Michaela

Exceptional support for our SEN child

Larissa provided outstanding support for our 5‑year‑old son, who has speech delay and autistic traits and usually finds adapting to changes in routine very hard. The fact that he already knew her from Mead Preschool made a real difference — that familiar connection reduced both his and our initial anxiety straight away, and he settled far more easily than we expected.

Her calm, attuned approach helped him regulate far better than we’ve seen with anyone else, including close family. She clearly understood his sensory and emotional needs and adapted the day around him with real skill. She was accompanied by her slightly older daughter, who also has similar SEN needs to our son, and this shared understanding created an immediate sense of comfort and resonance for him.

When I asked him what was good about his day, he simply said “Rissa, really excellent!”, which speaks volumes. Larissa’s SEN experience, patience and natural intuition make her a genuinely caring and SEN‑aware childminder.

• Overall
• Cleanliness
• Communication

by Michaela about Larissa (Nanny) on 13/04/2026

A truly great child-focused Childminder & saint

I was fearful when searching for emergency childminder as my son had not adapted well to nursery. We had granny support following adverse nursery experience but were in 2 month sticky situation when both took ill. My under 2 year old son embraced Marta like trusted family in the midst of regression & separation anxiety. Her 2-4 child ratio ensures she has First time parenting ample time to tune into my sons needs and help him develop with play at home and at a variety of softplay centres. I wish we had tried childminding with her much sooner as no doubt my son would have happily thrived in her daycare with little worry for me about various nursery bugs. She keeps a clean and hygienic home and play area and is versatile with accomodating parents food preferences which was not the case with our initial nursery experience. I would have my son stay with her longer if we were not soon moving north. Many many thanks to the lovely Marta for your great care of our son .

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication

by Michaela about Chubby Cheeks (Childminder) on 30/11/2022

Response by Chubby Cheeks on 30/11/2022:

Hi Michaela, thank you for your beautiful message. Everyone in my home loved Luca, he put a smile on everyone’s face and was a star to look after! It was lovely to see how he grew in confidence and played so nicely with others. We will miss you and hope the move goes well!