My Summary
About Me
Hi, my name is Heather, I have 20 years experience of working with babies and children, and I am Kiddiwinks Childminding!
Where I live...
I live in the friendly village of Manuden, which is just 5 minutes north of Bishop's Stortford town centre - so I have the best of both worlds, the countryside on my doorstep (literally, having fields and sheep at the end of my garden), and Stortford town so close, I can easily enjoy the groups and facilities on offer there.
MY FAMILY...
I live with my partner Neil, my gorgeous 'growing-up-way-too-fast' daughter now studying at uni in Bath Tricia (21) and my two cocker spaniels, Toby (12) and Sophie (10). I work with my lovely sister, Karen, who has 3 grown-up children of her own.
MY HOME AND FACILITIES...
I live in a three-bed semi-detached house with fields to the front and rear (oh dear I sound like an estate agent!). The children have the use of the kitchen for cooking, snacks and meals, and the messy playroom (formerly a utility room!) for painting, sticking, sand, play-dough and all things messy! I have a fabulous separate playroom so the children can have access to a full range of age appropriate toys, they can display all their artwork, photos and 'treasures'' and have full access to the garden at all times (fully enclosed with a range of toys, and a fantastic outlook (estate agent speak again!!). I have a downstairs toilet and changing area, and when it comes to sleeping, babies have use of two of the bedrooms upstairs linked to me by video monitors, and the older children use the playroom to nap in.
WHY I CHOSE CHILDCARE...
I've been involved in various areas of childcare for a long time. I chose childminding because I enjoy being around children and providing them with the opportunity to learn and develop. I provide a loving, caring home-from-home environment where we do typical 'family' activities - I think there's nothing more rewarding than seeing the enjoyment children get from doing simple things like picnics in the park in the summer, feeding the ducks, doing arts and crafts to show mummy and daddy, cooking lunch and making cakes, playing games or simply sitting and reading or singing songs. Seeing self-confidence growing and children learning and enjoying new things is brilliant!! Every child is a special and unique little person, and with the love, care, support I provide, they will learn, have fun and thrive in the warm happy home environment that Kiddiwinks provides.
WHY CHOOSE ME?...
As a parent, I totally understand that choosing childcare is one of the most important, and difficult, decisions we sometimes have to make for our children when they're little. Childcare is a very personal thing - it doesn't matter if the house is a mansion and there are enough toys to fill a football pitch, if you don't get that 'good gut feeling' about the provider, you will never going to be 100% sure about leaving your child. What type of childcare and who provides it isn't the same for everyone - what suits one child/family won't necessarily suit another, and so I like to be open and upfront from the beginning - if there's anything a parent isn't happy/comfortable about, I'd like to know. I believe that honesty and trust between the adults involved in any childcare arrangement is fundamental to its successs and, most importantly, to the happiness and well-being of the child.
Like many childcare providers, I have vast childcare experience (see below) but I also have a friendly 'real' approach to childcare. I want all children I look after to feel special and cared for, so I treat all my special little friends the way I would want my daughter to be treated. I work hard to ensure that I have a professional but friendly relationship with parents so that they trust me and know that I will always do whats best for their child. It is important to me that parents know that I will listen to them, their views and wishes - after all they are the parents and know their child the best! I want every child and parent to feel happy, relaxed and able to treat my home like their second home.
My Experience
Apart from bringing up my own daughter, Tricia, I was a foster carer for 10 years. I looked after a number of children in that time, aged from birth 12. This was a job I really enjoyed and I only stopped when my family circumstances changed.
I also worked as children's social care worker for two years. I worked with 'looked after children' which was a challenging but rewarding position and involved me working closely with vulnerable children and young people. Although I enjoyed this work, the paperwork and workload did not allow me enough time to spend with the children and young people, and I missed having a 'hands-on' caring job, hence my move into childminding work.
I then worked for two years looking after children in their own homes before becoming a childminder over 7 years ago.
My Qualifications
I have an NVQ Level 3 in Caring for Children & Young People. This NVQ
covers:
* ability to establish and sustain relationships with children
* ability to promote, monitor and maintain health, safety and security
* ability to enable children to take part in recreation and leisure activities
* ability to provide a framework for the management of behaviour
* ability to promote equality, diversity and rights
* ability to contribution to the protection of children from abuse
* ability to support individuals in change in their care
* ability to receive and store information
I have also completed a large number of training courses through my fostering, social work and childminding roles. Some areas of training covered are:
First Aid
Development Delay
Discipline to match behaviour
Child centred caring
Working with birth parents
Play and Development
Managing difficult behaviour
Safeguarding
My Availability
MONDAY - WEDNESDAY 8.30 - 5.30 throughout the year.
Please note: Kiddiwinks specialises in care of the under 5s only.
Please contact me for current vacancies.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before School | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Morning | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Afternoon | no | no | no | no | no | 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: 09/11/2020 | |||||||
My Fees
- Childminding from £6.00 per hour
Available on requrest.
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 Documents
- UK Driving Licence (added 24/07/2023)
Reviews
Below are the latest reviews for Heather. 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 eldest daughter is now at school but loved spending time at Kiddiwinks. Heather prepared her exceptionally well for starting school and she still asks to go back! My youngest is now there and equally loves it. The summer months are particularly great as lots of time is spent in the beautiful garden which backs on to fields with farm animals. I highly recommend Kiddiwinks!
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Looking for a childminder is probably one of the most stressful things you will ever have to do. You are handing over your most precious thing in the world. It is of course only right to be worried - that is totally normal. You need to be happy and if you are happy your little person will be. We came across Heather at Kiddiwinks in 2014. We instantly loved her. She has a lovely home with the most fantastic playroom - a room where the children can explore and play with a whole range of toys. She has a messy play area and a lovely kitchen where they have mealtimes. Heather also has the most wonderful garden which backs onto open fields - the view is breathtaking. There are not many settings where children can go down to the fence and see cows, sheep and ducks wandering around. Our first daughter was with Heather for a year and literally thrived. She became a thoroughly well rounded and confident little person. We now send our second daughter to Heather also. She adores her and has settled in very quickly. She is a very happy child and we are thrilled to have Heather with us as our journey as parents continues. Heather has gained a very well deserved outstanding Ofsted rating. There is no doubt from her day trips, early years learning and art and craft work that she well and truly deserves that. But for me - its more than that - its about trust. We trust Heather implicitly with our children and that is by far what it is all about.
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The contents of this review are no longer available as the reviewer's account has been deleted.
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