My daughter has been going to Sam since she was 9 months old when I returned to work and she loves it there. My partner and I love it there too.

I was naturally very worried about leaving her at the start but Sam did everything she could to help both myself and my daughter settle into her setting. This included settling in days for My daughter and answering lots of texts from me and sending me pictures of her throughout the day to reassure me she was fine.

Her home rivals many of the nurseries I viewed prior to deciding to go with a childminder. She has more toys and play things than Toys R Us and also does lots of other activities with the children such as painting and crafts. We are running out of space in the kitchen to stick all the lovely paintings etc our daughter has made there!

Sam also has a wonderful garden for the children to play in (British weather permitting!) It is huge, so lots of space for burning off all that energy and it is filled with toys including bikes, sandpit, water table and a fabulous homemade kitchen complete with a proper sink and kitchen equipment all of which my daughter loves to play with.

We are so pleased we picked Sam to look after our daughter, she really does have everything that children need to develop, thrive and most importantly be happy and have fun! For me, a childminder also offers a more personal touch than a nursery and allows children the chance to socialise with others and learn without being swallowed in a larger group.