Sheila Barrett

The most caring start to our son's early years

Our son started at Cheeky Chops when he was just over a year old and attended three days a week until he started school. We honestly couldn't have asked for a more wonderful childminder.

From our very first settling-in session, we knew we had made the right choice. Sheila encouraged me to stay and spend time seeing what his days would be like, and our son was so happy and comfortable that he didn't want to leave. That gave us so much reassurance knowing he was going to be spending his days somewhere he already felt happy and comfortable.

Sheila’s home is such a lovely setting for children. It is calm, cosy, bright, very clean and organised, while still feeling like a normal family home rather than a nursery. The children have a lovely open space to play, with space for crafts, role play, dressing up and imaginative play. Everything is thoughtfully organised and easily accessible, and the children are encouraged to help tidy away after themselves, which helps build their independence. The garden is also a safe and lovely space for outdoor play.

Sheila creates such a warm and caring environment where the children really feel part of the family. Our son always felt comfortable and happy there, and both Sheila and her daughter Lily were wonderful at comforting him whenever he needed it. Lily became one of his best friends.

Sheila was also brilliant at following our routines at home. She supported us with things like naps and potty training by keeping things consistent with what we were doing, which made such a difference. She understood that every child is different and never forced things, but gently encouraged them in a way that worked for each child.

Sheila also kept us involved in his days by sharing photos of activities and trips, and always took the time at pick-up to tell us what he had been doing and how his day had been.

Sheila provided so many opportunities for the children to learn and explore through activities such as crafts, baking, outdoor play, walks and trips to the park. She also encouraged their independence and helped prepare them so well for school through everyday routines and learning new skills.

Even though he attended another setting during the week, Cheeky Chops was always the place he was most excited to go. He would even ask to see Sheila at weekends! Almost a year after leaving, he still talks about Sheila and asks when he can see her again, which really shows the special bond they built.

As parents, trusting someone with your child is a huge decision, and we trusted Sheila completely. Knowing our son was safe, happy and genuinely excited to go there gave us complete peace of mind.

We feel incredibly lucky to have found Cheeky Chops. Sheila has been such an important part of our son's early years and we will always be grateful for everything she has done for him. We cannot recommend her highly enough.

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by Michelle on 14/07/2026

A real home from home environment

Sheila has created the most wonderful place for our children to feel safe, comfortable and happy in her home for them to learn and grow.

When I was returning to work in 2022, I visited a number of childminders and nurseries but we knew as soon as we met her that this was the right setting for our little girl, and she has thrived there since. It made it a very easy decision to send our second daughter there in 2025.

They have so much fun, playing with the wonderful selection of toys and books, or visits to the park and out and about. But they also learn great life skills and have important interactions with each other - my girls come home telling me they helped prepare lunch, they have been the kitchen monitor and got the plates and cups out, or they have taken care of the Cheeky Chops hamster. They learn sharing, taking turns and being kind to one another. We regularly receive photos and videos of their adventures and what they are up to which really made it easier going back to work and knowing they are happy.

Another thing that Cheeky Chops has been fantastic with is helping care for our daughters dietary requirements after she was diagnosed with coeliac disease. We work together as a team to keep her healthy and happy.

Sheila is integral to our “village” - we are so happy to have her as part of our family and couldn’t recommend her highly enough.

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by Hannah89 on 13/07/2026

Best childminder you can find in Enfield

My daughter has been going to Cheeky Chops for 4 years since she was 6 months old and will be leaving Sheila’s to start school this September. My little one loved every single day at Cheeky Chops. Countless happy memories with lots of creative play time, activities and learning new things.

Sheila doesn’t just take it as a job, she genuinely loves kids and really engages to their feeling and she’s full of creative ideas to play for your child’s development.
I do believe my daughter has become such a healthy, happy and imaginative child thanks to her.

Her house has such lovely and homely environment. Good space for kids to play and it’s full of interesting setups and toys, also a clean and safe garden for kids to play in any season.

Sheila’s daughter Lily is also so good with kids. Lily was also one of the reasons why we chose Sheila because you can tell a lot from her how amazing Sheila is as a mum as well.

It will be so emotional to say good bye to Sheila soon as she’s literally been like my daughter’s second mum. We were so lucky to find Sheila as our childminder and we cannot recommend her highly enough!

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by MJ_Kim on 10/07/2026

Truly wonderful childcare

Our little one has been going to Cheekychops for almost a year now and we're so happy with the standard of care Sheila provides. She has created a wonderful safe environment for the kids in which they seem to thrive, learning, playing and eating very well.
Sheila always keeps them active with trips to the parks, attending toddler groups, messy play and lots of baking to name just a few of the things they get up to.
Like most other people, my husband and I found it hard looking for childcare because you want your child to be safe, nurtured and entertained. Sheila provides all this and more and once we'd met her, it wasn't a hard decision to leave our little one in her care.
Sheila's daughter is wonderful with the other children and is happy to share what she has so they are happy.
Everyday Sheila keeps a diary of what the kids have been up to and it's a great insight into their day. Being able to talk to our daughter about what she's been up to is special and it helps to make you feel like you've been part of their day.
Communication with Sheila is excellent and we love getting the photos and videos she sends.
We really do feel lucky that we have Sheila to look after our monkey.

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by Parent on 25/06/2016

We couldn't have found a better childminder for ou

Sheila has been looking after Jamie for 13 months now. He was always a shy baby who wouldn't go to just anyone - but on our first meeting with Sheila, Jamie was sitting with her and felt right at home straight away - that's when we knew!

Since then, it has only got better. Sheila takes such great care of him, he eats so well and has experienced so much. They go to the park regularly, as well as to toddler sessions and play groups - this has really helped with Jamie's confidence!

Sheila has exactly what we were looking for in a childminder, The communication between us is fantastic, Sheila has put together books for each of the children there and she updates it each day to let us know what Jamie has done for the day, what time he has slept and what he's eaten - we still enjoy reading it to this day!

Sheila's daughter (5) is absolutely brilliant with the children, Jamie looks forward to seeing her before and after school each day.

My husband and I cannot recommend Sheila highly enough. Finding a childminder for Jamie was one of the hardest things we had to do as it's really daunting. From day one Sheila made us feel just as relaxed as Jamie and sent videos and pictures of Jamie playing and laughing - this made returning to work so much easier!

Sheila, we can't thank you enough for everything... We look forward to many more months/years with you!

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by Parent on 14/06/2016