Happy faces's Reviews
Nanny
Below are the parent reviews for Happy faces. Back to Happy faces's profile
Average Rating:
(5 from 15 reviews)
Victoria is a lovely caring and genuine person & that shows in how she does her job.
My son loves going to hers, which really puts me at ease!
Her home environment is lovely & super clean.
She does lots of activities with the children and takes them out regularly for fresh air.
She’s very professional & I honestly couldn’t recommend her highly enough.
We are very sad to be leaving Victoria & only doing so due to relocating.
Thank you Victoria from the bottom of my heart for all you have done for us.
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Colleen
about
Happy faces
on 29/09/2022
Vicki looked after my son between the ages of 1 and 2 (he had to leave because of a change in my work situation unfortunately).
If you’re looking for someone fun, caring, empathetic and energetic to help you and your child manage the transition into a new childcare routine then I’d say, you’ve found her!
It’s always a wrench to leave your little one, especially to start with, but Vicki was great at settling both of us (!) and it wasn’t long before my son was happily waving goodbye. Even from the first few days, when he was still getting used to me leaving him, he was coming home in great spirits and talking about the toys he had played with (mainly trucks, which he’s obsessed with!) and the other children at Vicki’s, as well her daughter whom he also adored.
After juggling childcare and WFH during COVID, it was difficult to imagine how my child would cope in a new environment - or how I would cope factoring drop offs and picks ups into my days on top of everything else! But I found it was just enough of a change for my son to help with his confidence and social progress, without being too daunting. I actually think it was easier for him in lots of ways than being in the house with me when I wasn’t fully available. And it gave him a change of scene, new playthings and experiences, all of which he clearly found valuable.
I also found it really healthy for me to start the day with the drop off routine while WFH. It helped create a good boundary between family time and work, which I’d lost a bit when I stopped commuting.
His usual routine was well really managed, so the transition wasn’t too tricky, and he always slept well during the day at Vicki’s. Vicki also made sure he got time outside to burn off some energy, as well as quiet time reading and lots of free play with the toys. Her place is always spotless and still feels really homey, and Vicki always supported my son in following his interests so he was able to undertake activities depending on his mood, just like we do at home, which I loved.
His language skills and counting/colour recognition etc were always taking leaps forward and Vicki would take every opportunity to help him develop those skills, from focused play to identifying numbers they saw when out on walks, for instance. My little one also loves singing songs and he would often come home and share the nursery rhymes they’d been singing that day.
Vicki always made sure there were plenty of healthy food and snack choices available. My son is a finickety eater, but she was very patient with him and made sure there was something for him to eat that he liked, as well as encouraging him to try new things.
Just as important as the excellent care Vicki gave my little one, was the kindness she showed me. Vicki was willing to be flexible where she could, was always caring to us both, and really understood the types of things (big and small) which I wanted to hear about in my son’s days and development.
I can’t recommend Vicki highly enough - we really miss seeing her every day!
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by
WSVEB
about
Happy faces
on 17/01/2022
Vicki looked after my son from the age of 6 months to 2 years. Upon initially visiting Vicki's place, the cleanliness was a stand out and she quickly built a natural rapport with our child.
Whilst it was a difficult time to look after children during several lockdowns, Vicki kept the children well entertained and spent a lot of time teaching colours, numbers etc, as well as completing various arts and crafts and taking the children to the playground.
Vicki encouraged a homely environment, and the children were able to get along really well together. Our child also really enjoyed his interactions with Vicki's children greatly.
If you are looking for a warm, caring childminder, look no further!
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by
Tiffany
about
Happy faces
on 01/11/2021
Vicki has looked after my son from the age of 6 months to 2 years (we are only leaving due to relocating overseas).
Vicki is a fantastic childminder, she is warm and loving, full of enthusiasm and has an amazing connection with the children she looks after. We feel extreme comfort in the fact that every morning my son happily and excitedly walks straight through Vicki’s door (often without looking back) excited for the day ahead.
Vicki provides a warm and caring environment full of encouragement, compassion and patience. It’s been incredible to see my son’s development with Vicki as he learns and grows. She always plans really nice activities for the children and although going to playgroups has been limited due to Covid, she takes the children on outings to the park, there’s also lots of singing and creative messy play. We are big fans of the creative activities she does with the children and it’s a real joy to receive some of the arts and crafts creations at the end of the day.
With all the activities, Vicki is also really good at creating balance for the children during the day, she makes sure that the children also get quieter and calmer downtime as well. I am always really impressed how long and well my son naps at Vicki’s during the day. We are also really impressed at the healthy meals she cooks for the children - there’s always a wide variety, including lots of fruit and veg.
Vicki has been incredibly helpful, patient and flexible with me as a first-time mum (I think the settling in process was more for me than my son). I was concerned about maintaining my son’s routine and nap times, which Vicki happily accommodated. We appreciate how honest Vicki is and she is fantastic at keeping you updated on how the day is going.
A final note in regards to Covid - Vicki and her family have been extremely careful and conscious through all of the lock-downs. While friends have often been forced to consistently isolate for weeks due to out-breaks at Nursery, our bubble with Vicki and the two other families have never needed to isolate. Everyone took great care to make sure we protected our bubble, which resulted in little disruption to our lives.
We are very grateful for the genuine love and care Vicki has shown towards our son during our time together. Vicki enjoys what she does, she takes utmost care and nurtures the children as if they were her own. We feel very fortunate to have found her and it’s been a good first child care experience for our family.
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by
Jacqui
about
Happy faces
on 15/06/2021
Vicki has been a true gift for our family. Our daughter remained at Vicki’s from 6m old to 2.5 yr old and has been consistently happy over that period. We’ve left Chloe everyday seeing her smile when she saw Vicki and there’s nothing as comforting.
Vicki genuinely cares about the children she oversees and makes sure they have the right combination of active entertainment (incl. Playground, learning activities, music, etc.) and calm to ensure both their development and their peace of mind.
Vicki provides detailed summaries of kids days when they are young (meals, sleep, etc.) so that parents can monitor their progress. She also sends pictures every now and then when something special happens. She also keeps track of kids development based Ofsted checklists.
On top Vicki is happy to babysit which offers a great option as our kid is super comfortable with Vicki, to the point that she’s almost happy when she sees us leaving for dinner :)
We recommend Vicki 100%
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by
Alice
about
Happy faces
on 11/10/2020
Victoria looked after our daughter May from the age of 1 for 6 months (left because of moving abroad). Victoria is extremely loving, enthusiastic, happy, positive and patient with the children (and yourself:)). She allowed our daughter all the time she needed to settle in and feel comfortable. She cuddled, played and created the environment needed for May to settle in. May now loves spending time there which leave us as parents with less quilt. Not only is Vicki a good care taker, we have also seen great development in Mays abilities to communicate. She takes them to playgroups every day including a mixture of nursery rhymes, messy play, arts class and open play. We were very happy with the balance Vicki provided in a very stimulating and social environmental but at the same time she provided a calm place allowing for a good nap and quieter meal times.
Vicki is very honest and always make sure to give you updates throughout the day. I loved how she sent us photos and made us feel included in Mays days. Small things like that really mattered to us.
Vicki goes above and beyond for the children she looks after and she also offers babysitting services. We could not be any happier with Vicki and are so grateful that she provided a good first child care experience for our family. I can not recommend Vicki enough.
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Emma
about
Happy faces
on 12/02/2020
Vicki looked after my daughter from the age of 1.5 to 3 years old. Vicki is an amazing childminder, I can’t recommend her highly enough! I feel very fortunate that we found her.
- Vicki is warm and loving with children. My daughter loved seeing her and it was always a nice feeling leaving for the day knowing that my daughter was happy. It felt like leaving her with a relative, but one that has a lot of experience with children!
- Vicki has structured weeks to ensure that the children learn, grow and know what to expect. The children go to the library, play group, the park, etc. It’s always clear what they will do in advance and my daughter really liked knowing what was coming.
- Vicki plans really nice activities. For instance, for Easter she bought lots of crafts and they made an Easter bunny hat. My daughter loved it and still has in her room.
- There was a perfect balance of outside active time and down time inside. Getting the balance right is important for such young children, I feel. Some childminders I interviewed appear to stay indoors all the time, and some are always out with other childminders.
- Vicki provides updates on how the day is going when needed. It’s always nice to receive a few photos every now and then
- Vicki is flexible and eager to help if you need it. For instance, if I was late to pick her up, she would go out of her way to help me. It is a nice feeling
- Vicki genuinely cares for the children she looks after. My daughter can sense this, and sees Vicki as a good friend. She misses her when she doesn’t see her, but thankfully Vicki can also do babysitting every now and then which my daughter is thrilled about.
A few further thoughts that I have learnt from my friends’ experiences with childminders – just in case this can help you. It can happen that childminders with young children don’t have as much time for yours, and it's not as easy for them to be flexible in the evenings. It can also happen that childminders who have been doing this for years lose somewhat their energy, enthusiasm and connection with children. I think Vicki has the perfect balance of in-depth experience, with the requisite energy to care for them and keep them entertained all day.
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Anna
about
Happy faces
on 05/12/2019
Vicki looked after our first child when he was 1 year old for 6 months. We can only recommend her as she has been great and very reliable. She took great care of our child and provided a safe, homey and peaceful environment. We had full trust in her since the beginning. Unfortunately we had to move out of the UK and we really miss her.
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MariaZ
about
Happy faces
on 26/10/2019
My daughter was totally content with Vicky from 5 months to a year and a half. Vicky is reliable, energetic and caring and my daughter always smiles when she sees her. She is a fantastic childminder with a lovely home setting and a great family of her own. Couldn’t recommend highly enough.
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JessieKF
about
Happy faces
on 05/02/2019
Vicki is a God send! My son always looks forward to going to her house and really enjoys his time there. Vicki has a lovely calm presence and is always attentive to the children in her care, she is very flexible, her home is always clean and tidy, exactly what you want from a childminder and more. I have 3 children, two are now adults so I have had a fair bit of experience with childminders over the years, definitely one of my favourites so far.
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Angie
about
Happy faces
on 25/10/2018
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