Illy

Truly wonderful

We cannot recommend illy highly enough. She has been an absolutely wonderful addition to our family and has provided exceptional care with such warmth, kindness, patience, and professionalism.

From the very beginning, we felt completely comfortable and confident leaving our child in her care. She is incredibly trustworthy, reliable, attentive, and genuinely caring. She always go above and beyond to make sure the child feels happy, safe, supported, and cared for.

What really stands out is the genuine connection she has built with our child. She is engaging, nurturing, and thoughtful, and she always make the effort to create a fun, positive, and stimulating environment. Whether it is through activities, play, outings, or simply being there when needed, she brings so much positivity and care to her role.

She is also extremely responsible and organised. Communication is excellent, she is respectful of our routines and preferences, and she handle’s every responsibility with maturity and good judgement. We have always felt that our child is in safe and capable hands.

Most importantly, she has cared for our child with genuine affection and treats him with the same patience, respect, and kindness that any parent would hope for. Her dedication and commitment have meant so much to us as a family.

Finding someone you can completely trust with your child is incredibly important, and we feel very lucky to have had such a wonderful nanny. We would recommend them without hesitation to any family looking for someone caring, dependable, professional, and truly exceptional.

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by Claire on 08/09/2026

Great

Illy was my son's nanny. She quickly bonded with him and it was endearing how quickly he felt comfortable around her. I would hear them laughing while I worked from home in the office or hear her reading to him.

She was very conscious of my son's routine & my approach to parenting. She picked it up quickly & it was clear she considered it important. She made an effort to learn & minimise any impact of the change in my sons care. I think it's one of the reasons he was so comfortable with her. Although I also have to admit I think Illy is one of those people kids naturally warm to.

My son grew fond of her and this was clear when they were together. She was professional & friendly, full of energy & a nice person to be around.

She was always willing to help & support. She was also able to handle my complicated family situation with grace. She even remained calm when the complicated family situations became difficult. In a situation where most childcare professionals would likely quit, she stayed. I believe she did this because she genuinely cared for my son.

That is why I am deeply sorry for the issues caused to her reputation because of her time in my employ. My son's mother has been very critical of Illy. I do not believe these views are justified & this is also an unfortunate pattern of behaviour for my son's mom. This is not the first time such criticism has been levied unjustly.

I hope the negative review does not dissuade parents. If you gave Illy a chance I would bet you would be thankful you did. I am grateful to her for all her help, grace and most of all for how she has taken care of my son.

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by Leon on 26/08/2026

PARENTS, PLEASE BE AWARE

Unfortunately, my experience with Illy ended with significant concerns, and I would advise parents to complete all appropriate checks before employment begins.

Illy contacted me through Childcare.co.uk after I advertised for temporary childcare assistance. We discussed the role, my need for practical assistance because of my physical disability, and agreed her hourly rate directly. I personally paid for approximately 17 hours during the period in which she provided childcare/assistance to me and my baby. I therefore disagree with her response stating that I did not employ or pay her.

My experience initially started very positively. However, during subsequent days I repeatedly had to ask Illy to provide practical assistance despite her knowing that physical support with my toddler was an important reason I had engaged her. For example, when my toddler was running and I physically could not run after him, I had to specifically ask her to follow him and remain close to him.

On another occasion, while my baby was having nappy-free time in the park, he urinated on the picnic mat. Illy placed wipes/tissues over the urine but left me to clean it myself despite knowing about my physical limitations. She told me that she was very “OCD”, and I was disappointed by the lack of practical assistance in circumstances where this was part of the support I had engaged her to provide.

My most significant concern related to my baby's existing severe nappy rash. Illy was aware of the rash from her first day working with me, and I specifically asked her to support regular nappy-free time while caring for my baby during the following days when I could not be there. I was already concerned about the severity of the rash and wanted to prevent it from becoming worse.

Approximately a week later, when I saw my baby again, I asked Illy about the days during which she had been caring for him alongside his father. Illy told me that she had not provided him with nappy-free time and had not seen it being provided during those days. When I saw my baby that day, the rash appeared considerably worse to me and subsequently required medical assessment and treatment.

A doctor subsequently diagnosed my baby with a bacterial infection and prescribed medication. Seeing the condition of his skin and knowing that he required medical treatment, that tasted extremely horrible, was extremely upsetting for me as his mother.

I want to be clear that I am not claiming that Illy caused my baby's medical condition. My concern is that she knew about an existing significant rash and had specifically been asked to support the care I had requested for it, but subsequently confirmed to me that the requested nappy-free time had not been provided during the days in question.

I also experienced difficulties completing the appropriate employment checks. I had not been able to inspect Illy's DBS certificate before the arrangement ended, and I experienced difficulties obtaining the documentation/ID I requested in order to complete the appropriate Right to Work check.

Ultimately, these matters caused me to lose confidence in the arrangement and I terminated it.

I strongly disagree with Illy's allegation that I did not employ or pay her. She contacted me through this platform, I interviewed her, we agreed the role and rate directly, she provided childcare/assistance to me and my baby, and I personally paid for approximately 17 hours of her services.

I also strongly dispute Illy's characterisation of my conduct as harassment. I do not accept that allegation or her account of the circumstances. I have retained contemporaneous communications and other evidence supporting my account of what occurred. Given the private circumstances involved, I do not consider it appropriate to set out those details publicly, but I am able to provide the relevant evidence to the appropriate authorities if required.

This review is limited to my genuine personal experience of engaging, paying for and receiving childcare/assistance services from Illy. I recommend that parents independently verify identity, Right to Work status, DBS status, references and any relevant qualifications before employing any childcare provider.

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by NATALY on 20/08/2026

Response by illy on 20/08/2026:

Thank you for your review. I take feedback regarding my childcare services seriously; however, I feel it is important to clarify that the circumstances described do not accurately reflect my professional relationship with the child or the arrangements in place.

The person who has posted this review does not employ me, does not pay for my services and is not the parent with whom I have been engaged in providing childcare. The child resides with his father, who has custody, and I have dealt with him in relation to the child’s care. The child’s father is able to provide the relevant documentation and court order should this be required to verify the circumstances.

There are also additional personal circumstances and concerns regarding the reviewer’s conduct which I have documented. I have experienced behaviour that I consider to be harassment, including the individual waiting outside the property and taking photographs of me. I do not believe these personal circumstances should be discussed publicly, but I am able to provide relevant documentation or evidence to the appropriate party if required.

I am concerned that the review has been made in the context of an ongoing personal dispute rather than from genuine experience of the childcare services I provide. I therefore respectfully ask that any assessment of this review takes into consideration whether the reviewer has actually used or paid for my services.

I take my responsibilities very seriously and care deeply about the children I work with. I am always happy to provide appropriate documentation or information to the relevant platform if required, but I will not discuss private family or court matters publicly.

I respectfully ask that any review of my services is based on genuine personal experience of the service I have provided and not on personal matters unrelated to my professional work.