Our daughter started at Simone's when she was 11 months old, and has been attending for nearly 3 years now. We feel very lucky to have found her! Simone and Brian are really lovely, and obviously care deeply about the children in the setting. Our daughter's very attached to them.

The setting has big, welcoming indoor and outdoor spaces. There's a very varied programme of activities tied to different educational themes, and designed to support different aspects of development. I've been awed by how much time and effort Simone puts into devising crafting projects, play stations, science experiments, role-plays and other indoor activities. Our daughter loves bringing home things she's made and teaching us about whatever she's been learning. They also go on walks and do lots of outdoor play - the paddling pool in summer time is a big favourite. They have elaborate special events for different cultural holidays, and go on trips: recent/upcoming trips include the museum, Woburn Safari Park and a butterfly farm.

Simone is great at supporting social/emotional development, and personal care (my daughter was not impressed by toilet training and we have Simone to thank for getting her there!). The setting is small enough that the kids get lots of individual attention, and regular one-on-one guidance at things like reading/writing their names, counting, and other age-appropriate milestones. At the same time, there are enough other kids around for them to make friends and learn to interact with other children of various ages. We get lots of videos showing what she's up to, which really helped to ease my initial anxiety about going back to work.

The flexible days and hours have been very helpful for us, as has the pick-up/drop-off service (we live 4 miles away). Simone is very invested in each child's learning, development, and happiness generally; she's very open to talking about how best to support them, or offering advice if that's what you want. Our second daughter will be starting with Simone in the autumn, and it's such a relief to know she'll be with people who will really care for/about her.

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Communication