Yvonne Townsend
Childminder in East Finchley (also available for babysitting)
Female Member since Aug 2010 Last Updated Nov 2024 Last Login 20 Nov 2024
My Summary
About Me
I am a happy and professional person. I enjoy caring for children of all ages. I have a lot of experience caring for babies upwards. I provide childcare for 0-8 years. I have continuously received the Ofsted grade “Good”. I provide a warm, loving environment. The children are given lots of hugs and love while in my care. The parents have said their children are treated like “one of the family” and feel reassured their children are happy and safe here. The children are encouraged to learn new things and enjoy new experiences every day. My daily aim is for the children to have fun from the moment they arrive until the moment they leave – sometimes they do not want to leave! I also babysit their children.
I was a Legal Secretary for 12 years prior to my registration. I decided to have a career break when I became a full-time single mum. I cared for my son and my niece for their pre-school years during this period. I really enjoyed this time, watching them grow into little people who had their own personalities and ideas. It was for this reason that I chose to become a Registered Childminder. I was offered a TA post whilst working in Brookland Primary School. I chose to concentrate on my Childminding and declined the offer. I also worked on a voluntary basis at Martin Primary School. I was a member of their “Behaviour Policy Team”. I feel it is important to work in partnership with parents to ensure the children and family are happy at all times. I have a settling in process that will reassure you and your child. I keep in touch with parents and often send photos via text during the day. I have very good references. The parents of the children I presently care for are happy to speak with you. Please read my reviews.
I am Paediatric First Aid trained, Epi-pen trained, I have an Enhanced CRB Certificate, Driving Licence, Public Liability Insurance, Data Protection Certificate, Food Hygiene Qualification and I am a member of PACEY (Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years). I have qualifications in Safeguarding and Child Protection. I provide an environment where your child will learn through play in a happy home while having lots of fun!
I have a 25 year old son who is adored by the children in my setting. He is a sports journalist and producer for a major TV company. He has always been like a big brother figure to the children. He is kind and gentle with the children. He has an enhanced DBS certificate and a letter from Ofsted confirming his suitability to be around the children in my setting. He was a Sports Ambassador for Barnet and a sports leader for the Barnet Leadership Academy for many years. He ran for Barnet Shaftsbury Harriers. He ran in the under 18's relay at the Olympic Anniversary Games. He has coached children of all ages and abilities in different sports. He is also a semi-professional footballer.
My Experience
I have been a Registered Childminder for almost 18 years. I have grown professionally and learn all the time. I have a lot of experience of caring for babies, toddlers, and older children. I provide a loving, safe, and happy environment where your child will learn and develop through play, incorporating the areas of learning within the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework. Your child will enjoy indoor and outdoor play. I have a wide variety of toys/equipment suitable for all ages and stages of development. The sandpit and bubble machine are especially popular in my garden! I promote healthy eating. We have had some success at growing tomatoes together! I attend local childminder toddler groups, Cherry Tree Wood, Highgate Wood, and other local parks in Barnet. We attend East Finchley Library and local family centres. We visit Willows Farm and attend Belmont Farm in the summer (weather permitting). I meet regularly with other childminders and their children. We often enjoy picnics together in my garden. We also visit their homes and enjoy picnics in their garden. Your child will enjoy a variety of activities, including arts and crafts, including painting (so be prepared for them to come home covered in glitter clutching their masterpiece! They enjoy pretend play including dressing-up. We celebrate diversity and cultural festivals together. We have a wonderful time dressing up (including me) experiencing different foods and customs. I prepare a “Learning Journal” for the parents showing their child’s development, places we have been, people we have seen and the activities their child has enjoyed while in my care (this is a lovely keepsake of their time in my setting). The children are taught to love and respect each other.
My Qualifications
I attend courses run by Barnet Family Information Service, Ofsted, Virtual College, childcare.co.uk and Pacey to keep up to date with new policies or regulations to continue my professional development. The children benefit from what I have learned when I implement the new ideas and resources to enhance their fun/learning in my setting. I attend training courses independently to further my knowledge so as to provide the best service to the children and their parents. I also attend forums and the annual Childcare Expo to further my professional development. I am a registered member with the NSPCC CASPAR, Nursery World, Twinkl and other early years websites. I have attended virtual courses in relation to Covid-19 regulations and government guidance. I have learned how to put this into practice in my early years settings. The welfare of my minded children is always paramount.
I have the following training/certificates/qualifications:
CRB Certificate
Ofsted Registered in 2007
Ofsted "Good" rating consistently
CACHE Level 3 Certificate in Childminding Practice
First Aid for Children
Anaphylaxis Awareness & Epi-pen Training
Safeguarding & Protecting Children - The Legal Framework
Bereavement
FGM training
Child Protection Level 2
Prevent Duty Level 2
Allergy Awareness
Food Hygiene Level 2 City & Guilds
EYFS courses
Courses in Covid-19 (Covid First Aid Course, Promoting & Supporting Handwashing).
My Availability
I currently have full and part-time places available.
Monday – Friday
8am to 6pm
(I am also available for babysitting in the evenings and weekends)
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before School | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Morning | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| Afternoon | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | 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: 19/11/2024 | |||||||
My Fees
- Babysitting from £12.00 per hour
- Childminding from £8.00 per hour
Please call if you have a query.
My Local Schools
- I provide pick ups at Holy Trinity CofE Primary School
- I provide pick ups at Martin Primary School
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
- DBS Check (added 02/10/2024)
- Other (added 04/12/2023)
- UK Driving Licence (added 04/12/2023)
- First Aid Certificate (added 04/12/2023)
- Ofsted Certificate (added 04/12/2023)
Reviews
Below are the latest reviews for YVONNE TOWNSEND. 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.
Yvonne looked after my daughter from the age of 9 months until she joined the school nursery, and I genuinely can't recommend her enough! My daughter was so happy there, she would wander in without even a blink when I dropped her off in the mornings, because she was in a comforting and yet vibrant environment.
Yvonne is incredibly warm and caring, and she loves the children that she looks after. My daughter is now school age, but she still loves to see Yvonne and we've kept in touch. Yvonne still remembers my daughter's birthday and always gets her something for Christmas. We still use her for babysitting help.
I always felt that my daughter was in good hands. Yvonne is someone you can rely on to make common sense decisions when it comes to the child's welfare, such as first aid when needed. She also takes the children out to different places so that they're always kept active.
She is extremely well organised and always keeps up to date with relevant training and admin. When my daughter moved on, Yvonne put her heart and soul into pulling together photos and records of my daughter's development, which is a joy to read.
She really knows her stuff, too. If you have concerns about your child's behaviour, Yvonne is great at advising you what to do and putting you at ease. She also can handle any challenging behaviour!
Yvonne is a warm and caring childminder and we love her!
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by
YBT
about
YVONNE TOWNSEND
on 07/12/2023
Response by
YVONNE TOWNSEND
on 10/12/2023:
Thank you for this lovely review. Love to you all x
Yvonne looked after our two boys - when Thomas was 2 and Arthur turned 1 year old just as he was settling in with Yvonne. She is so warm and welcoming and such a lovely perceptive person - we were very happy to entrust our children with her. Her setting is ideal for young children - a lovely home, very thoughtfully set up for the kids - with lots of space, fascinating toys, lovely garden. And she took them on nice little local trips to playgroups and local parks. The boys enjoyed interacting with the other children that Yvonne looked after and were very secure with her.
They had a great time with Yvonne and we were sad to leave when we moved out of the area. We would highly recommend Yvonne as a childminder. She is very easy to communicate with and provided lots of helpful detail about how the boys were getting one each day and in their development generally. She clearly cares very much for the children she looks after. Thanks so much Yvonne!
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by
StroudGr
about
YVONNE TOWNSEND
on 03/03/2022
We have been sending our daughter to Yvonne’s since she was a year old - she is now 3.5 and loves Yvonne like a member of the family.
In our search for a childminder, we interviewed many nannies, childminders and visited many nurseries. After months of indecision, I found Yvonne’s profile and upon visiting her setting, felt an immediate connection and intuitively felt that our daughter would be happy here.
Yvonne has a warm and open personality, and has great fun with the kids through all the various fun activities indoors and outdoors. They also learn about the outside world by going on walks and trips to the post office or to the pharmacy. She treats them with kindness and love, but also manages to instil good behaviour in them.
We really like that our daughter has a close knit group of friends at the setting, but she also learns to socialise with other children from different settings through Yvonne’s network of childminder friends in the area.
Yvonne is like an extended part of our family, and we regularly communicate regarding our daughter’s progress, her daily activities, and receive lots of lovely photos and artwork.
Our daughter has blossomed in Yvonne’s setting and we would not hesitate to recommend her to any of our friends!
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by
AnisW
about
YVONNE TOWNSEND
on 19/01/2021
Response by
YVONNE TOWNSEND
on 30/01/2021:
Thank you so much Anis, I will really miss you all and wish you all lots of love and good luck on your new adventure in Malaysia. I will miss her very much and so will her friends. xx
Yvonne is a wonderful childminder who exudes warmth and love to all the kids that she looks after. I've had the pleasure of knowing Yvonne for 5 years in which time she's looked after both of my children. Both kids love Yvonne and always had a brilliant time at hers. Her house has become a home from home and she has also become a good friend to me. Yvonne takes the children out to toddler groups (pre pandemic) and to playgrounds. She also has lots of other childminder friends who she takes the children to (pre pandemic) which is really nice as her children get to socialise with other small groups of children. She is ridiculously generous and is still buying my kids birthday and Christmas presents even after they've left her to go to school/nursery. She makes a huge effort to ensure that the kids are happy at her home and whenever her son, Jordan, is home he too adds to the homeliness and excitement there.
I thoroughly recommend Yvonne and would use her in a second if I ever have any other children!!
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by
Amy
about
YVONNE TOWNSEND
on 17/01/2021
Response by
YVONNE TOWNSEND
on 19/01/2021:
Thank you for your lovely review Amy. I loved looking after your lovely children. Xx
Quite simply, Yvonne has been a wonderful childminder to our daughter for nearly two years from 16 months to over 3 years old. More than this, she became a third parent. Someone who cared for our child as if she were her own, while respecting our parenting style and upholding our personal values.
We really appreciated the closeness and ease of communication between us and Yvonne. We got Whatsapp messages and photos showing us what our daughter had done that day. Yvonne also completed a daily diary as well as her learning journal tracking her EYFS progress. The photos and daily diary enabled us to share the little daily stories and learn the names of our daughter’s friends. It meant a lot to us being part of her experiences that happen whilst we are at work.
Yvonne worked hard to provide an environment that was stimulating, creative, educational, and structured where our daughter could thrive. She organises outings, goes to local toddler groups, and has a range of toys and activities in her home, including a lovely garden. Yvonne has a local network of like-minded childminders through which experiences and activities can be shared, offering a diversity of relationships. Finally, Yvonne is supportive and flexible when life’s challenges present themselves; she recognises that raising a child is about relationships and collaboration.
We were extremely sad to move away from East Finchley and Yvonne, but know she’ll be part of our family for years to come. We’d recommend her care to any other parent.
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by
Antonia
about
YVONNE TOWNSEND
on 16/04/2018
Response by
YVONNE TOWNSEND
on 13/05/2020:
Thank you for this lovely reference. I love Ettie very much and was so sad when you all moved away.
Yvonne x
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