Bianca

Outstanding, nurturing, wonderful childminders

We are so happy we got a place at Cheeky Monkeys. Our little one started there at 17 months and it is no coincidence that immediately he started to talking more (he had a couple of words before that).

Cheeky Monkeys is such a nurturing environment. Karen and Libby are such loving carers. They make the day full of fun, whilst subtly but very effectively helping the children develop at the same time.

I found Cheeky Monkeys while out with my son on mat leave. We were playing in the park and I experienced first hand how adept Karen is at handling children of all ages. She had three children in the park: a baby, a toddler and a pre-schooler. All were happy and content. She was pointing out things in the park to keep them all entertained, engaged and help them learn at their different levels. She is really such an outstanding childcare professional - with an abundance of experience combined with a deeply caring nature.

Every day when we drop our little one he runs in and gives Karen and Libby a big hug (and then tells me to go by shutting the door - harsh for me but a sign of how content he is there). He loves all of his friends and comes home happy and smiling.

Cheeky Monkeys uses the babydays app so we get updates throughout the day with photos and a daily notes telling us what they've been up to. It also includes details like sleep, toileting and milestones etc.

Karen and Libby have a big focus on getting out of the house too. They have a six seater buggy so they do lots of lovely adventures to local parks and garden centres.

They are also so supportive to parents. I'm always getting tips from them on ways to handle tantrums and weaning off the bottle. They even do an optional parents evening from time to time where they give you a thorough run through on your child's development.

In summary: Cheeky Monkeys really ticks all of the boxes when looking for excellent daycare. A friendly, loving, supportive environment, with a strong (but not overwhelming) focus on development, with lots of lovely activities to keep children happy and entertained, and plenty of fresh air.

Libby and Karen are truly outstanding individuals and I could not be more delighted that our son is looked after by them.

Thank you Karen and Libby for providing the most loving extension of our family home.

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication

by Bianca about cheekymo (Childminder) on 18/01/2024

Outstanding Childcare Setting with 5 Childminder

We could not speak more highly of Matt and Jade. We have been absolutely delighted to send our son to their setting. He started at 10 months as we wanted to ramp up slowly. This worked really well. We were so grateful for their kind and gentle support as we transitioned from having Burt at home full time to ramping back up to full time working. It was a really tough time (especially as mum) but Matt and Jade were so thoughtful they made the process so much easier.

Their setting is so homely with a few different spaces for the children to utilise throughout the day. Personally, I visited some nurseries when deciding on childcare and felt that the mood of the children was very flat in the afternoons. However, Matt and Jade are able to move the children into their different zones to keep things fresh.

Burt (and I) particularly love the playroom at the back of the garden. It is filled with so many fantastic toys for role play, including many real world objects. Burt (like many kids, I’m guessing) loves playing with “real life” toys - remote controls, keyboards. This room is perfect for him as it lets him explore his curious developing mind. We love receiving updates and photos throughout the day of Burt having fun and his beautiful arts and crafts creations. And one of the highlights of the week is MUSIC class every Thursday morning.

Jade and Matt have also been incredibly helpful with Burt’s routine as well as encouraging with Burt’s milestones. They have been super flexible around nap times, supporting the times we already had set with Burt and following our lead as we finished up his sleep training as he wasn’t yet fully nap trained. He’s now already walking really well at 13 months and they have got him using his own fork when eating. Speaking of eating, I’m sure he eats so much more when he is with them as he obviously loves their home cooking (which always smells delicious when we collect him in the afternoon).

Burt has cow’s milk protein allergy, but that hasn’t been an issue at all. They are well experienced at tackling this and work their meal plans around it. At the beginning, Burt couldn’t have soy either but they were really happy to accommodate with different bread etc to make sure soy flour wasn’t present in his food (it’s such a faff - I really hope your kids don’t have allergies - but if they do you can rest assured with Jade and Matt).

Burt also has torticollis - a tight neck muscle which gives him a head tilt. (If untreated it can lead to issues with facial displacement.) We’ve had to work with a physio to resolve and Jade and Matt have been super helpful on this too. They were so willing to learn about it and do what they could while he is in their care to help contribute towards resolving this issue for him.

The final - and for us the best - thing about their setting is the feeling of love and warmth that exudes from the door. We have loved that Burt receives care from a man and woman and because they are mum and dad to their own kids you cannot get closer to a truly home from home experience. Thank you Jade and Matt for your attentive and loving care of our little boy. We will all miss you.

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication

by Bianca about Little Places (Childminder) on 28/04/2023

Super helpful support in the home

Fifi has looked after my son Burt four times now. She comes to the house to mind him while I get on with some admin. This has been so so helpful.

Aside from the fact that Fifi is a lovely person to have around and is brilliant with my son, she is also very intuitive and has been sending me lots of helpful tips to deal with his teething.

Fifi has helped with sleep training too, which is not fun as we've been doing some controlled crying / slow retreat work. But she has been very happy to role up her sleeves and get stuck in with that.

And when my little one is napping, Fifi has also helped out around the house. Tidying the playroom and stacking the dishwasher. Small things but extremely helpful too a tired and busy mumma.

• Overall

by Bianca about Fifi (Nanny) on 04/01/2023