My son has been with Hazel since he was just 9 months old and will be four in January. Choosing Hazel as his childminder is, without question, one of the best decisions I have made as a parent.

After years of my child actually being in Hazel’s care, I can say with complete confidence that her character, professionalism and commitment to the children should never be in question. She genuinely puts the children first. The care my son receives goes far beyond simply providing childcare — his emotional and physical safety, happiness and wellbeing are at the heart of everything she does.

One of the greatest things Hazel has given my son is emotional security. At three years old, he has learned to recognise and express his feelings and, with her support, is developing the ability to emotionally regulate even when he is experiencing difficult emotions or going through challenging moments. Most importantly, he feels safe enough in Hazel’s presence to have those feelings. He knows he can be upset, overwhelmed, frustrated or vulnerable and still be met with patience, reassurance and understanding. As his parent, seeing that level of trust and emotional safety between them means more to me than I can adequately put into words.

My son also has a severe dairy allergy, which requires an additional level of care and vigilance from anyone responsible for him. Hazel goes above and beyond to provide for him safely, making sure he is included while taking his allergy seriously at all times. Leaving a child with a severe allergy in someone else’s care requires enormous trust, and I have that trust in Hazel completely. She doesn’t just protect his physical safety; she makes sure he never feels different or excluded because of it.

That combination of physical safety and emotional security is exactly what I want from the person caring for my child. He is known, loved, supported and encouraged as an individual, and he has absolutely flourished in her care.

Our relationship with Hazel will not simply end when my son starts primary school. Because of the genuine care she has shown him throughout such a formative part of his life, we have actively chosen to maintain that relationship beyond his time in her setting. She has become an important and trusted person in his life and in ours.

We use government-funded childcare with Hazel and have never had an issue. She does accept funding and will continue to do so. In our experience, she makes the process as straightforward as possible for parents and goes out of her way to help wherever she can.

Something I also consider an enormous benefit of a small childminding setting is the care Hazel takes over the environment she creates. The children form a small, close-knit group within her home, and she understands how important the dynamics of that group are to each child’s sense of security and wellbeing.

I am incredibly grateful that Hazel considers the needs of the individual child alongside those of the children already in her care. A small home-based setting is very different from a large nursery, and maintaining a happy, secure and compatible group is part of what makes her setting so special. I value knowing that decisions about the setting are made with the wellbeing of the children at their centre.

Hazel doesn’t view children as spaces to be filled. She considers the individual child, the existing group and the safe, nurturing environment she has created for them. As the parent of a child who spends his days there, that gives me enormous confidence.

My opinion comes from years of first-hand experience — from handing my baby over to Hazel at just 9 months old to now having a three-year-old who is happy, secure and thriving in her care. I have seen how she handles his severe allergy, protects his physical safety, nurtures his emotional wellbeing and supports his development. I have watched my little boy develop the confidence to understand and express his emotions while knowing that Hazel remains a safe person for him even during his most difficult moments.

I would encourage any parent considering Hazel to listen to the genuine experiences of parents whose children have actually been in her care, particularly those who have known her and her setting over a period of years. Look at the children who are thriving there and consider the professional evidence alongside those experiences. Her continued Outstanding Ofsted judgement reflects a quality of care and early-years provision that has been independently assessed.

For those of us who actually hand our children over to Hazel and trust her with their physical safety, emotional wellbeing and development day after day, her character is not something we have to speculate about. We experience it.

After almost four years of trusting Hazel with the person most precious to me, I could not recommend her more highly. She is an exceptional childminder, an incredibly caring person and someone I feel genuinely fortunate to have had such an important role in my son’s early years.

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication