo.
Gareth - qualified deputy nursery manager, childminding assistant and parent of two children.
My Qualifications
Victoria - 2:1 BEd (Hons) in Early Years and Music, Level 6 with Qualified Teacher Status, full Paediatric First Aid, Enhanced DBS check and subscribed to the DBS Update Service, Safeguarding, Diploma in Home-Based Childcare, Food Safety plus regular Continuing Professional Development training during my teaching, nursery and childminding career. Music qualifications include Grade 7 Piano, Grade 5 Guitar and Grade 5 Theory of Music.
Gareth - Level 3 Childcare, full Paediatric First Aid, Enhanced DBS check and subscribed to the DBS Update Service, Safeguarding, Food Safety plus regular Continuing Professional Development training during his nursery and childminding career.
Other members of our family - Enhanced DBS check and subscribed to the DBS Update Service.
My Availability
Please contact us for more information and current availability. Thank you for taking the time to read our profile, we look forward to hearing from you,
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before School | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| Morning | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| Afternoon | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| After School | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| Evening | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Overnight | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Last Updated: 18/04/2024 | |||||||
My Fees
- Childminding from £5.00 per hour
Please contact us directly for more information based on your family’s needs.
Payment - we accept workplace childcare vouchers, tax-free childcare, government funding and bank transfers.
My Local Schools
- I provide drop offs and pick ups at Legh Vale 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
- Ofsted Certificate (added 04/04/2024)
Reviews
Below are the latest reviews for ZooZoo. 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 first tried to get our son into ZooZoo 2 years ago but unfortunately only one of the 3 days we needed was available.
After lockdown, and a change in our circumstances, we managed to get our 4 year old and 1 year old into ZooZoo together full time and can't believe how much better they are than our previous nursery.
We received more updates in the first week than we did in 3 years with the previous provider!!
The SETTING is perfect for children with a warm indoor area, covered outdoor and expansive garden with animals and allotment for the children to interact with.
CLEANLINESS. Both children come home, more often than not, in the same clothes they went in only lightly soiled from play time. If for any reason their clothes are changed we get a notification to tell us the nature of the dirt/wet.
FOOD. Both children come home content and not hungry after eating varied meals and in summer time fresh picked fruit and veg leaving us to enjoy time with our children and play after work instead of cooking and feeding as we have had to do in the past.
COMMUNICATION is above and beyond anything we would have expected and I do not believe anyone does it better than ZooZoo. From day 1 we were kept up-to-date on how both of them were doing, when they were happy, sad, upset or just content in the setting. Which again after previous nursery experience was just our of this world.
I cannot recommend ZooZoo highly enough and am gutted that we didn't get our eldest in sooner. Both children were clearly happier entering and leaving for the day than with the last nursery, the oldest spoke more about what he had done that day as we could prompt him from our updates throughout the day and our youngest who suffered with a chronic snotty nose for the first 12 months of her life suddenly stopped being snotty which I can only put down to a smaller group size at ZooZoo and the cleanliness of their home.
And if all of the above wasn't enough, Victoria and Gareth are nice friendly people you can have a genuine conversation with and believe they are telling you the truth as oppose to just what they think you want to hear.
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I can honestly say that ZooZoo is THE BEST childcare setting for any child. Victoria and Gareth go above and beyond and treat all the children like their own. My little boy absolutely loved going to ZooZoo until he started Primary School. He came on leaps and bounds with the love and support from Victoria and Gareth, from being a shy child to becoming a little chatter box! He made so much progress whilst in their care. I can't recommend ZooZoo enough and how much my little boy has thrived whilst being there. As Ofsted report agrees, this is an outstanding setting! I would not send my child to any other
They have a lovely big garden, grow their own fruit/veg which the children enjoy helping to pick and prepare, not to mention lots off rabbits, dogs and cats all of which the children can interact with.
Being so close to Sankey Valley they enjoy lovely walks learning about nature along the way. They also keep you updated on your childs progress via Tapestry and follow Early Years Learning. Victoria and Gareth also keep you up to date on your child's day via the Baby Connect app so you can be assured that you child is having the best time through out the day. I honestly couldn't recommend them enough
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Our daughter has been attending ZooZoo for almost 2 years now. When she first started she was shy and hadn’t mixed a lot with other children so I was worried how she would take to it but I needn’t have. Victoria and Gareth are simply amazing, they encouraged and gently built Hattie’s confidence. After just a couple of times she was asking to go every day!
The activities are brilliant and varied, they are always up to something be it a summer walk and picnic or messy play, singing and story times. ZooZoobury festival has to be seen to be appreciated - it is Hattie’s (and our!) most favourite time of the year they have flags, music tents and even make their own tie dye t-shirts! They dance and play and Victoria and Gareth put so much thought and work into it it’s a triumph.
At ZooZoo they are passionate about nature and the environment - they have a vegetable garden where they grow and eat their own food, they do nature walks and care for animals and they even grew and released their own butterflies 🦋
Hattie’s confidence and development have soared since she started going, she absolutely loves her ‘ZooZoo friends’ and they are a huge part of her life. I can’t praise Victoria and Gareth enough. They are kind and fun and the genuine love they have for the children shines through! They see every child as an individual and foster their own little personalities. They have become like family to our daughter and to us and I’m so happy she goes there!
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When I accepted a new job I had to look for some childcare for my daughter in addition to that which is provided by my family. I was amazed by the reviews of ZooZoo and happy that they had space to take my daughter in their setting.
My daughter struggled so much being away from her familiar adults but Victoria and Gareth worked so hard to support her (and us!) through this. She had some wobbles early on but absolutely loves going to ZooZoo now! She often asked on a Sunday if it is a "Victoria and Gareth day!"
Her development has been amazing since she started at ZooZoo. The programme of activities and celebration of focussed weeks (such as 'pie week' and nature) mean that Robyn often comes home with a new interest in something. She tells us all about her day every evening with so much enthusiasm, and her speech is fantastic.
Robyn talks about her friends at ZooZoo all the time and looks forward to seeing them. It's really reassuring to know I'm leaving her in capable hands with people that she loves. Victoria and Gareth (and the other children) are supportive of helping Robyn to branch out and try new foods.
Victoria and Gareth provide frequent updates via the app which means I never feel far away. both have been supportive of our endeavours in potty training too! All processes and policies and extremely professional.
Thank you so much. We feel really lucky to have found you.
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Excellent setting and care. Daisy absolutely loves Zoo Zoo. She quickly became part of the ‘Zoo Zoo family’. I cannot recommend Victoria and Gareth enough. Daisy’s confidence and speech has come on amazingly!
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This profile has been produced from information provided to us by the user. We have not verified or confirmed the accuracy of any of the information and members should undertake their own vigorous checks and references. Please ensure you read our Safety Advice and information on how to Check Childcare Provider Documents.
