Michelle
Childminder in Colchester
Female Member since Jun 2010 Last Updated Nov 2024 Last Login 18 Dec 2024
My Summary
About Me
I'm a mother of four children, all of which are now grown up. My youngest is 18 years of age and has just left for University - although is DBS checked for when he is back home.
My current rating is outstanding by Ofsted. I really enjoy childminding and I'm passionate about child development, especially during the early years. I am also a qualified Counsellor and use these skills in my childcare practice.
I offer childminding services from my family home in Myland and my age range is from newborn to 4.5 years. Unfortunately, I don’t currently offer a service for older children or school drop-offs or pick up’s because I like to focus on the early years.
My Experience
I'm PACEY registered and have been childminding for almost 20 years during which time I have had the privilege of caring for and supporting the development of more than 100 babies and children ranging from one month to five years old.
I keep my setting to a maximum of 3 early years children, and have always kept my setting small to give them the best care.
In order to stimulate and support each child's development needs I focus on a range of activities including arts and crafts, music, messy play, sensory play and lots more. I also attend several different toddler groups (covid dependant) so the babies & toddlers in my care experience social interaction and stimulation. I include fun walks to the park and forest school, and many other fun activities with plenty of outside toys. My garden is extremely safe and secure.
I respect all cultures and have had the pleasure of caring for babies from varying backgrounds and cultures over many years.
I am of a caring nature and believe that good interaction with the parents is essential. I provide regular verbal feedback as each child develops and as each child experiences and learns new words or skills. Although it is no longer mandatory with Ofsted, I still keep a learning journal for each child in my setting. I will also ensure the parents are informed accordingly, so they too can enjoy and benefit from their child's development.
My Qualifications
1. Ofsted registered
2. PACEY registered
3. Cache level 3 Certificate in Childminding Practice
4. Qualified Counsellor and Art Therapist
5. Paediatric First Aid
6. E.Y.F.S Trained
7. Enhance CRB Checked
8. Safeguarding Children Foundation DHC
9. Child Development 30-50 months training course
10. Food hygiene course
11. Equality training
12. Managing child behaviour
13. Creative play and play therapy
14. Forest school trained
15. Covid course
My Availability
Weekdays
7:00am to 5:30pm
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before School | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| Morning | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| Afternoon | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| After School | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Evening | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Overnight | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Last Updated: 20/11/2024 | |||||||
My Fees
- Childminding from £6.00 per hour
Available on request
My Local Schools
This childminder has not yet informed us whether or not they provide any drop off or pick up services at local schools.
My Ofsted Inspections
The inspection grades below have been obtained from the Ofsted website based upon the registration number the childminder has provided to us. You should verify this information yourself prior to using the childminder.
My Documents
- Inspection Report: Ofsted Inspection Report (added 21/11/2023)
- First Aid Certificate: Paediatric First Aid (added 16/02/2023)
- Ofsted Certificate (added 16/02/2023)
- UK Driving Licence (added 16/02/2023)
Reviews
Below are the latest reviews for Michelle. Please note that reviews represent the subjective opinions of other Childcare.co.uk users 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.
My children and I were going through a very difficult time when the wonderful Michelle came into our lives. I wanted my twins, who were 11 months at the time, to be in a more homely environment than a nursery, and that is exactly what Michelle has provided for us for the last 2 years. From the very beginning Michelle has always gone the extra mile for both the children and has been incredibly accommodating during some very difficult times. Michelle's professionalism is second to none, and made sure to show us all the relevant professional registrations, and exceptional Ofsted reports during our first formal meeting with her. She even put up with my babies' cloth nappies!!
The children truly have had a home away from home at her house, and I have never felt anything other than complete confidence in her care. She takes the children to local play groups, parks and on day trips e.g. to the zoo! She is also incredibly knowledgeable about child development and uses age and stage appropriate activities to ensure they are being encouraged and supported. I am kept updated with regular pictures of the children during the day, which are lovely to receive during the day.
Overall, I cannot fault the incredible care that my twins have received over the past two years, and we will be incredibly sad when our time with Michelle comes to an end. I would recommend her to everyone!
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My son was cared for by Michelle full time from 10 months till the week before he started school and our journey with her has been incredible.
Initially I was drawn to Michelle because I wanted him to be in a small home from home setting and her beautiful, clean home and garden and wonderfully caring personality provided this. She is extremely knowledgable, warm-hearted, honest and lots of fun. To us, it feels like Michelle is a member of our extended family. My son has blossomed into a polite, confident and chatty boy and I credit Michelle for this! She would always have an activity (or 6) planned, provides lovely food/snacks, encourages development and from an adult point of view is very easy to talk to and discuss any issues with.
She comes highly recommended!!
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Michelle has had both my children from only a few months old and she has had an incredible impact on them both. They are polite and well mannered and they have learnt a lot of these key attributes from her. Both my husband and I work full time and are so lucky to have found Michelle. My daughter is 6 and my son nearly 4 so Michelle has worked with my children for over 9 years. She understands the importance of structure and boundaries along with the need for children to play, experiment and just be loved. She’s brilliant!
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Michelle is simply a guardian angel. She looked after our son for a year, from the age of three months to fifteen months, and during that time she was a true shining star in his life (in our lives, really!).
She is extremely competent and professional in the service of her call. She's very well qualified, as her profile attests, and she's got extensive experience as a childminder - my son was her 59th charge. She's got a heart of gold, a terrific sunny disposition and an infectious joie de vivre. Children are her passion and she’s incredibly in tune with their emotions and temperaments.
In her beautiful, clean, large and clutter free home, she provided the family life and environment that we desperately wanted for our boy, who has no extensive family in his hometown. She took him out for walks, baby and toddler groups, playgrounds, family outings and softplay areas. At home, she provided an excellent range of toys and mental and physical stimulation.
She showered our boy with love and attention and worked with us, his parents, as a team. She took note of our requests and made herself available with flexible hours when work commitments took us out of town.
She went beyond her call of duty when she became our friend - our dear friend - kindly reassuring us and sharing her personal experience as a mother of four beautiful grown up “children” with us.
Today, our son is a confident, happy and expressive fifteenth month old boy because she filled him with love in those hours of the day when we couldn’t do it ourselves.
We couldn’t recommend Michelle enough. Please, believe us when we say, she is simply a guardian angel.
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Michelle looked after our 2 year old son for a year and he absolutely loved every minute of it! He was getting ill at nursery and generally not enjoying it so I decided to use Michelle instead as I thought he would thrive in the family environment, more one to one attention and less children to catch things off!
He really loved Michelle like she was family and actually really misses her and her family and the other children since I took him out of childcare (I am on maternity leave at the moment). She genuinely loves the children she looks after like they were her own and does so many lovely things with them too! She is an amazing lady and I would recommend her to anyone wanting a real family atmosphere!
I will definitely use Michelle again for my new baby and my son when I return to work as she is definitely the best option. She is patient, kind, warm and thoughtful and lots of fun!
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