Karen Horne

Home from home

My son started with Karen in early Autumn 2022 and will sadly move on to a daycare nursery in early January 2024 due to changes in my work.

Karen is one of a kind. So much so that even when we moved house, I continued to drive for miles so my son could attend her setting. She provides a home from home and my son just loves going to “Karen’s house”; he runs in and barely says goodbye!

Karen takes the children on lovely local outings, including local playgroups and woodland areas, and also has the most fabulous garden - and pets. Karen is always thinking about all the children’s development and the activities are just wonderful. My son has come on leaps and bounds. He is so secure in himself and Karen pays such a big part in that.

Karen also has a small team which means she can have a little group of children each day. I loved this as it meant my son has had a lovely chance to socialise within a home setting.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Karen. She is incredible!

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by Jen about Karen Horne on 02/12/2023

Excellent childminder

ending our daughter to Karen was the best decision we could have made. In the two years that my daughter was in Karen’s care, not once did we have any difficulties getting her in in the morning. We have loved the caring, nurturing environment that Karen has created and have felt at ease from day one. Karen and her team have felt like an extended part of our family. Communication has always been amazing, every day we received photos and updates and when it came to important milestones such as potty training, Karen worked with us, fully supporting the method we choose at home meaning the learning was seamless. It was our daughter’s second home! The children had a fantastic time, getting out and about to various play groups, going on adventures to the woods or playground, going to farm shops and the aquatic centre and even air hop in the summer! Karen made days spent at her house just as fun with summer days in the garden playing with water toys, paddling pools, slides etc etc. I was jealous of the fun my daughter had every day! Most importantly, my daughter never came home having had a bad day and she was always clean and well presented, demonstrating the care taken over the children. We will all miss Karen and the team but I can’t wait to send my son to her! Thank you for such a wonderful start to my daughter’s ventures away from home.

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by Henry about Karen Horne on 13/09/2023

Outstanding&helped our daughter get a diagnosis

Karen has been excellent with both of our girls. Anna attended from aged 1-3 and then Eloise attended for a few months (aged 1) before being diagnosed with brain cancer.
We can't thank Karen highly enough. Both girls loved her soft, kind nature, the wide variety of activities Karen did with them and the level of love and care she gives to each child. She really is exceptional and we felt very confident leaving our girls there. Both girls made huge developmental leaps under her care. She taught them a range of skills such as how to put their coat on, which they still use today. She provided a great range of food and taught the girls about the wider world e.g. festivals, seasons etc. The house was always calm, welcoming and the children were always happy when we arrived.
Karen was also exceptional with identifying Eloise's health needs and we will forever be indebted: In 2020 my husband and I had noticed that Eloise had some odd moments where she would suddenly run up to us looking scared and vacant - we thought she must have been scared by something (she was 15 months). But Karen phoned us one day and said she had just seen Eloise have one of these odd moments and wondered if they might be partial seizures - and strongly recommended we go and get Eloise checked out by a doctor. Karen was brave enough to phone us and tell us this - it must have been a very difficult phonecall for her to make and we are eternally grateful for identifying this and for her courage to make this call. This was the very beginning of Eloise being diagnosed with brain cancer. In fact, many doctors continued to dismiss these moments/seizures, but after a few months of pursuing, it was confirmed these moments were seizures, and then later confirmed that they were caused by a cancerous brain tumour. Karen's long experience with children, including previously with other special needs children, helped Eloise get a diagnosis and then treatment. We are eternally grateful and would recommend Karen to anyone!

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by Melissa about Karen Horne on 08/09/2023

Response by Karen Horne on 09/09/2023:

Thank you so much Mel and Pete for your breathtaking comments about care I provide! It really means a lot! Every child I care for is so special to me and stays forever in my heart!

Amazing

I cannot recommend Karen and Tim enough! We all know how difficult of a moment it is for a child to separate from the parents, and how worrying it can be if your child will take this change well. We got extremely lucky that we found Karen.

Her warm welcoming to our daughter, keeping us up to date daily with pictures. The support she gave to our daughter as well as to us was immense. Over the 3 years that she was with Karen she was going there every morning with a big smile and so happy and in the evenings she couldn’t wait to tell us what she learned that day.

Karen provided our daughter with a second home and was with us during the small and big moments of her life. We always got so much great advice and support. We will really miss her however as children grow it’s time for her to start a new journey in her new school.

Words are not enough to describe how wonderful Karen has been. You only need to spend a minute with her to understand the level of professionalism and her amazing approach with the children. I can only express my biggest gratitudes!

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by Vera about Karen Horne on 19/07/2023

Response by Karen Horne on 10/08/2023:

Thank you so much Vera for your amazing comments!
Knowing that, it really means a lot!

Fantastic Childminder- highly recommend!

Karen and her lovely team are amazing. Both my daughters have been with her - my youngest since the age of 1 and still going now 2 1/2 years on.
Both absolutely love going to ‘Karen’s house’.
Karen provides a warm and welcoming environment. We felt at ease on our very first visit. Lots of toys, games and daily activities for the children and a huge garden to play in !
Karen and her team plan carefully activities to suit the age and ability of the child and lots of lovely art work comes home each week.
In addition, the children are often out and about at parks, outdoor spaces and playgroups each day.
Home cooked meals, daily photos and feedback at pick up all make leaving your child that bit easier.
We were fortunate to be recommended Karen when we moved to the area - and I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a childcare option.

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by heicks78 about Karen Horne on 26/06/2023

Response by Karen Horne on 04/07/2023:

Thank you so much for your amazing comments! 😊