Basia was our daughter's child-minder for two years before we moved out of London. She had come highly recommended to us by others in the neighbourhood and we could not be more thankful to them for the introduction. Basia is both a consummate professional and a truly great person. We cannot say enough about how kind, thoughtful and generous she is. It was a big deal for us, leaving our first child, Lola, with someone else when we both had to go back to work, but from day one, Basia welcomed our daughter into her home as if she were another member of her family.

On the practical front, Basia has ample space for the small number of children she cares for and her home is always impeccably clean and tidy. Every day, she would send Lola home with a notebook that kept a detailed record of everything they had done (always out and about to the park or Kew gardens and myriad local activities), what she'd eaten (home cooked food and healthy snacks) and whether she'd slept etc etc. At home, Basia would not just play games with the kids in her care, but make her home a fun centre of learning too, and she would often give us updates on our daughter's development.

Lola soon become Basia's number one fan and would always want to stay longer and play more with Basia's two daughters - both of whom, like their mum, are really kind and fun. Every day after school they would play with Lola and the other kids in Basia's care, and we have no doubt it really helped the little ones to be around older children on a regular basis.

Lola now has a little sister, and if we move back to London, our first call - without a shadow of a doubt - would be to Basia to see if she has space.

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• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication