Donnasha's Reviews

Supportive and loving childminder

My daughter has been with Donna and Roy since she was around 18months old, when we first visited Donna and Roy, they were super welcoming and had a full play set up for our daughter to be entertained while we chatted. Our daughter was more than happy on the floor and would naturally gravitate to Donna and play with her while we chatted. You can clearly see the years of experience Donna has with children from how she interacted with our daughter to being able to reassure us that our daughter will be safe, well looked after and all her needs will be met.
Our daughter’s education has improved incredibly over her time with Donna and Roy, from counting 1-30, to her A,B,C, shapes, and pen holding to start writing. Our daughter only turned 3 a few weeks ago. So this is incredible work. Donna had a birthday party for our daughter and as my daughter found it all too much, slowed the day down and she ended up with to parties and she loved it.
One incident will always stand out to me though, I was collecting my daughter from Donna’s when an XL bull dog was loose running around the estate, give the reputation with these dogs, I was not comfortable leaving the car to expose my daughter to a possible dangerous situation, once the dog was at a distance, Donna ran with my daughter in her arms and helped me get her in the car safety, the dog returned and Donna used herself as a human shield while I was getting my daughter strapped safety in the car.
Myself and my husband wouldn’t know where we would be if we hadn’t found Donna and Roy, my daughter loves them both and is always talking about them at home. She looks forward to seeing them.

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by MrsLlew on 12/07/2025

Excellent Childminder

Our child has been with Donna from 12 months, and he is now 3 and growing up fast. Donna and Roy have been an excellent team for the kids in their care, and balance learning and play well.

Donna's real strength comes in her experience and problem solving on harder behaviour hurdles, which is unique to every child. I know I can speak to Donna for advice about how to approach challenges, whether it's stubbornness or waking up at night. This is backed up with rock solid consistency, so the kids know what to expect and how to behave. Our child's health needs (allergies + eczema) are also handled with attention, consistency and compassion.

A nursery may have less holiday days you must cover, but a childminder means less days of your child getting sick (as the group is smaller), and that the experienced owner of the business is exactly who will care for your child. Donna and Roy provide nutritious home cooked meals, often using veg grown in their allotment, which you will not find in a nursery. We are very happy with our choice and would make the same choice again.

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by Eszter on 11/07/2025

Absolutely wonderful

My son has been with Donna for over 1.5 years now and I have nothing but positive things to say. She is loving, caring, supportive and encourages learning in such a way that my son, and others I know in the setting, have come on in leaps and bounds.
I get regular updates about my son, which puts my mind at ease as a first time mum. She is quick to respond to any questions I have and always takes the time at drop off and pick up to discuss handovers.
My son loves going there, often not wanting to come home or asking to see Donna on weekends! It's obvious that she loves my son, and all of the children, like family and has often text me asking about him when he's been off poorly or when we've been on holiday so she hasn't seen him for a while.
I'm already dreading when my son will have to leave Donna's and go to school but I know that him being in such a loving and positive environment has set him up for when he's ready to attend school

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by Kirsty on 10/07/2025

One of the best decisions we have made!

Our little girl has been with Donna for over 18 months now and we could not be happier with the care she receives. It is a real family environment and along with Donna’s partner, they create a place where children can learn, play and flourish.

I am amazed how much my daughter knows in terms of her ABC’s and numbers and shapes etc. She is so excited to come home and talk about everything she has learned as it’s done in such a fun way. She talks about Donna and Roy all the time and you can just see what a wonderful relationship they all have. My daughter is always laughing when I drop her off and collect her.

I am grateful knowing I can go to work and not have to worry in the slightest about the care my daughter is being given.

All the food is home cooked with fruit and veg from the allotment. The children can learn where their food comes from and makes them more excited to try new things.

On the odd time there has been a small accident such as tumbling over (as toddlers do), Donna informs me straight away and lets me know what happened and what has been actioned in terms of care. Nothing a bit of love and attention won’t fix!

My daughter was very shy and clingy and Donna has really brought her out of her shell. She is a happy, confident little girl and loves her friends she sees every day.

I don’t think of Donna as just a childminder, more a member of our extended family. My daughter will be going to school next year and although we are excited about the next chapter, I am gutted she won’t be able to see Donna as regularly. Hopefully she will still be happy to have us in the school holidays!

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by CH07 on 09/07/2025

Amazing, caring childminder

My child has been going to Donna’s for over 2 years and I have nothing but positive things to say.
From the moment I met Donna and her family I knew that she was the person I wanted looking after my child. As a first time mum I really struggled with the idea of having to leave my child with a “stranger” but within a few days of my daughter being looked after we already felt like she was being taken care of by a member of the family.
No matter what is happening Donna always opens the door with a smile and greats our daughter warmly and with open arms!

Donna has always been transparent with us regarding any incidents that our child has been involved in. Even if it’s been a minor thing we are notified and an honest, detailed account is relayed to us. I feel very comfortable messaging Donna if I’ve got any concerns with my child and I’m always met with a helpful, positive response no matter my query.
My daughter always comes home in a clean nappy and with a full belly. All meals are fresh and often use home-grown food from the allotment, my daughter eats so well at Donna’s and often tries new food she wouldn’t even look at, at home. There are times that she even has seconds!

Every child is treated as an individual and made to feel important. For example, on their birthdays they each get a little party and are made a fuss of, something that my daughter gets very excited about, even if it’s not her birthday she always comes home very excited.
The children take part in fun, educational activities and my daughter has come on leaps and bounds, socially, developmentally and emotionally. She has made so many friends at Donna’s and everyday she comes home telling stories about how much fun she’s had playing with her friends.
My daughter asks to go to Donna’s even at the weekends she loves it there so much!
My child is a massive dog lover so enjoys telling us about Donna’s dogs and how she’s “given them pat-pats” Donna never leaves the dogs unattended with the children and I completely trusts that Donna knows her dogs and I have no concerns with them being around my child, they have both been around the children their whole lives so know no different.
Donna is not just an amazing childminder, she is a great friend and confidante, who has our child and every child’s best interest at heart!
100% wouldn’t want anyone else looking after my daughter!

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by MissRLS on 08/07/2025

Super childminder, safe and reliable

We've had our child with Donna for the past few years now and its been a great experience.

Donna, her partner, her family (all certified/checked) and her pets are all wonderful and safe.

Donna is super reliable, hardly takes any time off and cultivates a superb, learning, caring and supportive safe environment for our child.

We've never worried about any slight marks our child has had, as they've always been brought to our attention at the time, explained how and what care was given. For example, when our child tripped and landed on a play brick, we received pictures immediately and explanation.

Donna's food is always fresh, using homegrown fruit and vegetables from her allotment and theres no concern about getting the nutrients or not being well fed. We are always told what the meals are and how much was eaten, we are always pleased with the variety, freshness and quality of the homecooked meals.

If we've ever had any confusion about anything, Donna has been very easy and friendly to talk to and has politely explained and engaged in friendly conversation, shes never been rude or argued with us.

Our child enjoys going to Donna's setting, she learns lots of thing, both academic and socially and has developed in leaps and bounds making lots of friends and becoming more knowledgeable.

There's hardly ever any TV/movies on, except a rare treat, their time is spent learning, singing, playing and creating, outside and inside.

Donna is very organised, prompt and way in advance giving us any time off required but she hardly takes any time off except alloted holidays as usual and these are given many months in advance.

Pickup and collection is smooth, we never have any tears or fears and our child looks forward to going to Donna's setting and enjoys it thoroughly.

We have no concerns leaving our child with Donna in her setting. We've never been spoken to negatively about others and anything we've raised has always been kept confidential, even when we're unwell and ruined her rug!

When asked, our child has only ever said great things abour Donna, her partner, the animals and overall how much she enjoys going to Donna's.


Overall, I think Donna is a super childminder, has been great for our family and the other parents we've spoken to at drop off or pick up all agree and share our sentiment.

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by Jake on 08/07/2025

Lies and unprofessional.

Writing this now as I am furious and feel that an honest review is needed.

My son had been going to Donna for around a year and for the majority of his time with her she has been loving, caring and great at general communication.

Recently, our son had been coming home with various small injuries such as scratching and bruising, which we had questioned. When speaking to Donna about these concerns on multiple occasioans, they were always brushed off as him being a toddler and falling over or being heavy handed. At no point throughout these conversations did she show concern for him or remorse for the injuries.

A few weeks ago, when collecting our son, we noticed a mark near his eye and on both sides of his left ear. At the time of collecting these were just small marks and again were offhandedly explained as him coming in with those this morning but she had forgotten to mention at the time. Neither of us had noticed any marks during the morning and these were not tiny marks so would have been picked up on. When we arrived home and began our evening routine we noticed that the marks on his eye and ear had gotten worse, and we grew concerned that they looked like small nips and scratches from a dog as no other explanation matched. We messaged Donna to express our concerns and to double check if anything had happened throughout the day, making sure to insist that we were not accusing at all, and were just concerned. She then responded by phoning us and becoming argumentative with us, asking how we could ever accuse her of anything like that and that she’s dispointed that we wouldn’t speak to her in person if we were concerned and that we had upset her in our message. At no point in our conversation did she ask about our son’s wellbeing or express concern or apologise.
She also repeatedly insisted that her policy is to not have the dogs around the children at all so this was impossible, but on further investigation we found that images sent to us of our son repeatedly had the dogs in the background and around the children.

We decided at this point that we no longer felt comfortable sending our son into Donna’s care, as we could no longer trust her word. We arranged to speak to her in person to give our notice that we would not be returning and again Donna was very defensive and angry, not showing concern for our son or apologising for anything that had happened.

Following this conversation, we have since discovered that Donna has spoken about us and named us to another client, who is friends with my sister in law, about this, which is clearly a breach in confidentiality and professionalism.

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by Jack on 07/07/2025

Response by DonnasHa on 09/07/2025:

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. I’m sorry to hear that you feel this way about your experience, and I want to address the points you've raised openly and honestly.
To clarify, I did notice the small scratch on your son's ear during drop-off in the morning. I also mentioned it to you both at that time of pick up. However, I understand that the mark may have been overlooked, especially considering that Mum, was very excited to see son after not seeing him that morning, and Dad expressed to me on previous occasions that he was very tired. Given the circumstances, I can understand how the mark might not have been immediately noticeable.
What I do want to make clear is that I was not aggressive towards you both at any point. You both sat comfortably and very happily on my sofa during our respectful meeting, we spoke calmy and respectfully to each other, we both acknowledged and apologised for our parts in the communication breakdown, even asked you to pass on a kiss to your son when you left. You left my home in good spirits, and the entire exchange was cordial. I also have it recorded on my Ring doorbell and CCTV to confirm this, should you need any reassurance. We have this for our own safety which is advertised you are being recorded on our windows and outside our property.
What did concern me, though, was seeing you leave your child in the car outside my house on a warm day, for a substantial amount of time, while you came in for our meeting. I was uncomfortable with this decision, as I believe it's important for children to be always supervised, even for a short period. I wanted to bring this up during our conversation, but I didn’t want to cause any unnecessary tension. I genuinely care about the safety of all children in my care, and I hope this is something we can both agree is important.
Regarding the dogs, as outlined in my policy, they are always supervised when around the children. I want to reassure you that the dogs did not cause the injuries your son sustained, and I take safety very seriously in my care.
As for the communication breakdown, when I received your text message at 7:45 pm expressing your concerns, I didn’t feel it was the right to discuss such matters over text, so I called you, and yes, I was upset, and I am sure anyone would be reading the message I received. I believed a face-to-face conversation would be more appropriate, which we later arranged. During our meeting, we both acknowledged our parts in the situation, and I appreciate your willingness to discuss everything openly.
Lastly, in response to the confidentiality matter, the person you mentioned is a personal friend, not a client. They were a client nearly 3 years ago, and both they and your sister were the ones who recommended me to you. Therefore, there has been no breach of client confidentiality. I take privacy very seriously, and I appreciate you bringing this to my attention.
I truly value open and honest communication and want to address your concerns with transparency and care. Please know that your perspective matters to me, and I am committed to ensuring a safe and positive environment for every child in my care. Once again, I’m sorry for the distress this situation caused, and I genuinely wish you and your son all the best moving forward.
Sincerely,
Donna

Absolutely amazing!

Donna has been one of the best things I've done for my son. I'm a first time mum and was so worried about going back to work and having to leave my son with someone, however she made the whole process so easy and made me feel at ease. The environment is literally like a home from home and my son adores Donna, he often doesn't want to come home with me at the end of the day! His development has come on leaps and bounds too, he's always learning when he's there along with having so much fun. I would highly recommend Donna and I'm already not looking forward to the day my son has to leave her to go to school!

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by Kirsty on 21/08/2024

Beyond amazing!

From the first moment I met Donna and her family both myself and my daughter felt at home. The care and education my daughter receives is exceptional, every day she comes home happy cared for and loved. Her development has been and continues to be above all expectations. I would highly highly recommend Donna and her family to anyone. Not only does she provide my daughter with love and care, her and the family feel like an extended part of mine and I am so glad that I chose to have Donna as a childminder for my daughter. ❤️

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by jay2907 on 08/03/2023

One big exceptional family

I would recommend Donna to absolutely everyone as a childminder. Herself and her family are exceptional people and truly amazing. The love and care they have shown our son since he joined fills our hearts. Every day we see how happy he is when we drop him off and pick him up, he's growing and learning so much in her care and it's beautiful to see. He has made so many little friends and you can see how much of a little family they all are, we wouldn't ever choose a different setting for our son. Donnas is exactly the type of setting we dreamed of.

One of the main reasons that sold Donnas setting to us was the family feel, the second was the provision of all meals and snacks. When Donna told us what foods the kids eat our minds were blown, homemade beautifully balance and healthy meals everyday (and dinner always smells incredible), our son eats so well and eats a huge variety of foods when at Donnas and that was so important to us as we were struggling to get him to try new foods. Since he's been at Donna's he try's everything and eats all his meals.

Thank you Donna and Roy for making us all feel part of your extended family.

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by Alice R on 21/02/2023

The most incredible childminder

Donna is an incredible childminder and an amazing human being!

Based on recommendation from two of my friends whose children were already in Donna’s care, we made the decision to move our little girl from a formal nursery setting to Donna’s ‘home from home’ set up and couldn’t be happier with our choice! She is kind and flexible which makes all the difference to a frazzled, working parent. She always has time to chat and gives you an in-depth insight into our daughter’s days.

It is so clear that Donna truly loves the children in her care and they all become part of the family. It is wonderful to see how our little lady, who is an only child, has developed such strong, loving relationships with the other children - all well as with Donna and the other family members. It really is a loving home away from home.

In addition to the exceptional care provided, Donna has also been a God send when it comes to parenting advice. As first time parents it’s easy to get overwhelmed and Donna continues to be there with non-judgmental, practical advice IF we ask for it. 😊 Our girl, and our family, are so lucky to have Donna and her family in our lives.

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by H Parson on 13/06/2021

A truly exceptional lady & outstanding setting

We started sending our little boy to Donna at the end of lockdown 1, 2020. It has been the best decision for us as a family, Donna is a huge blessing to us and we are incredibly thankful for all she has done for our son. Her love for children and her job shine through from the moment you meet her. Our little boy is content, happy and settled with Donna and has been since the beginning. He has become a part of her family and has also a happy 'family unit' with the other children who attend. Every day he strolls in, beaming and I ALWAYS pick up a tired, well fed and extremely happy little boy. As parents as well, Donna has supported and advised us along the way with the trials and difficulties being parents to a toddler can bring. We cannot recommend Donna highly enough, she truly is a wonderful lady who offers an exceptional and outstanding setting for children.

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by Beth on 04/06/2021

Fantastic Childminder

Donna has looked after 2 of my children for over 7 years. She has always provided a high standard of childcare and been a fantastic childminder. She has taken the children out on many trips to the woods, beach and cinemas. The children are very comfortable with her and the childminding setting. Couldn’t recommend her enough.

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by Becs on 03/06/2021

Can’t recommend highly enough

Donna has cared for both my children together and at separate times. She has always been so polite, helpful and caring, the kids have always looked forward to going.
She takes pride in her work and the care given comes from such a nice place it is effortless for her, which shows in the great relationships she builds with the children. At times my work has been demanding and Donna has been so flexible to accommodate this too. I can’t recommend her enough. The home is always clean and welcoming and the environment is a happy one.

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by Cobleyd on 03/06/2021

The best childminder in MK

Donna is a brilliant childminder who centres her practice around the needs of the children. My daughter has been going to Donna’s full-time since she was 9 months old and she has thrived under Donna’s care. Donna provides a home-from-home setting and treats the children like they are members of her family. I can’t fault the service she provides and I am so happy she is involved in my daughter’s upbringing. We are lucky to have Donna in our lives!

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by JessieH on 03/06/2021

Outstanding

Donna is a beautiful and kind soul. I love her. My kids love her, they're always excited when im dropping them off. I can't fault her services in any way. She is an abselute angel that is God sent to me, I am enternally grateful for everything she has done for me and the kids. You would be lucky to have her services.

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by Ellie on 03/06/2021

Highly professional and reliable

Donna has been a great resource to our family. She was looking after our little boy since he was 6 months old. At our first meeting Donna came across as a dedicated childcare professional passionate about her work; and this proved to be very true. She has a lot of experience and I knew my child was in safe and capable hands while I was at work. She is 100% reliable and she was also flexible and was able to support us throughout the extra time challenges of our work commitments.
Our little boy was really enjoying his time at Donna's and she was great at providing feedback regarding his progress. We believe she was very good at supporting our son's development and she shared some great advice with us too. My new place of work meant that it was no longer practical to take our son to Donna's on regular basis. We can wholeheartedly recommend Donna as a great childminder and we shall look forward to the next opportunity to engage Donna again.

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by Lena on 24/11/2020