Our experience is that this childcare setting and childminder has shown unprofessional conduct and behaviour.

Photos of our child, without our consent, were shared on the childminder’s personal Facebook page, which is public. No apology was issued to us, and these were only taken down once we called this out and raised it formally. She also blocked us on Facebook to hide this from us while our child was still under her care, and before we had raised any feedback or concerns.

The childminder is unable to take reasonable feedback and demonstrated poor communication continuously. For example, she did not inform us of dates they were closed (a whole working week), admitted this, and then tried to push the responsibility onto us.

In the 12 weeks of our child attending this childcare setting, there were 8 separate days where we did not receive a single update or photo, despite this being promised prior to starting. At pick-up, the majority of the time we weren’t given even basic information about our child’s day and routines (e.g. how many nappies were changed, how many times went to the toilet, etc.). We’ve been shown that you simply cannot raise feedback, even when it is given politely and amicably.

The childminder also acted without a conversation with us about consent. We asked her not to ask our child for kisses or give kisses without permission or discussion with us as parents. No apology was given, nor did she confirm this would stop in the future.

We were also charged fees during a week they were closed, despite the contract clearly stating no fees would be paid when closed. When we raised this, she made excuses and said we wouldn’t need to pay anything for October, but this was not communicated until after we challenged it.

We were also informed about other families’ personal situations and how they discipline their children, which we felt was inappropriate.

I have listed just a few of the experiences we’ve had to deal with due to this childminder’s poor approach, attitude, and behaviour. We trusted this childcare setting and were one of the first families to sign up after hearing about her experience and reassurances that put our mind at ease as first-time parents. Sadly, we’ve been left extremely disappointed. We tried to resolve issues amicably and directly, but there was no resolution.

If I had known in advance what our experience would be, I would not have enrolled my child here. I hope no other family has to go through what we did.

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication