Mariella has been an excellent and loving childminder for our son from age 8 months to 22 months. His development with her has been fantastic to see and we are often hearing him say, show or do things that he has learned with Mariella. We were particularly worried about safety when he started (sleeping, choking when weaning etc) and we felt totally reassured that Mariella was aware of all the guidelines and requirements that would keep our child safe. Mariella supported his weaning journey perfectly with lots of nutritious and home cooked food and snacks and was especially helpful in catering to his dietary requirements. Mariella has taken him on some wonderful outings to support his learning , including playgroup sessions, stories at the library, singing, and the postal museum, as well as local parks and walks. They have engaged in activities that have transferred back to her home, such as collecting woodland artefacts for a craft activity. Recently she has been working with our son on his language development with lots of targeted activities and learning, which has been improving hugely, and his social and emotional development as he has been going through some big changes (new sibling). As an LGBT family, we have been very impressed with her awareness of how to treat us and support our child - far better than many other childcare settings we viewed before finding her - she immediately knew to ask us what he calls us and already had lots of books on diverse families, which we know he has enjoyed reading with her. We have a very open and communicative relationship with Mariella and she is very responsive on WhatsApp, which is hugely appreciated.

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