Annie is absolutely brilliant, and so are the assistants who work with her. My son has been with Annie for a year, since he was around one, and he truly loves it there.

What makes Annie’s setting so special is that it feels like an extended family. It is a warm home environment with a relatively small group of children of different ages, which has been wonderful for my son. He learns so much from the older children, and as he has grown, he has started to look after the younger ones too. The bond he has with Annie and the other key workers is amazing to see. They feel like aunties to him, and the other children feel like part of his wider little family - a little tribe.

For me, it feels like the closest thing to a natural, human child-rearing experience that you can find in a modern urban setting. That has been so much more reassuring and appealing to us than a larger nursery environment with lots of staff changes.

Annie’s house is a fantastic space for children, and her garden could give any forest school a run for its money. The children spend so much time outside, and she even has a big art shed where they can paint huge canvases on the walls. They also go on regular outings, which we love. We often get updates on Tapestry from woodland walks, trips to the Horniman Museum, parks, farms, the pet shop and even swimming.

My son calls her “my Annie”, which says it all really. You can see the bond, the trust and the love he has for her, and we feel very lucky that he has had such a nurturing, adventurous and joyful place to spend his early years.

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• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication