Sandra's Reviews
Childminder
Below are the parent reviews for Sandra. Back to Sandra's profile
Average Rating:
(4.56 from 9 reviews)
We didn’t have the opportunity to use Sandra’s services as my circumstances changed. However, Sandra was incredibly accommodating and understanding of our moving dates due to Covid, and kept a place for our children despite the uncertainty.
We absolutely loved her setting, which is completely child-centric, with a fantastically stocked playroom, dressing up, craft set up and organised with their learning and enjoyment in mind. We also loved the garden setup and the fact it was two providers - Sandra and her daughter who would be providing the care. I wish we had gotten to use them!
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by
Sarah
about
Sandra
on 04/05/2021
Response by
Sandra
on 04/05/2021:
Hi Sarah,
Thank you so much for your lovely review. We enjoyed meeting you and your family and we are so sorry your circumstances have changed. Please keep us in mind for in the future if you are in need of a childminder. Take care.
I was looking for childcare for my baby who was 2 month premature, and 2 months out of special care. I was going to back university and searched high and low but couldn’t find a childminder willing to take on a baby. After weeks of searching, I came across Sandra’s details and enquired. My baby was so small at the time, I carried her in a chest carrier to go and visit the setting.
Call it mother’s instinct but I knew instantly that I wanted my child to be looked after there. Not only is the setting filled with books, toys and is spacious, it is also homey. 10 months later and my daughter is thriving, and laughs with joy when we pull up to the house and she sees Sandra. As a single mum and with my daughter being very premature, deciding to go back to education so soon after she was born was very hard for me. But I have such peace of mind and confidence in her safety, her development and her happiness while she is at the setting, that I have also been able to thrive within my studies. Sandra and Becky are fantastic and do a great job.
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Sandra looked after my little boy, from 9 months. As a new mum I remember worrying about returning to work (those mum guilts!) but Sandra made the transition so easy. She was always super flexible with drop offs and collections. My little boy, was full of smiles and I knew he’d had a great day at pickup.
Sandra provides a home cooked meal everyday day. It is truly a home away from home setting. Becky is super creative and amazing with arts and craft - keeping the little ones entertained.
We have begun the cycle again, sending our youngest. I know he will truly be cared for and loved.😊
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We have been lucky enough to have been using this childcare setting for over 8 years now for our two children, who have flourished during this time and we couldn't be happier with the care that they offer. Sandra and Becky provide a wonderful environment for children, with a variety of activities and toys available to them appropriate to their development. They are well stimulated and often have fun doing arts and crafts with Becky. We are so often spoiled on occasions like Mothers day, Fathers day and Christmas with wonderful home made gifts created by our little ones, with Becky's help. Sandra and Becky provide home cooked, healthy food that the children love; sometimes my daughter will eat food at Sandra's that she still prefers not to eat at home! Our two both love going to Sandra's and although my son has recently turned 9 and is doing a lot more after school clubs, he still likes to make sure he can go there one afternoon a week as well as mornings. Our daughter is 6 and really missed going to Sandra's during lock down, frequently asking when she could return. Sandra and Becky provide a homely, caring and nurturing surrounding and can not do enough for the children that they look after. They are flexible, which is often such a relief for working parents and they try to offer helpful solutions whenever they can, going above and beyond for us on many occasions over the years. I would thoroughly recommend Sandra and Becky to anyone looking for outstanding care for their children.
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Our son has been attending Sandra’s childcare provision for 4.5 years since he was 14 months old. From my very first enquiry by phone, Sandra made us feel very welcome providing a detailed overview of her set up, toys, administration and pricing structure.
Her procedures for health and safety and contracts are all very thorough and reassured us that our son would be in a spotless, well organised and safe environment. Sandra is a very experienced childminder who is familiar with helping children settle in and offered several settling in sessions before our son started full time. She was keen to know his interests, his character and toy preferences to ensure he was happy and comfortable. She has an excellent selection of educational and fun toys, dressing up costumes and her assistant Becky takes the lead on craft and cookery sessions. The artwork displays and craft take-homes are exceptional.
An excellent variety of food is offered including breakfast, a healthy, home cooked lunch (roast chicken, pasta dishes, vegetarian meals, sausages and mash, stews etc) as well as fruit salad every day plus a healthy tea of humous, pitta breads, wraps etc. We often get remarks on our son’s excellent table manners which is credit to Sandra not us! Over the years, Sandra has helped advise us on the correct timing for potty training, thoughtfully settling in our son into the school nursery and reception class, all of which have been successful transitions thanks to her wisdom and support. She provides a great set up with flexibility on drop off and pick up times with an understanding that sometimes parents get stuck in traffic, on trains. Sandra’s assistant drops our son off daily at school with Sandra collecting him at home time and provide wrap around . She is reliable, punctual and ensures that any school messages are accurately relayed to us. On the rare occasion that our son has fallen ill, she has handled the situation calmly and professionally to get in contact with us.
We do not have grandparents or family close by so have been fully reliant on Sandra and Becky from day one. We consider them to be part of our family and are so pleased and proud that they took us on! Our son has tremendous fun in a beautiful, caring home from home setting where he has firm friendships with children from a range of age groups. Sandra even hosts an annual Christmas party, all on her own time which our son counts down to each year!
Upon starting at the local school, Sandra handed over the massive book full of our son’s developmental milestones and photographs which has been carefully collated over the course of his pre-school time at her’s.
We couldn’t recommend Sandra’s childcare provision highly enough in fact both family and friend’s children have joined following our glowing reviews and recommendation.
Value for money, friendly, safe and we are pleased to say a key part of our son’s upbringing.
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Sandra and Becky have cared for my two daughters for over 6 years. Sandra's care and nurturing of my children has been outstanding and she has regularly gone over and above to ensure my children are looked after and cared for. She has gone out of her way to accommodate me when things have been tough and I can't recommend her childcare services enough.
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Both Sandra and Becky are absolutely brilliant. They are very flexible with the childcare and when we can drop off and pick up. Both myself and partner are teachers and Sandra will always go out of her way to look, after hours to look after our children when we have parents evening at no extra cost. When my son was younger he had all sorts of allergy’s which they catered for and ensured he didn’t have anything that would affect him. At Christmas, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day the children come home with the most amazing handmade gifts and not just one- many. We really look forward to these time! Our children are always so happy to go to Sandra’s and during lockdown have asked when they can go back. My daughter can’t go as she is already in her school bubble but is so desperate to go back. Our children look forward to socialising and playing there, in a place where they feel as safe as they do at home, yet they learn and develop every single day. Not a bad word can be said about either Sandra or Becky. We are so grateful for all their care.
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We found Sandra and Becky 4 years ago through a recommendation from my wife's cousin, whose son had been going to them for about a year before my eldest started. We could not be happier! Sandra and Becky are so kind, engaging, caring, and attentive to the children in their care, who are all lovely little individuals. They have a lovely open plan house, with loads of age appropriate toys, books, dressing up outfits, and very well kitted out garden for when the sun's out. Becky is next level with her arts and crafts instruction and my dd often came home with the most amazing creations that made my heart melt. Sandra cooks fresh, healthy food every day and there's always fruit around at snack times or whenever they are hungry. My eldest has thrived there and we now send our youngest daughter there too, and wouldn't dream of sending her anywhere else. From a parental perspective, they've saved my sanity so many time by being so flexible with pick-up and drop-off times, without charging extortionate extra fees. Absolute life-savers! They're a home away from home for our two, and I can't recommend them highly enough.
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I wouldn’t recommend Sandra and her setting. I have personally had a very poor experience after using her for 3 years I had to remove my child.
Although Over the years she has been flexible with pick ups, and is cheap don’t be tempted because of the cost. I have found a new childminder who is more expensive but the difference is huge! I don’t believe the level of care my child received from her was as it should have been. You can look on the Ofsted website for her previous inspections and any complaints.
Although throughout the contract Sandra and her assistant had been nice to my face this changed over time and it became in my opinion very unprofessional. In the end Sandra and her daughter turned very nasty towards me and certainly didn’t show the care and compassion for my child I would have expected after a number of years. Without going into too much detail about what my concerns were I would not recommend anyone to use this provider.
My child never bought home any progress or communication logs and I have yet to see any work that she has done (apart from Mother’s Day and Christmas).
Putting your child with someone is a huge milestone and there is a huge amount of trust needed. Be cautious and do a lot of research and be wary about using this setting. Your child is the most precious thing you need them to be in the best setting. Please be very very careful. My child is now recovering from her experience at this setting and I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through the same thing as we have.
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