Mani Spratt

The best childcare settling!

We absolutely loved Smile & Shine from the very first moment we went to see it. Mani has such a fantastic attention to detail and commitment to creating the best environment for the children. Our son attended from 11 months until 4 years and has now gone straight to reception at school. He truly loved going to Mani’s every day, and he learned so much. The setting is like a home from home but also has all the elements of a nursery setting with plenty of space, activities and room for the children to develop and grow.
Mani always helped us along the way with all the various phases they go through, this meant our son really had the most stable and consistent care throughout these early years. I believe Mani to be a truly fantastic and dedicated professional who really goes the extra mile for the children. We have so many happy memories at the setting and I would recommend this nursery to everyone.

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by Angie W on 27/09/2021

Fantastic caring and nurturing environment

Our daughter has spent the past 3 yrs at Smile & Shine and due to starting school in Sept she is now sadly leaving but with lots of happy memories. It has been such a wonderful place for her, full of fun, learning, cooking, outdoor activities, days out to the park, shops etc. Mani also had external providers who came to entertain the children. She has learned so much in those 3yrs and has grown not only in intelligence and character but also in confidence. She has also made many friends along the way not only the other children but the staff who worked there. We couldn't have wished for a better start for her future learning. Smile & Shine is a happy, safe, fun, busy and caring environment where any child will thrive. We will be sorry to leave but will always remember Mani and her team who have worked there past and present.

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by Martina on 05/08/2021

An excellent safe creative & nurturing environme

We instantly liked Smile and Shine setting at our first viewing/visit having visited a few other settings.

My son attendedSmile and Shine from 10months- 3years so Mani and her brilliant team have played a significant role in his development. There’s lots to rave about with Smile and Shine, it’s actually difficult to find something I didn’t like.

First and foremost, it’s a loving environment with experienced practitioners who genuinely enjoy their job and care about the children.

Smile & Shine provide such a wide range of creative activities for the children and parents are regularly updated about how their child found the activities. The robust range of activities is great for children’s development and a great way to develop their interests outside of the home. Creative play is the best way children learn and it’s clear that this is what Smile & Shine prioritizes.

They offer personalized/ individual support and care for the children. I really felt like Mani and team know my child and offer him the right support for him, at his pace.

Mani builds a great relationship with the parents. Communication is excellent with regular updates and pictures as well as listening to parents. They also teach children about the world around them by taking part in a diverse range of celebrations from different cultures and backgrounds.

We love Smile & Shine so much that when we moved out of the area, we chose to keep our son there and do the 30mins commute when we had the option of a 10mins commute. It genuinely was a tough decision to leave Smile & Shine and our preference would have been for our son to stay but it was practically impossible due to move & change of work.
It’s rare to find a setting that ticks all the boxes with a good balance of structured/pre planned activities and free play. We had complete trust handing our son over to Mani & team care.

I highly recommend Smile and Shine.

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by Kemi on 04/08/2021

A truly wonderful 'home away from home' setting.

My second daughter has just completed her time at Smile and Shine where she attended 16months - 3 years, she is leaving to attend a pre-school.

Mani and all the team at Smile and Shine have been such a positive influence on my daughter's early stage of her development. The setting for my daughter was perfect - I have always described as a 'home away from home' and which my daughter always referred to as 'Mani's house'. I have always felt 100% comfortable leaving my daughter in the care of her team. The communication is very good, with regular Tapestry uploads and reports.

The team are incredibly nurturing, inclusive, caring, supportive and I really believe they do go the extra mile and cater to the needs of each child which I find to be incredibly important. Each day they have a jam packed schedule full of learning, games, music, songs, baking, a lot of outdoor play. Activities are also worked around what is happening in the world around us such as celebrating festivals or the need to wash hands. Mani is also guided by the needs of what the children like to do whether that be a 'Frozen Dance Party' or 'bake cupcakes' - they achieve so much in a fun, non pressurised way whilst always building confidence in the children.

The delicious home cooked food was a huge plus and Mani was able to cater to my daughter's dietary requirements.

I highly recommend Smile and Shine and would definitely recommend the setting.

Thank you Mani - we will miss you!

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by Chloe on 28/12/2020

Truly amazing childminder!!!

My son had started going to Smile and Shine from April and he spent amazing 5 months there. Sadly he needed to leave as he is going to start school soon. But over this period, he has spent such an amazing time with Mani and the team who have been such a positive influence in his life. It does sound like a short period, but it's not about the amount of time he spent there, it is about the quality of time how he spent the time with them. Mani and the team has the range of activities on offer means the kids are always trying new things and developing different experiences that we as working parents, might not have been able to offer at home on such a regular basis. The staff go the extra mile, giving all the children the attention they need, which makes us feel assured about the well being of our son. They treat all the children as their own and maintain very high standards of care and safety. We feel it was one of the best decisions we made for our son simply because of how happy he was there. Thank you, Mani and the team for everything you have done for him!

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by Noda on 02/09/2020

Home away from home

Our daughter Rebecca has been With Smile and Shine for over 3,5 years. We were very lucky to have found Mani and her setting.
Mani and her team were absolutely wonderful and I would highly recommend them to everyone.
They provide a very safe and loving environment for all the children who just love going there. The setting is great, plenty of room to play inside and a lovely and spacious outside area for them to enjoy, sunshine or rain. Mani is very experienced and organised and kids enjoy many fun and educational activities that she prepares for them daily. Her whole team is always very caring.
Rebecca loved going there and they all had an amazing influence on Rebecca, her early learning and her development.
She is missing the setting, her teachers and friends very much, but she is off to reception now (super excited).
But as we have a little baby Oscar now, we will definitely keep in touch with Mani as our son will be joining Smile & Shine next year.

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by Barbora on 26/08/2020

A fantastic start for any child

Aged 1 I moved my daughter from a much larger 'franchise' nursery into Smile and Shine, as I disliked the impersonal and somewhat bureaucratic experience of the larger setting. Smile and Shine was everything that the larger nursery wasn't - an incredibly warm, safe, homely and comforting experience for both my daughter and us as first time parents, with the typical nerves around leaving a child in someone else's care.

Mani has incredible attention to detail around each child under her care. She gets to know and understand the children
as if they are her own, and she and her team provide thorough daily feedback which reassures any parent that their child is being well looked after.

Over the past two years, my daughter has developed from a non-walking barely talking baby, and she has grown into a socialised, confident and bright girl, nurtured, developed and stimulated under Smile and Shine's programmes.

I would highly recommend Smile and Shine to any parent, Mani and her team are truly dedicated and lovely people, there is nothing I would have wished to change about our experience.

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by Nicola on 12/09/2019

Amazing childcare - like a second home

My twin daughters attended Smile and Shine for 2.5 years and Mani and her team were absolutely fantastic I would highly recommend them. They provide a very safe and loving environment for all the children who just love going there. Early learning is a very high priority for Mani, and the children enjoy a range of daily activities that are educational and fun and help the children to develop lots of different skills. My twins have definitely benefitted from this and they have learned so much and their confidence has also increased because of Mani and her team and the fantastic environment she provides. I am so sad that the time has come for them to leave as it has really been like a second home for them and they love Mani and her staff so much.

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by CPry on 27/08/2019

Wonderful and positive Childminder experience!

My daughter Isabelle attended Smile and Shine from the age of 18 months until just over 3 years of age on the recommendation of a friend.

I struggled to find a childminder setting which wasn’t overwhelming with millions of children running wild and the home away from home setting and small ratio between staff and kids is exactly what I was looking for and has never disappointed.

My overall experience with Mani has been truly wonderful, my daughter is quite sensitive and can be quite shy - the staff are so incredibly caring and thoughtful it really made me feel at ease knowing that my daughter was in safe hands.

The staff really get to know the personality of each child extremely well, their likes and dislikes, their family etc. Parents are updated throughout the day via Tapestry which is confidential to each child and provided sufficient information of what my child did each day, what they ate, did they sleep, etc.

Isabelle leaves being a very well rounded child with experience in many physical skills and activities, creative activities, show and tell, cooking activities, knowing sign language and has been encouraged with good manners and being kind to her friends, plus has enjoyed a wonderful selection of delicious home cooked food on a daily basis!!

My second daughter has just started with Mani at the age of 16 months and fair to see she is having such a great time!

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by Chloe on 25/08/2019

Response by Mani Spratt on 27/08/2019:

Hi Chloe,
Thank you so much for your Review. I wish Isabelle my best wishes and I hope to see her when you come to pick Natalie up from my setting. Good luck Isabelle for your new start.
Lots of love,
Mani

Amazing Childminder

My son had stayed in Smile and Shine for over three years. And it had been an amazing years filled with laughter, learning, developing social and cognitive skills, but most importantly having it fun at the same time. Mani and rest of the team are experts looking after kids of different ages, and their practice of care are tailored for individual children.. Truly a remarkable experience for us and our son!
We are incredibly grateful for our son's development and progress over the years - reading, counting, identifying alphabets, nursery songs, making friends, table manners and a lot more
This nursery deserves more than 5 star and we genuinely recommended for all busy parents.

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by Ronna on 25/10/2018

Response by Mani Spratt on 26/10/2018:

Thank you Ronna so much . Lots of love to Sean. Congratulations once again . Will call you soon and speak to you .