Katie

Amazing

Choosing Katie and Nick as our childminders was the best decision we ever made for our son. They have provided far more than just standard childcare; they have been our family's absolute rock during incredibly challenging times.When our son began displaying challenging behaviour, we felt completely isolated. Our GP and health visitor repeatedly downplayed his struggles and brushed off our concerns. We were left feeling dismissed as "helicopter parents," while our son was at risk of simply being labeled as "naughty."Katie and Nick were the only ones who truly saw him. They recognized immediately that he was struggling and needed professional help. Instead of turning away from his challenging behaviour, they leaned in with unmatched patience, expertise, and love. They became our fierce advocates, helping us gather the evidence and confidence we needed to push healthcare professionals for an official diagnosis.Their support did not stop there. When it was time for our son to transition to preschool, Katie went completely above and beyond by giving up her own free time to help him settle into his new environment, ensuring he felt safe and secure.Without Katie and Nick, our son would not have the vital support and understanding he has today. They are observant, deeply compassionate, and completely dedicated professionals who view childcare as a true calling. We are eternally grateful for how they changed the trajectory of our son's life. If you want childminders who will truly see, understand, and fight for your child, look no further

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication

by Kira on 23/06/2026

Response by Katie on 23/06/2026:

Thank you Kira we were so passionate to get him the help he needed and Im beyond proud of the little boy he is today. Amazing parents too who care so much and advocated and supported him. love to you all

Lots of good, aggressive owner

Clean, safe environment and great supporting staff. Kids go on day trips and are supported to do good activities.

Unfortunately let down by the owner's lack of professionalism & bullying attitide, culminating in her shouting at me on the doorstep in front of our daughter - who was visibly unsettled afterwards. The policies say parents can meet with the other parent and without children present to discuss issues but this wasn't an option here.

Katie then shouted over me to pretend I was shouting at her which I found strange and terminated the contract because I had waited for her to put her kids in the car in the morning and then apologised when she seemed irritated by it.

We were too scared to send daughter for the notice period in case she was singled out, as I had previously observed another child's delays being spoken about negatively in front of other children and myself. I made excuses for her at the time but I now think there's possible bullying issues present.

Katie also terminated my contract while making remarks about thinking I am neurodivergent. I do wonder what this says about the skill of an SEND professional, if upon suspecting an individual has communication differences stemming from autism her reaction is to shout at them and remove them from the business. It seemed clumsy and discriminatory/lacking in professional skill and boundaries.

Additional problems with what should be very mundane admin, letting her know there is a spare top if it's too hot, or that an invoice has been paid on the due date, always getting hostile responses. since changing providers I am less anxious as the new people are more professional.

Since then our complaint has not been dealt with very well. I went into it assuming we'd part ways amicably - but due to continued distorting the truth, referring to policies that don't exist, attempts to bully, possible disability discrimination present I'm unfortunately standing my ground & writing what I hope are balanced reviews.

In short, lots of good about the business but also a lot of ego - and if anything goes less than perfectly the business owner will say absolutely anything to avoid accountability (where a simple apology would probably have gone a long way)

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication

by CLRA on 21/06/2026

Response by Katie on 22/06/2026:

This parent is going through the internet to directly harass me despite there being no issue and myself having dealt with this time and time again as per my policies (which do exist). In short I terminated the contract due to this parent's poor and rude behaviour. Here (again) is my stock response. Once again Ofsted have rated us STRONG in all areas and have zero concerns.

Before closing this matter, I would like to address, for the final time, the inaccurate and defamatory statements that continue to be made about my business. I expect all reviews to be amended accordingly, as several of the comments it contains are factually incorrect.
"Dishonest and aggressive and bullying behaviour"
I have never acted dishonestly, been aggressive or bullied and there is no evidence to support such a claim. However your actions are of a harassing and bullying nature and I have cctv evidence of your aggressiveness whereby you knocked over a sign of mine causing damage. Months on you are still hell bent on slandering me all over the internet. Which is unkind and unnecessary. In fact, my efforts to resolve this matter openly and honestly appear to have contributed to your frustration. Nor was I aggressive. Staff members witnessed me speaking to you calmly and professionally throughout our interactions. I even apologised when you stated that you felt my messages had come across as rude and explained that this had not been my intention.
I was simply responding to concerns. The conversation ended only after you began raising your voice, as I operate a zero-tolerance policy regarding inappropriate parent conduct. You were warned several times before I brought the discussion to a close.

Working in Partnership Policy
I have not breached the Working in Partnership Policy. I attempted to understand your concerns regarding the vest; however, you never clearly explained whether your objection related to temperature, comfort, or as an issue of decency.
You did not provide clothing that reflected your expectations for that day, nor did you trust us to exercise our professional judgement regarding your child's comfort and welfare. As explained on numerous occasions, we do not take bags off-site and therefore cannot change children into clothing that is not available to us.
As I explained, if you feel strongly that your child should not wear a vest in public, then she should be dressed in a T-shirt. The weather was warm, making it necessary to remove her jumper for her comfort and safety. Additionally, she was participating in painting activities, and we wished to avoid damage to her clothing. This demonstrates the care and consideration we showed for both your child and her belongings.
At no point did this constitute a breach of policy. We were simply carrying out our duties appropriately and professionally.
The driveway
Despite my explanations both in person and via email, you appear to have misunderstood the situation regarding waiting for the car.
Many parents arrive while I am preparing to leave and routinely follow instructions to wait in designated areas without issue or the need for further explanation. The facts are straightforward: you waited while I secured the children in the vehicle. There was never any disagreement about this.
Once I had finished, I politely invited you onto the driveway so that you could ring the bell and drop off your child. It was at this point that you commented about potentially scratching my car. I found this surprising, as I was not asking you to squeeze past open car doors; there was ample space available to access the driveway safely.
I do not wish to reverse a vehicle onto a road or pavement where pedestrians are present, as this presents an unnecessary safety risk. That is precisely why I asked you to enter the driveway instead.
There was no issue or dispute. It appears that you simply misunderstood the situation.
I did not threaten to run you over. I made a light-hearted comment that I would rather have a scratched car than risk injuring someone. The point I was making was that your safety was my priority. For this reason, I was surprised to receive a message suggesting otherwise when no issue had existed.
I therefore request that your reviews be amended to reflect the facts. It is incorrect to state that I threatened you in any way.

Termination of contract
For clarity, I terminated the contract due to your behaviour; it was not terminated by you.
Parent Conduct Policy

The Parent Conduct Policy was created on 21 April, as evidenced by records held within my Google Drive, in response to the conduct of another parent. I never stated that you had signed this policy. In fact, no existing families have yet signed it, although all have been informed of its contents and are expected to adhere to its principles. New families have signed it, and all existing families will do so at their next contract renewal.
That said, I do not believe a signed policy should be necessary to establish basic standards of courtesy, respect, and kindness.

Confidentiality
In your Google review you state ….“This follows concerns about a child's confidentiality when their development and parents were badmouthed to me and in front of other children, which I found uncomfortable.”
This is wholly inaccurate and has never happened. We take confidentiality seriously and have never disclosed confidential data such as names and scenarios to you. To claim as such is defamatory and very concerning. If a parent needs to talk confidentially we can accommodate this inside the setting as requested. There was no one present when you shouted at me other than my own staff. We have never needed to discuss any concerns about your child or others in front of you , in fact you were the only parent collecting at 12.30pm so again this is not factual.

SEND
I am highly skilled in identifying special needs due to my extensive experience and SENCO qualification. I have referred many children successfully for diagnoses resulting in life long support for that child. I am sorry if my questioning offended you but I was simply being inclusive and checking whether your behaviour could have been attributed to such a condition. I myself have a neurodiversity so I am used to having to over explain myself to be fully understood.

Harassement
You have also posted comments on my Facebook advertisements, which were subsequently removed by the group administrator because they breached the community guidelines.
Please understand that this was originally a relatively minor matter that has unfortunately escalated far beyond what was necessary. My intention was to address your concerns amicably and preserve a positive working relationship for the benefit of both your daughter and my setting.
At no stage on that day did I intend to terminate the contract. I simply hoped to maintain a constructive relationship moving forward. However, I must reiterate that this business operates from my home, and therefore I have the right to decide who I invite into that environment. Unfortunately, it became clear that our relationship had broken down to the extent that I could no longer continue supporting your family. Your communications and actions demonstrated a lack of respect for both my setting and my home.
In one of your messages, you stated that you were "not keen on screwing small businesses over." I hope that, moving forward, your actions will reflect that sentiment, as the continued conduct described above has caused considerable distress and has had a negative impact on both myself and my business.

I don't see that anything above is bullying or unprofessional. I have apologised (if she deemed my messages rude as I was just replying to her messages which seemed rude to me), however she has not apologised. This lady continues to hound me which is very unkind.
Sadly we can't please everyone all of the time and I stand by the decision to terminate this contract as I have every right to choose who comes into my home and as you can see this is not okay behaviour from the former client.

more than a minder, more like family.

I spotted Katie in a park wearing a high vis and approached her immediately. Her interaction with the children was amazing!
We was new to the area and didn’t know anyone for recommendations.

We booked in for a visit and had a brief chat about our son, a lively young lad waiting on diagnosis for ADHD. Covid had caused delays so it wasn’t confirmed but as soon as Katie met him, she knew he needed a bit more structure and prompting. Katie made adaptions and met all of his needs without a second thought. He didn’t want to come home. He had so much fun and enjoyed all the positive praise from Katie, he made amazing friends (with patience and guidance from Katie)and still talks about his friends.

Educationally, Katie empowered Jackson to learn through play. Spending time getting to know how he likes to engage in activities and how his mind operates.
Setting tasks and routines to support his daily struggles.

Her home is secure and her activities are fun and interactive, her meals are all fresh home made meals and her handover is extremely informative.

Due to school commitment and our location. Our children now only attend in the school holidays. We wish it was all year round!

We Highly recommend Katie, a truly remarkable human with a heart of gold. A lady who always goes above and beyond to support not only the children she minds but the families too.

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication

by mumof2 on 09/09/2021

Feel at ease

This is my first childminder experience and I was nervous about it having previously used nursery provision. However, Katie put me at ease straight away. My son has settled really well with Katie and it has made the get up for school much easier as he looks forward to playing with the other children. Katie clearly loves having the children and the children respect her and her well established and sensible routines. A range of activities are always on offer and it is lovely that birthdays are celebrated with a party! Katie keeps you well informed and reassured you when you are anxious through text messages, WhatsApp and email. It is great that Katie provides a proper meal rather than a snack. Katie’s setting is clean and homely. Thank you Katie!

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication

by JoS on 18/09/2019

First childminder experience

From the very beginning Katie has been brilliant. Not only has she provided a setting that my children feel comfortable in, she has put me at ease as a first time childminding service user. She is very knowledgeable and has an abundance of experience of working with children, which really shines through in the way in which she interacts with the children. She keeps updated daily with photos and information about my child's day (including when he uses the toilet!) Her setting is homely, helping my children feel safe and comfortable, so much so they ask me if Katie can take them to school every day! I couldn't reccomend Katie enough she provides an excellent service and is an amazing childminder.

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication

by Parent on 16/09/2019