Jo has been looking after our son Alex since August 2016, for three days a week. He was one year old at the time and I returned to work from maternity leave. From the moment we met Jo it was obvious what a professional and dedicated childminder she was. As a first-time mum, returning to work and having our son being looked after by someone else was a bit daunting, however Jo put me at ease, scheduled a few settling in sessions, kept me informed and reassured me that our son was being looked after in the best possible way.
I can honestly say that having Jo as a childminder has been one of the best choices we have made in relation to our son and I strongly believe our son has been helped immensely by Jo to become a happy, confident and independent little boy. She is following the EYFS framework by providing reports regarding his development and suggesting areas to focus on in the future. I have really enjoyed reading these reports, especially the examples provided for each milestone. Jo has also been very open and professional when I had a few ideas for her to focus on and I was able to see how my suggestions were put into practice.
On a more practical note, Jo has a dedicated playroom with a wide range of toys and educational resources and garden with more play equipment (sand pit, trampoline, slide etc). I have been very impressed by the range of activities she is putting together for the children, including a wide variety of arts and crafts (such as painting, card decoration, hand/foot prints, Easter/Christmas/Mother’s Day decorations etc). When the weather allows she is also very keen to ensure the children are out and about and she has been taking our son to museums, local parks, toddler groups, animal farms.
Another aspect that sets Jo apart from other childminders and childcare providers is her family. From the beginning our son has been welcomed into the house like he was part of the family. Jo’s children have been brilliant in engaging with him and at times it really felt like he was visiting relatives. I have really appreciated that and I know this has been more beneficial to my son’s development than if he had been in a nursery.
Jo is using the brilliant Baby’s Days online system where she is logging everything daily, including meals, nappy changes, sleep etc. She is also writing daily journals to describe how the day went for my son and reading this is always a highlight of my day. I would also like to mention all the photos that Jo has been taking of Alex and uploading onto this system, we probably now have hundreds of photos of him and they are invaluable to us.
Jo is also very professional, she has comprehensive policies that parents are required to read and agree to and I think her Ofsted rating of Outstanding is more than well deserved. I should also add that Jo is very flexible and very reliable, I don’t think we have had to find alternative childcare because of sickness or any other reasons in the last 2 years.
We are moving to Hertfordshire this summer so sadly Alex won’t be going to ‘Jo’s house’ anymore. Finally, I would like to express our gratitude to Jo for everything she has done for our son, we really can’t thank her enough!

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