Highly recommend
In a nutshell, Kez has been brilliant from day one. She's approachable and easy to get on with, she's really great with children, really cares about them, and she knows her stuff. My son has been going two months and adores her already.
We were hesitant about leaving our son (3 yrs) with anyone outside the family, and Kez was really understanding. She gave us plenty of opportunity to visit so my son could get used to her and I could see her with him and the other children. He took a shine to her straight away.
First and foremost, it's obvious that Kez loves children, loves being part of their growth and development - and that shows in her positive, nurturing manner and in all the fun things she does with them. She teaches children to share, take turns and be mindful of each other. She's very clear with her boundaries and expectations, and enforces these consistently and with kindness and plenty of praise and rewards.
Kez really listens to what you need and will bend over backwards. In my case, she has offered to arrange and sometimes re-arrange days so that my son gets to socialise with as many children as possible – which is really important to me in the run-up to starting nursery.
My son was anxious at first about going to a childminder, and he became quite clingy with me. However, Kez built up a great rapport with him very quickly, and would send me pictures of him playing and laughing minutes after I left and throughout the day, which was very reassuring. Now, he can't wait to see her and often doesn't want to come home!
I'm really pleased with how much time my son gets to spend outdoors with Kez. She regularly takes the children out and about to various parks or walks around the local area, or trips out further afield – for example a recent drive out to the countryside to look for animals and farm vehicles.
When indoors, children do a range of activities. Sometimes they play freely together with toys of their choosing; other times they do more structured adult-led activities like play-dough, art/craft sessions, dance/exercise routines and messy play. There's lots of variety and a good balance.
Kez incorporates learning goals into the children's play. These are matched with their abilities and fit with the government's guidelines. My son has been expanding his colour vocabulary for example, and practising counting objects up to ten, and she's helped him to develop a really good pencil grip when drawing. Kez records the children's achievements and progress in a tracker booklet, and parents can see their child's tracker any time they like.
I've got no hesitation in recommending Kez. Our son is really well cared for, learning, enjoying himself and growing in social ability and confidence.
Finally I should mention that Kez's assistant Demi is really knowledgeable, friendly, full of enthusiasm, and our son really enjoys spending time with her too!