We decided to use Little Stotts Child Minders in October 2017 when our daughter Lillian was 9 months old. We had never used a childminder before and so we planned to meet with a number of people so we could decide who we thought would be best for us and our daughter.

At the first meeting, Kate made us feel very comfortable and explained to us all the stages which Lillian would go through during her first years and how she would help her in meeting her norms. She also fully explained all the legal requirements of being a childminder and showed us all the relevant certificates and paperwork. This gave us a much better understanding of the services a childminder should provide and we felt confident in choosing Kate after that first meeting.

Lillian has thrived since attending Little Stotts. People are always commenting on how advanced she is for her age and we strongly believe a lot of this is down to the service Kate has provided. Lillian was given her own diary which Kate fills out each day explaining what activities she has done that day, what food and she has eaten and nap times. This has helped us to carry on the development work at home so that Lillian is learning one thing at a time and taking in as much as possible. She has also set up a Tapestry account which she updates regularly with photos and benchmarks that Lillian is reaching. As we are both serving in the military, this has been extremely good for us when one of us has been deployed as it has enabled us to keep updated on how Lillian is progressing.

There have been times when one of us has been deployed for up to 4 months at a time and the other is at home alone with Lillian, working full time. Kate has taken a lot of stress off us by keeping us updated with how Lillian is getting on. There were times when we had to pick Lillian up late or rearrange dates where Lillian would or would not be in and we never once felt uncomfortable asking Kate for any extra help.

Kate has always been supportive of our choices with routine like naptimes, potty training etc. Kate has understood if Lillian is feeling down on a particular day for any reason and let us know what the reason may be e.g. missing mum or dad while they are away.

Kate regularly takes Lillian on day trips out to the farm, zoo, play area etc which has helped her learn new things and progress on the things she was learning at the time. Being an only child for three years, this also helped with Lillian’s confidence around other children which was something that was important to us

Lillian has also progressed with her fine motor skills whilst being at Little Stotts and is always bringing a painting or drawing home which she gets really excited about. These are always centred around things going on at the time i.e. seasons or celebrations.

Kate constantly upgrades the nursery with new toys and equipment which is particularly good for Lillian with her being there full time for almost 3 years. Lillian especially enjoys the outside activities and Kate embraces this by having activities in the garden come rain or shine.

Security at Little Stotts has never been a concern for us. We have a special word which we use if someone else was to pick Lillian up and there is a security camera at the front of the house. Kate always lets us know when she is taking Lillian out anywhere or meeting other childminders.

Kate also has a wonderful family of her own who Lillian sees as a sort of second family. She is always excited to see the twins and Sam and tells us how Jess is her ‘best friend’.

We are extremely happy that we chose Little Stotts for Lillian to spend the first few years of her life. The only genuine concern we have is that we would not find someone as good as Kate when we eventually have to move.

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