Katherin
Childminder in West Malling
Usually responds within 24 hours
Female Member since Apr 2010 Last Updated Jan 2025 Last Login 30 Jan 2025
My Summary
About Me
I am a registered Childminder and fully qualified (degree level) Early Years Practitioner with over 20 years of experience working with children aged from birth to 11 years old. I am kind, caring, reliable and above all I have a genuine love of working with babies and children of all ages.
My Experience
I have lots of experience working in various childcare settings including; schools, nurseries, special need schools, hospitals and home based child care. I have worked in childcare for many years and in that time have built up an extensive knowledge of child development and the Early Years Foundation Stage.
I love working with children and this shines through in my work. I am creative, a great story teller and children of all ages have always been drawn to me. During my time working as a childminder I built up a great rapport with children and parents alike. I am still in touch with many of the families I worked with and often babysit the children, some of whom I looked after when they were very small babies.
As a Mum of three I believe my experience as a parent has really helped with my work as I am very maternal and see things from a parents prospective. I treat the children in my care in the same way I would want my own child to be cared for, with consistency, kindness and a sense of fun.
I have a folder full of cards and references from previous parents. I will share this with you when we meet but here are a few snippets from some of them.
Katherine has been my son's nursery teacher since September 2011. She established a very strong relationship with both me and many other parents at the nursery. I believe that made a real difference to my son's development. Katherine was always keen to share his progress with me on a daily basis as well as letting me know what we could do to help him at home. Katherine exceeded expectations at all times. I found her to be dependable, reliable, conscientious and courteous. In addition to being a wonderful teacher, it was a real comfort having her as part of the Nursery team for me and many other parents as well. She is a very nurturing and caring person and always noticed if a child needed a cuddle or that extra bit of attention. She developed a strong rapport with many of the children, including my son, and it is clear they are very fond of her. In summary, I highly recommend Katherine for any position or endeavour that she may seek to pursue in respect to her capacity to teach or care for children. I believe that she will be a valuable asset to any teaching organisation or family.
Patricia Wentzell November 2012
In my opinion you couldn't find a better person to look after your child. Katherine is kind, responsible and very nuturing. She was amazing with both of my babies from when they were tiny. My second baby suffered with reflux and she was the only person other than me who could calm and settle him. Katherine really is wonderful, she just has the magic touch!
Mrs Griv July 2015
Katherine is an absolute godsend. Being new to the area and away from family and friends to help me I needed someone reliable and experienced. She is so calm and soft spoken she immediately settles my baby and miraculously my toddler too. Nothing is a problem and she throws herself in immediate on arrival at my house and clearly is good at what she does. She's a wonderful support to me and a wealth of knowledge and great advice. And so as well as helping me with my six month old, she now babysits both children for me two evenings a week.
Mrs Saliba September 2015
Katherine visited us as a night nanny shortly after the birth of our newborn twin boys. We have been extremely happy with the care Katherine has provided our boys. She is very attentive to their needs, always provides full notes of their feeds and other details of their nights, makes helpful suggestions on things that might suit the boys (leading to us changing bottles which has really helped the boys) and is very caring and nurturing towards them, she truly loves babies and this comes across clearly from her interactions with them. Katherine is also very punctual and reliable and proactively helps with things without even being asked (like cleaning bottles at the start or end of a night). She is a pleasure to have stay and we would recommend her to any new/existing parents.'
Ms Verity Thomas March 2016
Katherine has looked after our twin girls overnight as a night nanny right from when they were only a few weeks old and premature. She put our minds at rest that they were in capable hands while we got some much needed sleep. The girls were difficult to feed in the early weeks - Katherine handled all the feeds on her own despite these difficulties. She is very calm and knowledgeable and brings a wealth of experience to the job. Highly recommend Katherine to any parent - just wish we had known of her services with our eldest.
Mrs Braithewaite June 2017
My Qualifications
BA in Childhood Studies (SEN)
Foundation Degree in Childhood Studies (Level 5)
Certificate of Education (Level 4)
BTEC National Diploma in Childhood Studies/ Nursery Nursing (Level 3)
I hold a full enhanced DBS check.
I am a fully qualified first aider.
I hold a certificate in diet and nutrition.
I have attended many courses over the years including: child protection, behaviour management, health and safety, the Early Years Foundation Stage, special needs, English as an additional language, extending outside provision, phonics, science in the Foundation Stage and Makaton.
My Availability
My availability is as follows:
Monday to Thursday 8am-5pm (I can work till 6pm on a Thursday if required). I am ideally looking for term time only positions but I can be flexible on this if required. I will be able to drop off and collect from Pippins Preschool and Valley Invicta Primary School at Leybourne Chase.
A full day with me includes; a healthy nutritious breakfast. Trips out to the local parks, to the library, toddler groups, music groups etc. A healthy nutritious lunch. Quiet time/nap time. Activities such as arts and crafts, play dough, painting, messy play, construction, jigsaw puzzles, small world play, role play and story telling. A healthy nutritious dinner. I always finish each session with story time or singing. I am keen to work in partnership with parents and am happy to follow any routines or wishes you may have for your child.
Before school care includes; a healthy nutritious breakfast, activities such as drawing, board games and free play.
After school care includes; activities such as cooking, craft activities, free play, trips to the local park, outdoor games in the garden, help with homework if required and a home cooked nutritious meal. I end each session with story time.
Please contact me for more details about my Night Nannying availability.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before School | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| Morning | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Afternoon | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| After School | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| Evening | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Overnight | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Last Updated: 30/01/2025 | |||||||
My Fees
- Childminding from £7.50 per hour
Please contact me for further details
My Local Schools
- I provide drop offs and pick ups at Valley Invicta Primary School At Leybourne Chase
My Documents
- Childminding Agency Certificate (added 30/10/2021)
- DBS Check (added 07/10/2021)
- UK Passport (added 30/10/2016)
- Training Certificate: Certificate of completion (added 30/10/2021)
- First Aid Certificate: Paediatric First Aid Certificate (added 17/10/2021)
- Exam Certificate: BA Hons in Childhood Studies (added 04/10/2021)
- Proof of Covid-19 Vaccination (added 30/09/2021)
- First Aid Certificate (added 30/10/2016)
Reviews
5 out of 5
Latest reviews
Below are the latest reviews for Katherin. Please note that reviews represent the subjective opinions of other Childcare.co.uk members 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.
Katherine looked after my 2 year old son during the summer holidays and she was absolutely amazing! She is so kind and accommodating and I knew straight away my son would be very happy in her care.
Katherine is very knowledgeable and professional. She has a great set up at her home and provides regular updates throughout the day.
I would highly recommend Katherine to other parents requiring childcare.
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by
Gaby
on 26/08/2022
Response by
Katherin
on 27/08/2022:
Thanks much for the lovely review Gaby. Reiss is such a sweetie! He was a joy to look after xx
Katherine was recommended to us after we had looked at nurseries for our baby but didn’t feel they were quite right. Katherine has had Our son since he was 7mths old and he just loves her. There hasn’t been a single day he has cried at drop off and he’s always so happy at pick up, Katherine treats him like one of her own and we feel happy and confident he is in her care
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Lottie
on 21/06/2022
From the moment I first met Katherine I just knew that she would be the child minder for me!
Her set up is great lots for the children to do and some amazing activities that my daughter loves.
Katherine listened to my daughters likes dislikes and her routine and she follows this.
Katherine gives us a lovely hand over of what our daughter has been up to and always makes us aware of anything.
But most importantly of all my daughter loves going to Katherine’s house she was 19months when she started and was settled from day one, this was such a relief and made going to work so much less stressful.
Thank you so much Katherine you truly are amazing and my little lady loves you.
Highly recommend
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by
Nemo
on 17/06/2022
Katherine has been childminding my daughter since she was 8 months old, she treats her just like one of her own and my daughter has settled straight in lovely. Katherine is very professional and keeps me up to date with everything that my daughter has been doing with her, she has helped introduce more solid food to my daughter and had encouraged her to try things that even I wouldn't be able to! Would highly recommend!
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by
Parent
on 28/03/2016
Katherine was my daughters childminder for 2 years. My daughter (Kali) loved going to Katherine's and both my husband and I were very happy that she was there. I originally planned for my daughter to go to aftercare club, we couldn't get her in and I am so glad as it absolutely worked out for the best.
Katherine always had engaging activities organised such as arts and crafts. Kali was always bursting to tell us what she did when she got home. In better weather Katherine would take the kids to the park after school where they could run around. In the holidays, they went swimming or further afield to different parks. Kali was always well fed with good, wholesome, homemade food.
Katherine is not only conscious and intuitive to a child's needs but also appreciates and understands parents. Occasionally, out of the blue throughout the day, I would receive lovely pictures of Kali enjoying her time which I felt was really special.
I always found Katherine to be flexible and accommodating. Kali was always dropped off and picked up on time from school.
It’s a difficult decision when you have to go back to work and entrust the care of your child with someone else, however, in giving a person like Katherine that responsibility it eases the transition knowing your child is in a safe, secure and environment that they will really enjoy.
I cannot recommend Katherine highly enough to any parents who are looking to place their child/ren in her care.
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by
Parent
on 02/12/2015
Katherine came to us via the recommendation of a colleague, and I thank my lucky stars every day for that conversation. She is softly-spoken, kind, gentle, creative, funny, and wise, and my baby daughter took to her with instant and obvious delight. Katherine is very experienced with children of all ages and has huge knowledge about how little people function and develop. She is genuinely interested in the steps of progress made by each individual child in her care, and works hard to achieve a good balance between stimulation, creativity, and quiet time/rest in her childcare practice.
I feel totally calm leaving my baby with Katherine, either at our place or at hers, because she cares for those in her charge with enormous patience and kindness. I am happy to recommend her very highly to other parents looking for a flexible, caring, knowledgeable childminder.
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LKTB
on 29/11/2015
We have been lucky enough to have Kathrine as our childminder for the last 6 months and we are devastated that she is moving. If you live near her new address and need child care i don't think you will find better.
I knew i was leaving my son in kind, caring hands every morning and was always greeted with warm reception.
Kathrine is very attentive, she keeps you posted on any developments with your child and regularly sends us photos. This brings us peace of mind as well as a smile.
With her teaching background she will provide wide range of experiences and nurture the progression and education of your little one.
5 Star.
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by
Simon G
on 27/11/2015
Katherine is a truly brilliant childminder. She looked after my 2- and 5-year-old daughters for around a year, and when we moved cities I wished I could have taken her with me.
My little one would spend all day with Katherine and her own daughter, who was also two at the time, and they'd visit play groups or the park together. Rainy days were never wasted; my daughter would often bring home cards or crafts they'd made together. My daughter was always happy to go to Katherine in the mornings, and was always tired but cheery when I collected her after work.
Katherine would collect my eldest from school and they'd all have dinner together. My eldest would talk about the books they'd read together after eating, and often also had a drawing or two to show me.
Katherine always took care to communicate what my daughters had been doing during the day. She kept a diary of the food they ate (which was always healthy), whether they'd been tired, whether they'd been happy or upset, or felt ill. She also took photos for me of their day trips and play time. I found this incredibly reassuring, and I loved reading about their day and seeing they'd been happy.
It's difficult to leave your children with someone else while you go to work, but with Katherine I knew they were happy, busy and safe, and we were lucky to have had her as our childminder.
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by
Parent
on 11/11/2015
Katherine looked after our Son when he was 5 months until he was 9/10months. Although we only needed childcare for a short time our Son quickly became incredibly close to Katherine and we're still in touch today. Katherine's wealth of experience means that every child whatever age is thoroughly engaged and stimulated with a wide range of activities.
What I loved about Katherine was how well she uses her local resources, she's near parks, toddler groups, music groups. Katherine's house is completely safe for a baby, something very important to us, with gates, mats, cupboard locks etc. She is very well equipped to do her job and above all that she is extremely caring and loving. When ccollecting our Son it was clear that all children in her care really love her company and felt secure. Our Son would be sent home with pictures he had painted, hand prints and messy play. Katherine is fabulous and we can recommend her highly enough!!
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by
Parent
on 04/06/2015
Met Katherine recently and found her warm, experienced and a natural with my daughter. Was gutted though that it didn't work out due to timings. But would HIGHLY recommend her to anyone!
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by
Parent
on 20/07/2013
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