Darlena
Childminder in Cambridge
Female Member since Aug 2014 Last Updated Jun 2023 Last Login Sep 2024
My Summary
About Me
Hi I’m Darlena. I’m a registered Childminder working in the CB4 area, we’re just a 10 minute bike ride into the city Centre. I have been working in childcare since 2008 and love my job! Since returning back to work after having my Daughter in 2018 I have decided to work from home. We have a lovely spacious play space in our home which is all open plan. The children have access to a Montessori inspired shelf which is full of exciting activities to explore, I rotate the toys around almost weekly to suit the children’s interests and skills, we have a cosy corner inside a tepee for reading. Lots of toys and resources for gross motor skills and we love setting up obstacle courses. I have lots of wonderful wooden toys to spark the children’s imagination. Every day we have some kind of creative/messy play going on for the children to explore. The children have a small kitchen with their very own little sink with running water where they can wash their hands and help prepare snacks or play just for fun.
I provide a home from home experience with all the fun and games that can be found in a nursery setting.
I’m passionate about what I do and I’m always looking for new ideas or experiences to keep things exciting for the children. I observe what things their interested in and come up with ways to support their learning, sharing this journey with the parents with regular updates.
We have a lovely secure garden with a play house my husband built (a lockdown project) a mud kitchen, sand pit, a slide and lots of things to ride around on. Back when I was working in a nursery I completed my Forest School training as I really value the importance of outdoor play for young children.
Every week we have different trips to various places, we’re able to drive or use our new cargo bike to explore local areas. Some of our most recent outings include the Zoology Museum, Audley End miniature railway, Garden centres and lots of trips to our local National Trust places where we have a membership so we visit one of these at least every week for lots of outdoor play. Other places Include local parks, farm shops, going feed the ducks at Jesus green, visit the horses in the field near us, Lots of lovely little spaces we’ve discovered during lockdown. When we can we will start using the local play groups, music groups and the libraries again.
I provide healthy snacks and nutritious home cooked meals, We have a learning tower in the kitchen which is ideal for children to reach up to the kitchen sides with me. I encourage the children to take part in helping prepare snacks and they like to help with whatever they can when it comes to preparing lunch too, children love to help with their own little jobs such as getting the table ready at meal times.
Please get in touch if you would like a visit :)
My Experience
I have 12 years childcare experience; my main childcare experience comes from working in day nurseries. I was at my first nursery for six years where I had several roles, the main one being deputy manager and baby room leader for some years. Before moving onto a smaller day nursery for just over four years where I was the deputy manager and completed my forest school training setting up our forest school off site at a local woodland space. I spent some time between the day nursery and the preschool site delivering as much forest schooling as we could then being based mostly with the under threes. Then the best part of my journey was having my daughter, each and every day I’m learning something new with her. I took a year off with her then returned to work part-time. We found a great family to nanny for where my daughter came too. I cared for a girl only two weeks apart in age, so they became great friends, along with a five year old sibling after school. Now we are excited to open our home and share our play space.
My Qualifications
Starting a home-based childcare setting - including child protection - May 2020
Paediatric First Aid Training - April 2023
Food Safety and Hygiene for Early Years settings Aug 2020
Forest School leadership training (Level 3) with the Green Light Trust - 2017
Early Years Foundation Degree - 2014
Level 4 NVQ in Children’s Learning and Development-2012
I have also attended many training courses held by Cambridgeshire County Council Early Years Workforce Team some of which were:
Early Years Child protection -2023
Schema Master Class - 2018
Early Years Child protection information network -2018
Forest School Conference- 2018
Leadership - Maintaining good and outstanding Ofsted judgements - 2017
Child Protection- Refresher training for Designated person - 2017
Leadership- Understanding statutory duties 2017
My Availability
Currently on Maternity leave with my second baby, I’ll be returning back to work in September 2023 :)
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before School | no | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| Morning | no | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| Afternoon | no | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| After School | no | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| Evening | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Overnight | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Last Updated: 01/06/2023 | |||||||
My Fees
- Childminding from £7.00 per hour
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
- UK Driving Licence (added 17/08/2020)
- Training Certificate: Understanding how to set up a home based childcare service (including 2 hour child protection) (added 16/08/2020)
- DBS Check (added 16/08/2020)
- First Aid Certificate: Mini First Aid (added 16/08/2020)
- Ofsted Certificate (added 16/08/2020)
Reviews
Below are the latest reviews for Darlena. 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 son was with Darlena since he turned one and was looked after her for 5 days a week for one year. We traveled from the other side of town daily and we only switched childminders because of her maternity leave. Our son really enjoyed going there, there was always a different play setting waiting for him when he arrived in the morning. Very often they would go out to the park, a farm, a play group, and they even went on a train ride one day which was so exciting for him! In the afternoon we would get photos of what they did that day, and when we picked him up Darlena explained how the day went and what my son enjoyed.
Every time we picked him up he was very happy and sometimes wouldn't want to stop playing. Also, my son had eczema and milk allergy and Darlena was very good with managing both. She was very easy to talk to and we worked well together to make him feel most comfortable. What stood out to me was that she enjoyed coming up different games for the kids, that they were appropriate to their development stages and encouraged them to try different things. I am certain that Darlena's care and concern about my child's wellbeing and development has helped him develop confidence and curiosity to the world, for which I will always be thankful.
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Darlena is such a lovely person, she truly cares about the children's development and offers them a huge range of activities and outdoor adventures. Her house and garden are perfect, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Darlena as a childminder, she's so easy to work with, and her daughter is adorable too. Our son went from 7 months to 18 months, only stopping due to maternity leave. We were so lucky to find Darlena! She's one in a million. She provides healthy snacks and meals so the children all eat the same thing together, and saves having to do a packed lunch! She promotes autonomy in the children, encouraging them to learn so many useful things, whilst having fun in a loving and safe environment.
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Darlena and her family are absolutely lovely. We are sad that our son is no longer with them as he has now started preschool. He has lots of fond memories from the time spent with her. He went 2 days a week from age 2 and half till 3 and half. Our son can be very emotional and doesn't like the separation so drop off can be difficult- he is much better now! Darlena has handled it professionally with very warm heart and she helped him settle so well. He always came out at the pick up, so happy and keeping chatting away. Darlena is not only thoughtful when it comes to childcare but also provides kids with lots of interesting, creative and fun activities/crafts for kids which I wouldn't have done at home by myself and it was so lovely to see him enjoy and share it with rest of the family. She has beautiful set up in her house which is very kids friendly- both indoor and outdoor garden. And there are always walks, biking, trip to parks and playground etc which is awesome. I and my husband believe she gave really fun, safe and happy environment to learn and thrive for our son. We highly recommend her!
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Our 1 year old daughter goes to Darlena's once a week and we couldn't be happier! Darlena is gentle, calm and attentive to the children she takes care of by offering various activities adapted to their tastes and their age. Her house offers a beautiful play area with many wooden toys, books, role-playing games, ... Every week, she is keen on introducing our daughter to new activities: games with other children, painting, sensory activities, songs, outings, ... Our daughter is very happy to go there and to play with her sweet daughter! We have found a perfect childminder and we highly recommend her !
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My two year old son has been going to Darlena for three months now, and we couldn’t be happier. She was was very patient and helpful in the first few weeks helping my son to settle in.
She takes him out for an adventure almost every session to beautiful places, and having her own daughter, means my son always has great company.
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This profile has been produced from information provided to us by the user. We have not verified or confirmed the accuracy of any of the information and members should undertake their own vigorous checks and references. Please ensure you read our Safety Advice and information on how to Check Childcare Provider Documents.
