Emchalke's Reviews

Great Childminder

Emma has looked after our two children for the last 2.5 years and it’s been a joy watching their confidence and personalities grow with Emma’s support. Both children had their moments of not wanting to leave mummy or daddy, however Emma’s kind, friendly and nurturing approach helped significantly.

I received daily updates of their outings and adventures, which both children loved to talk about. When at Emma’s, they were always occupied, often coming home with sentimental crafts and drawings.

Emma helped us navigate the childcare minefield and we will forever be grateful. Our children have loved their time with Emma and the bond created is very clear to see.

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by Rebecca on 21/03/2025

Incredible childminder!

We’ve been so lucky to have Emma as our childminder! She always keeps us in the loop about Khalani’s day—what activities she’s doing, how many nappy changes she has, what she eats, and when she sleeps. It’s so reassuring to know what’s going on.

Khalani has loved going to Emma’s and is always excited to be there. She’s made some great friends, and it’s clear how much fun she has! As she gets ready to move on to preschool and eventually big school, both of us will really miss Emma. We’re sad to say goodbye, but we’re so thankful for all the wonderful memories Khalani has made with her.

Thanks so much, Emma, for everything!

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by Layla on 21/10/2024

Like Family

Emma only had my 2 yr old daughter for 9 months, but they had such a great bond. Harper loves Emma and you can see it's reciprocated! Our Harper is a very willful toddler, and Emma has taken it in her stride and shown so much positivity.
I have had a lot of change with my work schedule, and Emma has been so helpful and understanding all the way through.
I feel Emma makes so much effort to have a close bond with the parents, as well as the child in her setting, and it makes all the difference in the world with giving us parents that peace of mind!

Couldn't recommend Emma enough, thank you so much for being one in a million! You will be so missed.

Off to nursery for Harper's next chapter!! X

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by Megan on 02/10/2023

Amazing!

Emma took my two in an emergency and was amazing. My 3 year old had an amazing time with her and she was able to settle my 1 year old quickly. Both my children came away happy and content!

Thank you Emma ☺️

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by Libby on 25/09/2023

Perseverance at its best

I think Emma would agree but my 9 month old was undoubtedly the most difficult little being. Crying non stop most days, for weeks. Emma kept her cool and showed my daughter that it was fun to leave mum for a while. I believe not many people would have faired so well. And that’s why we chose Emma. We knew her kind hearted soft approach would be what my daughter needed. And here we are a few months in and my daughter holds her arms out to go to Emma. She’s settled happy and enjoys her time.
We’re sad to be leaving, but whoever takes our space will be super lucky. ❤️

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by amanda on 10/05/2023

The most pleasant Childminder!

I am so grateful for Emma, and the outstanding care she has provided for my little one, from the tender age of 6 months-2 years+. My son warmed to Emma very well. She constantly made me feel reassured, and offered great advice for a first time mum like myself. A professional, extremely outgoing and most of all caring childminder. Thank you Emma!

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by Hannah on 07/02/2023

Childminder

It was always going to be hard sending our 1yo to a childcare setting, especially post covid, but we instantly felt very comfortable with Emma and loved the bright, colourful and clean setting she provided for the children. We didn't have the easiest start, as our boy struggled to settle in, but Emma was very good at communicating with us, providing regular updates, and doing what she felt was best by the children in her care. Over time, our boy settled, and enjoyed the regular outings that they went on; exploring in the woods, visits to garden centers and cafes and even the airport just to name a few. We have seen our child develop so much over the past year, I can honestly say that we were very sad to finish our time with Emma, but we believe that she has helped prepare our boy for a new challenge, and it is wonderful to see him thriving now.

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by Chelsea on 25/07/2022

Great Childminder

Emma has been looking after our son since he was just under a year old. Throughout his time there, we have seen him develop from a baby into a little boy ready to start pre-school.
Throughout the day we often receive updates on the activities that he has been getting up to, and throughout the year we can see his development through his learning journal. Emma often takes the children in her care out and about, whether on local walks or to toddler groups or soft play. She also has a large garden that the kids can run about in during the sunnier months. All in all, Josh has really loved his time there!

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by Beth on 24/02/2021

Pure gold

At first I wasn’t sure about 1) putting my 7 month old daughter in childcare and 2) what setting and environment would be best for her. And then we struck gold!
I can’t recommend Emma and her home highly enough. A childcare professional looking after her development - emotional, physical, intellectual - through outings, groups and home/garden play in the most loving and caring way, 10 hrs a day.
We’re always kept in the loop with what they’re up to with photos and messages as well as her learning journal.

If my daughter, 2 years later, has the choice of going to Emma’s or staying home, she always picks Emma! We definitely feel like the blessed ones being able to send our daughter to one of the best childminders.

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by Susanne on 21/02/2021

6 years of emma

Emma started looking after my daughter in year R and now she is going to the comp she no longer needs looking after by a childminder 🙃 the 6 years Emma has looked after lily have been great, Emma is always on the go. She makes sure the kids are never bored, she takes them out whenever the sun shines 🌞 frimley lodge, the lookout, blackbushe, different local parks. She has taken lily to the cinema several times and on rainy wet days Emma will bake or make soaps, tie die pillow cases, do gamma beads, art and craft. Your kids will never be bored with Emma.

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by Parent on 15/07/2019

Lovely Childminder

Finding a childminder who we felt comfortable leaving our 2 year old boy with was always going to be hard, but the second we met Emma we instantly warmed to her and her kindhearted nature and so did our son.

Her house is always clean and well kept, with a lovely, well stocked playroom which our boy absolutely loved, and all her family are very friendly.

Right from the beginning Emma gave us complete peace of mind, and the fact that we used to just turn up to Emma's each morning, hand over our pride and joy and leave for work without thinking too much of it just shows testament to how confident and happy we were with Emma as a childminder.

I have been in contact with Emma daily receiving pictures of things they have been doing, and also been able to go to her for advice or reassurance on various things.

They would often go out to groups/soft play or make things at home for him to bring back which i loved.

Overall we would highly recommend Emma as a childminder and it's safe to say we all are going to miss her especially our boy.

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by Claudia on 29/11/2017

Childminder

Emma has looked after my three children for the last year and I've been completely confident that they've been looked after well. My little ones enjoy going on their trips and visits to soft play and visiting the farm at Tri-lakes - they've also loved playing in her garden and house which is well equipped with a range of toys.
I highly recommend her to anyone seeking childcare.

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by Parent on 19/06/2017

Fantastic childminder

Emma has been our childminder for the past 6 years. She has looked after all three of my children. My youngest is 2 and my 2 older children are still cared for by her in their school holidays and look forward to their time with her.
I can honestly and openly state that she has been brilliant.

I would not leave my children with someone who I thought did not have my children's welfare as their first priority.

Being a working Mum is tough and there is always some kind of guilt to deal with but Emma makes life easier by being honest, friendly, helpful and flexible, entirely professional and always happy to accommodate our childcare needs. I have never had an issue with fees or her time keeping.
Emma and her whole family have become our friends over the years. Her children are friendly and polite as is her husband. She also has a lovely friendly collie dog!

The bottom line is that I would not fail to hesitate to recommend Emma as a childminder. I know that the children in her care are happy,safe and well looked after.

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by Parent on 03/07/2016

Happy children means happy parents

My two children have been with Emma for 3 and half years now. I have found Emma's whole family to be welcoming to my children, myself and my husband. I find Emma approachable and honest, any issues ( of which there have only been two) have been addressed and resolved quickly with a happy resolution for both parties.

Emma is highly thought of by children and parents alike, and comes highly recommended. This was evident to see when seeing Emma with the first ever child she looked after - who now has a child of her own. The children all play well together and have a variety of activites to do after school. Throughout the holidays they have days out, and my children always enjoy there time there.

Emma will always contact me straight away if there is anything she feels I need to know about my children and I trust her 100% with my children

When I asked my children for three words to describe emma without hesitation they both said - nice, fair, and thoughtful.

Emma accepts child care vouchers which are offered by most employers. As there is a slight delay in the vouchers being transferred to cash, I have arranged for Emma to bill me in time so she is paid by the end of the month.

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by Parent on 03/07/2016

Very happy

Emma was my sons childminder for 8 1/2 years and I was very happy with her. I chose Emma because she provided a home from home setting for my son while I was at work.
My son has special needs and she was very supportive of him and myself during and after the diagnosis process. If there were any concerns she had with my son, she would always talk to me in private and we would sort it out together.
My son loved going to Emma and would even ask to go there during the summer holidays when I wasn't working!
Emma has a lovely house and garden and her family are very friendly. There is a real fun / family atmosphere at her house which was very important to me when I was looking for a childminder. Her older boys set a good hard working example for my son and her husband was always welcoming and friendly.
Emma always got my son to school on time and she was never late picking him up.
When my son started a new secondary school, he needed to catch a coach. I would therefore put him on the coach in the morning and he would then meet Emma after school. This obviously reduced the amount I was paying Emma but she was very supportive of the new arrangement. when my son became more independent, he didn't need to go to Emma but she was great and said that if the situation changed and we needed her support again, she would be happy to help.
My son is now 13 -yep, an uncommunicative teenage; but he will still make a beeline to Emma if we see her when we are out and about and has nothing but positive things to say about his time with Emma.
I would defiantly recommend Emma to anyone looking for a kind, honest and reliable childminder!

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by Parent on 02/07/2016

Highly recommended

I am writing a review as Emma was my childminder when I was attending secondary school. I started with Emma at the age of 11 we had just moved to Yateley I didn't know anyone at the school or in the local area. Emma made me feel nothing but welcome and helped me with my nerves when i started school. Also I became good friends with Emma's children and remain friends with them to this day. I thought it would be a good perspective to see things from the childs view rather than just a parents. I am now 19 years of age and I have lots of happy memories of the time I spent with Emma and her family. Emma's husband Matt was sometimes home from work before my mum collected me and he was always very kind and helpful. I took Childcare has an option at school and did my work placement with Emma because I think she was such a good example of a childminder. My brother also went to Emma's with me and again was very happy during his time there. I actually have a little girl of my own now, she is 3 months and I have taken her to meet Emma already. If I ever never need a childminder in the future for my daughter I would have no hesitation in using Emma. I highly recommend her!

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by Parent on 02/07/2016

Highly recommended

I feel strongly that I need to respond to a review that has been left on this website this week regarding Emma's care. Emma cared for both my children during their school years. My daughter was in Emma's care from the age of 11 until 15 and my son from the age of 6 until 13. I cannot stress enough how pleased I was with Emma's care for both my children during their time with her and my children were both extremely happy there. If I could address a couple of points that were spoken about in the previous review, firstly I completely disagree that Emma is motivated by money. Emma was always very relaxed regarding payments and I don't recall her ever once asking for payment early! There were certainly never any mistakes on invoices at any time. Emma clearly has a real love and passion for looking after children and I truly believe that is her motivation, both my children adored her and still do. I can also honestly say I never once had any problems with my children being late for school, they were both always on time. Also there were never any issues with my children being collected from school on time and they were never left in the playground last to be collected. My son was actually a very sensitive child while he was at primary school and he would have been devastated if this was the case and would of certainly have told me. Both my children never had any bullying problems with Emma's children, in fact they would still class them as friends. Emma's children were always polite and friendly and as for Emma's husband Matt having anger issues, this would almost be laughable if it wasn't so spiteful. He is possibly one of the most loving fathers I have ever met and is extremely placid and friendly at all times and I really do not believe that he would threaten violence to anyone. I have never witnessed any type of anger from him and again both my children thought the world of him. To sum up I would highly recommend Emma to anyone who wishes for a caring and homely enviorment for their children. Emma not only looked after my children after school but also in the school holidays as my children enjoyed going there so much. And she always was wiling to help at short notice if I needed help with childcare. I am astonished by the bad review on this site and find it very spiteful. I would only ask that you at least go to Emma's home and see for yourself what a friendly and loving environment it is. In fact my daughter was so fond of Emma and her children she still visits them now.

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by Parent on 02/07/2016

A need for another review.

Hi
I feel the need to write another review about Emma as I have just read a review which I believe is untrue. My daughter has been going to Emma's now for 3 years and she has never once been late for school or been picked up late, in fact I pick up twice a week and get there very early and I always see Emma before the kids come out! My daughter had a couple of issues early on with a couple of children at Emma's but when I addressed Emma she dealt with them in a very timely professional manner. This included a small issue I had with her own daughter which I may add (girls of a similar age will fall out now and then) but Emma dealt with it quickly and and again professionally. As for money, yes Emma sends a text the week before payment is due but that's just for a heads up and not a request for it there and then. Emma works in full weeks so she does know what the bill will be. I don't get paid until the day before last of the month and I have never been hassled for money early, in fact the month I thought I had paid and hadn't Emma didn't say anything for about 3 days bless her. Once maybe twice I have had to query my bill and both times I have been wrong so as far as I am aware I have never been over charged for anything. I have never questioned Emma's care for my daughter and while I was off sick for 6 months she was as helpful as she could be by coming to collect Lily and dropping her off as I couldn't drive. My daughter spends all day at Emma's in the school holidays and they do lots, Emma never stays in if the weather is nice, she gets the. Kids out to the airfield or local parks, Sandhurst park, Dinton pastures, Frimley lodge, farms. She also has art and craft set up at home, hamma beads, making soaps or baking and always makes sure the kids have loads to do if stuck indoors. As for Emma's husband I have always found him very pleasant and have often sat chatting to him when I've turned up early and Emma isn't quite back from the school run. I've never seen him shout or be aggressive to anyone. I've always found Emma's older children to be very friendly and have sat chatting to them too when I've been early. If I was reading reviews on Emma I would totally say please ignore the one bad one as I believe it was written for all the wrong reasons. If I thought for one minute that Emma wasn't taking proper care of my daughter or that she was being bullied or bored while in Emma's care there is no way I would still have her there 3 years later as my daughter is my first and only priority. It is difficult when making a decision on who will care for your child when you are working and I looked at a few when I had to change 3 years ago and Emma was never a doubt.

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by Parent on 02/07/2016

Open & Honest Review

I have employed Emma as a childminder for approximately 6 years and until about a year ago when things first started to adrift I would (and had left) a good review. However I have decided to leave and honest and frank review of Emma for the information of other parents. Emma had in the past been good (improvements were needed). However Emma’s behaviour and professionalism has steadily got worse over a relatively short period of time. I have broken down my review in to the elements that most parents look at when considering a childminder:

Childcare

Emma’s priority is not the welfare of the children in her care, it is for her to make as much money as she can under any means (I will provide more detail on this shortly). I had paid Emma to do the school run, term time only. I would often get text messages and phone calls from the school to say that my child was late to school. Emma’s never gave a satisfactory response to this, rather just made excuses. Emma in my opinion is extremely disorganised due to the sheer number of children she attempts to look after. I was then contacted by the school to state that Emma never picked my child up from school on time, he was more often than not one of the last children left in the playground (and was often left standing alone in bad weather), because Emma could not organise herself properly. This is a serious safeguarding issue that so far Emma has refused to resolve. There is no structure to the care Emma’s care and the children are simply left to get on with it. There have been issues of bullying between the children which Emma does not deal with as it involves her own children, which leads to the smaller children becoming very upset. I recently had a terrible experience with Emma’s husband (who is regularly in the house when the children are there) who clearly has anger issues and became very aggressive and abusive towards me (which included making threats of physical violence against me), this terrified my child, the other children who were witness to it and myself, Emma did nothing to stop the situation and protect the children in her care. Any concerns you raise with Emma she will simply ignore completely or involve her aggressive husband to bully and intimate you into silence. Emma’s reaction to me raising concerns about the safe-guarding issues was to stop speaking to my child altogether whilst he was in her care, and have him standing by the door when I came to collect, and ushered him out the door and then to slam the door in my face (I was not even allowed to ask how my child was in her care). Luckily my child is old enough to tell me what had been happening. If this was a small child who was unable to communicate you might never know the extent of their unhappiness.

Fees & Contract

Emma is solely motivated by money, and shortly after signing the contract I was constantly harassed by her trying to increase fees and change the terms of the contract to get as much money as she possibly could, it became exhausting trying to manage this. Fees were due at the end of the working month / beginning of the following month as per her own contract, however Emma would constantly be asking for money early (she would bill me as early as the 18th of the month – bearing in mind our contract was that fees were only due for the days my child was in her care so she wouldn’t know what the rest of the month would look like) so would then start asking for money. In the approx. 6 years every bill was paid early or on time, but Emma’s constant demand for money early made it clear to me there were financial issues. Emma would also regularly overcharge and when you challenged her to say the bill wasn’t right, would reply with ‘my maths isn’t very good’, I never received an apology for this. I only started checking the bills about 12 months ago, and every single one I checked was wrong and she had tried to significantly overcharge. I am in no doubt this pattern had been going on for much longer.

Leaving your child with a stranger as a working parent is the hardest thing you will ever have to do. My advice after employing childminders for over 8 years is to interview as many as you possibly can and make an informed decision from there. There are lots of very good childminders in Yateley. However my personal advice would be not to include Emma in your interviews as in my opinion the care and environment she provides is not adequate and I have found her to be very unprofessional.

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by Parent on 30/06/2016

Response by EmChalke on 02/07/2016:

I have to say sadly im not surprised at this review left by this parent as she does have issues ,so I do have sympathy for her, but it saddens and upsets me that after all the years Ive cared for her son she feels the need to make up so many blantant lies about me and all my family. Up until very recently she would have said her son was so happy and as she said wrote a lovely review on here about me, but then her husband started doing building work for us, which was a big mistake and we have had many big problems wit having to have a lot of the work redone by other builders and sadly this is where all this anger and lies have come from. Its all untrue, the welfare of the children in my care is my upmost priority as any of my parents will agree. Im never late for school, either drop off or collection at the schools I attend, and as for just being motivated by money, that's so untrue, I just like to be paid every month, on time, like everyone else that works for a living!
I have been childminding for 18 years now and I still have great relationships with previous parents from the past up to present day, all my children and parents know all my family ,including my husband, and will be happy to clarify that he is the most placid of men you will meet!

There are many other things I could write on here about the parent , but I wont as Im not like that, all I will say is this review is as untrue as you can possibly get, and she obviously feels the need to try and ruin my reputation out of spite, so I would just ask that any parent looking for childcare to read my other reviews and discard this one as it really is all lies, written out of spitefulness and all because we fell out over building work, nothing to do with the care of a child at all!!

fantastic flexible childminder

Emma is a wonderful , extremely experienced , caring , kind , highly efficient and very flexible childminder . Emma looked after my preschool aged son and was very flexible to accommodate my shift work , and early morning starts which is hard to come by .Emmas childcare setting is lovely and very spacious .Emma frequently takes her mindees to different parks , farms and to soft play which my son really enjoyed
Occasionally Ollie stayed over night and was very happy doing this , and felt like one of the family !

I very highly recommend Emma for anyone looking for childcare

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by Parent on 08/12/2015

Great childcare, lovely relationship

Emma is very flexible and provides a warm loving environment for children to play. I chose Emma to care for my 15 month old son because I feet she has a laid back relaxed home where nothing is a problem or a stress and children are free to play and enjoy themselves. My son suffers with Breath Holding Spells and I noticed that these became less frequent after I moved him from a nursery into Emma's care. He really enjoyed his time at Emma's house and we will miss her greatly. Its unfortunate that we are moving so far away otherwise I would continue with Emma until my son was ready for school.

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by Leanne on 24/04/2014

What a fab find

What an amazing find Emma has been, when my last childminder had to give up her post after looking after my daughter Lily for 4 and a half years I wasnt sure what to do but Emma is a fantastic replacement. She has looked after Lily for 8 months now and Lily couldn't be happier. Emma is warm and caring, very welcoming and her house is a myriad of things for kids to do. They have lots of room inside and out to play and just be kids. Emma's own children are nothing but polite and couteous and Lily has fitted in really well. I would highly recommend Emma to anyone looking for a childminder in Yateley.

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by Parent on 20/01/2014

Excellent hildmi

I haven't been with Emma for very long, however for the time we have my daughter has been unbelievably happy. Emma is a lovely woman and extremely proffesional. My daughter is quite shy and doesn't respond well to strangers a lot of the time (adults or children) but from the very first moment she met Emma and her family she was at ease. They have a dog which is by far the loveliest dog i have ever met. I'm not a dog fan but this dog is cute and perfect with children. I would definitely recommend Emma to
Anybody.

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by Parent on 05/06/2012

Fantastic!

Emma has looked after my two children for the last 7 months now and she has been amazing. She is so lovely and caring and my kids love her. She is very accomadating and nothing is too much trouble, i trust her completely. I would recommend her to anyone wanting to find a wonderful environment for their child/children to be looked after in. I was very lucky to find her!

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by Parent on 20/03/2011

5 stars

The contents of this review are no longer available as the reviewer's account has been deleted.

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by Parent on 18/10/2010

5 stars

The contents of this review are no longer available as the reviewer's account has been deleted.

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by Parent on 23/09/2010