Thespia

Maternity and overnight care

Suzy was recommended by a friend, and I am so lucky that I met her.
After having a difficult birth with twins it was very hard and almost impossible to coop with everything. Suzy bounced into our lives and turned everything around in a matter of hours, her energy and confidence and her skills are just amazing. It was a joy to watch her feed and soothe my babies, in no time they were settled and sleeping For 6 weeks we had no rest at all and the babies were very exhausted as well after Suzy did her magic we all could go to sleep, I could not believe it.
Every few hours I have ger expressed milk and she just carried on all night and my babies were happy and resting. After a few weeks, she managed to put the twins into a routine so they were sleeping for hours. I heard about dream feeding but never seen it done and after Suzy showed to me, wow, it really works and made our lives so easy and peaceful.
I learn so much from her in such a short period, honestly, if anyone is in need of help after giving birth, do ask Suzy she will be able to guide you through it and to enjoy this period without stress and exhaustion!

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by Linda about Thespia on 24/02/2020

Suzy is a lifesaver!!!

She started caring for Noa at +2 months and our experience has been absolutely perfect. Noa settled in perfectly and loves "Mummy #2" to bits.

I see the wide grin and chuckles when we get to Suzys' and I'm completely at ease leaving Noa, knowing she's loved and adored.

Suzys' setting perfectly captures the prepared environment, striking a perfect balance between a wide ranging, suitable and age appropriate materials to encourage freedom of choice, and the indoor/outdoor environment encourages freedom of movement.

The vertical grouping of children ensures Noa has well developed socialisation skills for her age and she's content and relaxed, playing with older children, adults and little babies.

Suzy is excellently attuned to the specific sensitive period which Noa is in and encourages her development by introducing appropriate objects and activities.

Her knowledge of psychology and medical care comes in handy in assessing any concerns I might have regarding Noa's health and development. Noa is well above average in her developmental milestones and I'm pleased with how well she is doing...she's sitting upright, holding her bottle firmly, eating 'solids' well and well on her way to crawling.

Noa is calm, settled, in a firm routine, thriving, and is a very happy and loved baby.

- amazing food
- high quality materials
- fantastic activities
- fab parties and bbq


I am very happy with Suzy and the girls and I have no reservations recommending her as a loving, trustworthy and extremely capable carer for babies and children.

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by MoM about Thespia on 12/07/2019

Best Choice

Suzy is an amazing childminder! Her knowledge and experience of Montessori teaching has helped our child developed immensely. Being a working mum had to know that my child will be at a good place like a second home and I found this 100% at Suzy's place, my child became confident and independent. She caring, kind and very professional with lots of ideas and advice. I highly recommend any looking for a Montessori childminder.

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by jessC about Thespia on 07/08/2018

A lovely place, BUT...

I was impressed by this place when I first saw it. It's small, but intimate. The children are VERY quiet and well behaved. Suzy makes wonderful food from scratch in the kitchen and she is clearly very proud of her nursery. The price was expensive but it seemed worth it.
Unfortunately, every session was followed by a long lecture from Suzy and it became clear she is extremely opinionated, and she gives her opinions whether or not you want them. She said things which really grated, such as: 'I'll fix your child in three months' 'She's going to hate me, until she's trained like the other children'. My daughter wasn't even two years old, and the constant talk of discipline, fixing and training her seemed inappropriate, and quite Victorian. Suzy also expressed (un-asked for) how she doesn't like breastfeeding, how she believes it should absolutely be stopped at 5 months, how it impedes a child’s speech, their ability to separate from their mother and how there is no health benefit in feeding older babies, etc. etc. This is a load of rubbish, from someone who is not a health professional, or even a Mother, and it is dangerous rubbish when you take into account how she is dealing with young parents who are at their most vulnerable.
She also criticised co-sleeping, cloth nappies (‘disgusting!’), anyone who doesn’t sleep-train, and she told me off for giving my child toast and cheese. ‘That’s not food!’ She exclaimed again and again. When I told my Mum friends about these comments they thought she must be absolutely crazy, and that I should report the place to Ofsted.
I don’t think Suzy is crazy, I just think she needs to learn that her opinions are just that, and should not be voiced. Parents want someone to take care of their child, not receive a lecture. Two more alarming things were the obvious favouritism towards the children who followed her rules, and the lack of confidentiality in telling me things about the other children and their parents which I wouldn’t want her to be sharing if it were me.
In light of the above, it’s perhaps not surprising that my daughter didn’t enjoy herself there and after 5 sessions was so hysterical I simply couldn’t leave her any more.
So I stopped and changed to another local nursery. To my relief, I was never given any lectures, and the children were treated with kindness and respect without any mention of training and fixing. This has not turned my daughter into a ‘wild animal’ (as Suzy said the children from mainstream nurseries without her level of discipline are) but rather the opposite. One clear example: when Suzy gave my toddler the painting they had worked on that day, Isabelle tore it up, threw it back and stamped on it while crying in anger. Now when her nursery teacher gives her the painting they worked on, my toddler is happy and proud saying ‘look, Mummy, it’s pretty!’
When leaving Thespia, I told Suzy that I felt her rules were too harsh and she replied that she’s preparing her children for school where they have to obey orders and do things they don’t necessarily want to do - that’s life! Personally I feel that if you can’t have fun when you’re one, then when are you going to? Basically, I’m very glad I left, and I’m very glad that I didn’t meet Suzy when I was a new Mum and more susceptible to other people’s comments and judgements.

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by WReif about Thespia on 04/08/2018

simply the best!

Simply the best!
Our daughter has been going to Suzy’s at Thespia for over a year. This is by far the best childcare for our daughter, and we did a LOT of investigating. Our daughter eats healthy home cooked meals and from a very unsettled sleeper when she started, now sleeps continuously throughout the whole night and enjoy good naps. But most of all our daughter is growing and learning in a caring and loving environment. Suzy is absolutely passionate about what she does and it shines through out her staff and all the children. We used to live locally but have now moved 35/50min drive away, after a lot of searching we have decided to leave our daughter at Suzy’s & put up with the long drive as we cannot find anything as good close to our new home. This is truly a unique environment where your child is cared for but also learns so much in a loving way and at a speed that is right for them.

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by Celtic29 about Thespia on 11/04/2018