Bramwell

About Me

Sarah Bell ('Bramwell Bear Childcare' - Ofsted registered) Graded 'Outstanding' in all areas at my last inspection.
I like to keep up to date with all the latest knowledge in Early years childcare and regularly attend training in order to do this.
I specialise in pre-school care for young children and babies and only care for 2 children each day which means I can really get to know and attend to each child's individual needs and interests. This does mean that I rarely have vacancies, but that I have a great opportunity to really get to know the families that I work with. I have lots of feedback from parents which you can review below.

I currently provide '30 hours free childcare' for three year olds up until they start school. I will also provide Government funded childcare for 2+ year olds and 9 month - 2 year olds from April 2024 and September 2024 when approved.

I really enjoy providing that 'home from home' experience getting to know each child's unique character and interests. I am also able to follow your child's routine, for example- if your baby usually takes a nap after lunch, I will not have to wake him/her in order to pick up other children from school. I have also been able to pick children up from home in the morning or take them home if you and your partner's work commitments would make this helpful.

I provide a nurturing environment with freshly prepared, home- made meals which we always eat together in a relaxed sociable setting. I also provide the opportunity to grow, harvest and eat organic fruit and vegetables grown in our garden.
The different play spaces around our large garden provide scope for lots of outdoor fun, whatever the weather. I particularly enjoy nature walks, painting, crafts, cooking, music, den building and gardening.

Extracts from my Ofsted reports:

"Children flourish in the care of this dedicated childminder. She is passionate about
her work and treats children with the highest level of respect. Children are
confident and curious learners, spending sustained periods of time fully engaged in
rich learning experiences. Their attitudes to learning are excellent. Children show
high levels of determination and persistence."

"The childminder provides an extremely rich, varied and imaginative range of experiences that children explore with great interest and enthusiasm. She gives her full attention to promoting their continued excellent development through fun, enabling play that impassions, engages and motivates them to learn."

"Children make consistently excellent progress in relation to their starting points."

"Children settle extremely well into the childminder's home and clearly feel emotionally safe and secure."

"The childminder encourages children to share their resources and activities; she is calm and patient with them and as a result their behaviour is very good. Children show high levels of confidence and self-esteem, which is due to exemplary organisation of the setting enabling children to be motivated and independent."

"The childminder works very closely with parents to ensure children's individual home routines for naps and meals are followed, ensuring children know what to expect."

Feedback from parents provided for Ofsted:
Paul and I have always appreciated the care that you have provided looking after both our children. It is one less thing that we have to worry about whilst juggling work, home and school. You are able to provide a large variety of activities which both link with Charlotte’s interests as well as offering her new games/activities to try, within a homely environment. Activities outside of your home like music, trips to the wood/park or ‘play and stay’ and the pet shop or garden centre are all extra bonuses. Whilst I know that Charlotte will have an amazing time with you this year I know that it will go quickly and she will be moving onto ‘big school’. We will miss coming to your house after all this time! I would certainly be happy to recommend you to anyone interested in using your service to look after their child/children, without hesitation.

I am so pleased to have the opportunity to tell you about my experience of Sarah Bell. She has been childminding my children for 3.5 years now and I truly couldn't have found a better childminder. I visited so many childminders but the day I met Sarah I was so impressed by her. Instantly it was apparent that she was a nurturer which was so important to me. She has a genuine interest in understanding the children's psychology and development so that she could give them the very best experiences and support them in their learning. It is evident that she genuinely enjoys the company of children and relishes every stage of their childhood. Her approach is wonderful in that she is always on the floor with the children, when she is caring for them they have 100% of her attention. She treats the children she cares for the same way she would treat a child of her own, and you can see her fondness for them in the way she looks at them and interacts with them. I feel that the days they have had with her are very valuable, shaping them into good people who take real interest in things, apply themselves, are kind and thoughtful and have a love of nature. The term 'childminder' is a real understatement - she does so much more than 'minding' them.

Our children have always felt extremely at home at Sarah's - like a home from home. I think this is because Sarah always makes great efforts to find activities that interest the children. I cannot recommend Sarah highly enough. It is hard to describe all the wonderful activities that she organises for the children, and the care with which she looks after them.