Helen Bussey
Childminder in Corsham
Usually responds within 2 hours
Female Member since Mar 2010 Last Updated Mar 2024 Last Login 26 Apr 2024
My Summary
About Me
Hello! Thank you for reading my profile.
I am a full time Ofsted registered, Accredited, & Quality Assured, childminder.
Graded Good in all areas in recent inspection (26/3/24)
I have been childminding for over 19 years,
I am an active member of the Corsham Childminding Group, which enables me to join in with all of their wonderful group activities (see below) with your child. I am also a member of the Professional Association for Childcare & Early Years.
I can offer a happy, warm, loving, consistant & secure relationship with you and your child.
I can bring all of my experience of delivering an Early Years education to children under the age of 5, giving them the life skills, firm foundation of knowledge, and social skills that they need to prepare them for school. This includes planning for learning experiences that will take us out and about and socialising with other children and adults on a daily basis.
I strive to be flexible, reliable and professional, and to always meet your families needs which can be discussed in detail should you wish to use me.
We go out and about most days to community and childminding group events and activities, including Rhyme Time at the library, Little Nature Explorer sessions (Forest School style activites at a variety of local woodlands and parks), softplay & Stay & Play sessions, the group allotment which is located on a local stud farm, National Tust properties, Westonbirt, Corsham Court and local parks.This will help to support your child's social skills amongst a larger group of familiar children and adults within their community, and about their community itself.
Access to outdoor activities on a daily basis, whether it be looking out for birds & insects on a walk to the park, visiting the allotment to look after the flowers & veg, bug hunting in the garden or collecting pine cones and sticks at the woods has so many wonderful benefits, that I am passionate about being outdoors as much as is possible.
We also make regular visits to the library, various local places of interest, Whitehall Garden Centre, Lacock park and Abbey and Boomerang soft play centre, or go further afield, to places such as Westonbirt, Bath City Farm, Brokers Wood, Avon Valley Railway, Rocks East Woods, and Bradford on Avon park/canal walk. We make the most of our lovely location by going out every day.
I can provide a truly unique service that will enable your child to play & learn without the confines of a nursery or preschool.
We have lots of fun at home doing activities such as cooking, junk modelling, sensory play, den building, singing & dancing, dressing up, arts & crafts, storytime, growing our own veg & flowers in the garden, sand and water play, block play and of course lots of free play where the children can use their imaginations to lead their play in the home corner, with the dressing up, cars, train sets, lights & sounds toys including toy laptops & cameras, musical instruments, tents, or using the resources on the 'invitation to play' or 'investigation' tables that have been set up. There is also easy access to lots of books for those little book worms that like to get lost in the world of their favourite characters or look at pictures of their latest interest such as dinosaurs, tractors, Princesses, Pirates, animals or diggers.
I have a wide range of age appropriate indoor and outdoor toys that I use whilst childminding and use any particular interests that the children may have to extend their learning whilst they play.
I encourage child-led play which allows the children to let their imaginations run wild & truly be themselves. I also work closely with parents to provide activities that incorporate each child's current interest so that they want to engage and ensure that their learning is fun.
I am knowledgeable about children's development and experienced in risk assessing & how to safeguard children.
I hope that this has given you a good idea of what I can offer your family as your childminder.. I meet with at least one other childminder outdoors most days, weather permitting, so that the children can socialise in smaller groups and learn with their peers as well as joining in with the larger weekly Corsham Childminding Group sessions.
Do you need school holiday care only? I can offer school holiday only contracts and lots of fun activities and days out for children aged 5 to 10 years old.
By all means please get in touch if you have any questions x
My Experience
2 years in a local nursery
19 years childminding
29 years being a mum!
My Qualifications
I attend many training courses to ensure that I remain up to date with my knowledge & skills. The courses are varied in subject matter & level of qualification, so that I can find new ideas for activities & ways in which to enhance the experiences that I an offer. My hope is that this will benefit the families & especially the children that I care for, as well as my own personal development. Here are just some of the courses I have attended:-
Introduction to Childminding Practice
Developing Childminding/Extending Childminding Practice (Level 3 Childcare)
Approved childminder on the “Quality Assuredâ€? Trio Network
Food Hygiene
Pedeatric First Aid for Child Carers
Birth to Three Matters
Safeguarding Children (Multi-Agency)/Child Protection Policies and Procedures
Foundation Child Protection (level 2)/Advanced Child Protection
Positive Behaviour Management
Communication and Negotiation Strategies with Older Children
Planning and Observations
Early Years Foundation Stage delivered by Wilts County Council
Accreditationn training
Equality & Diversity
Social & Emotional Development
Trio GEM – (Guidance, Experienced, Mentoring & Support)
Accredited Childminder – I can provide government funded places for 3 & 4 year olds
Supporting Children with Autism
Every Child a Talker
Learning through play in the woods
Prime Time – Enhancing practice, improving outcomes
What should ‘school readiness’ mean to a four year old
Prime Time for Communication & Language
Dig it, Grow it, Eat it
Green Fairy Puppet making
Inclusion
Health & Safety/Risk Assessment
Beginings Matter
Welfare Requirements
Early Maths
Early Years SENCO Training - Voice of a Child
Persona dolls
Beginnings Matter; Supporting the first three years
Asthma Awareness
Play Threapy
eSafety - Guidance for practitioners working with children
Communication & the great outdoors
Eating well for the under 5's/The Healthy Child
Makaton - to support storytelling & songs in Early Years
Dingleys Promise kitemark
My Availability
I work Monday - Friday, 8am - 6pm
I work through the school holidays, but not on Bank Holidays.
I can accept work incentive vouchers such as Kiddicare and Busybees
I am happy to be as flexible as possible to help suit your needs, and to talk to you about your childcare requirements at any time.
I can also offer term time or school holiday care only contracts
I look forward to hearing from you
Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
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Before School | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
Morning | no | no | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
Afternoon | no | no | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
After School | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
Evening | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
Overnight | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
Last Updated: 30/03/2024 |
My Fees
- Childminding from £6.00 per hour
Early Years children - 10 hours + per week £6 per hour
Less than 10 hours per week £7 per hour
School holiday care only - £6 per hour per child
My Local Schools
- I provide drop offs and pick ups at St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Corsham
My Ofsted Inspections
The inspection grades below have been obtained from the Ofsted website based upon the registration number the childminder has provided to us. You should verify this information yourself prior to using the childminder.
My Documents
- Training Certificate: SAFEGUARDING CERTIFICATE (added 24/08/2021)
- First Aid Certificate: PAEDIATRIC FIRST AID (added 24/08/2021)
- Ofsted Certificate (added 20/04/2020)
Reviews
Below are the latest reviews for Helen Bussey. Please note that reviews represent the subjective opinions of other Childcare.co.uk users and not of Childcare.co.uk. Parents must carry out their own checks and references on childcare providers to ensure that they are completely happy before enaging in the use of their services.
When looking for a childminder to care for my son when I was returning to work there were a few points I was looking for. These included his emotional wellbeing and development and opportunities to explore and develop. My son was 11 months when I returned to work and any parent who has or is going through this, it is an emotional transition for the family.
Right from the first contact with Helen, she listened to our needs and took time to discuss any questions we had. When my son started she very quickly got to know him and meet his growing needs. He has developed so much in her care - his speech, gross and fine motor skills, social skills' only to mention a few and this is a recognition of the quality and high standard Helen has not just a person but as an Early Years Professional. They go out and explore nature, groups and have trips out which was key in finding a childminder as this was something I was not able to provide my son whilst I was at work.
Her planning and assessments are child led and focused and I have throughly enjoyed the play and learning diary.
It is not just myself and husband who highly recommends Helen but more importantly my son who adores her and loves going to spend time with her in such a nurturing and developing environment
by Emz about Helen Bussey on 14/01/2018
Helen has been looking after our son, who is 3 now, for 18 months, full-time. The caring environment she offers is second to none (she is looking after the youngest of our 5 children, so we have a little experience with childminders!). I have never known a childminder do so much in a week, be it going to soft play or "stay and play", collecting leaves in the park, or even Santa's Grotto. Every week he comes home with a cake or piece of art he's really proud of.
She creates a nurturing atmosphere where the older children happily play with and look after the younger ones who in turn grow to look after new arrivals. Our son will be with her until he goes to school next year and we are confident and pleased that his changing needs are met, be it potty training or learning to play well with others.
We really can't recommend Helen highly enough!
by Parent about Helen Bussey on 18/12/2011
Helen has been looking after our daughter since she was just one & is an incredible lady. She does so many wonderful activities with the children and shows them so much love and security. Florence laughs with excitement every time we walk up to Helen's front door and is off without even a glance back in my direction! A very wonderful and professional person that has become very special to our family. It would be a real pleasure to provide any references.
by Parent about Helen Bussey on 02/11/2011
Our son has been care for by helen for the past 5 years, and i think helen would say very much part of the family now :). in the time that he has been in her care she has always catered for his needs from being a toddler through to now being in his 3rd year at school. As a family we could not do without helen, when you are a working parent you always want to know that you childs need are cared for when you are away from them,and all i can say is helen is excellent at her job, and great at making parents at ease also.
i am more then happy to give helen a reference at any time..
by Parent about Helen Bussey on 26/10/2011
The contents of this review are no longer available as the reviewer's account has been deleted.
by Parent about Helen Bussey on 30/08/2011
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This profile has been produced from information provided to us by the user. We have not verified or confirmed the accuracy of any of the information and members should undertake their own vigorous checks and references. Please ensure you read our Safety Advice and information on how to Check Childcare Provider Documents.