Debbie

Loving and nurturing environment

Our daughter has been with Debbie for over two years now and and has been absolutely thriving.
Debbie is a very professional person who takes pride in her work and shows a high degree of care in everything she does from the way she communicates to the environment she creates, always keeping a perfectly clean space with a lot of options for the children.
Beyond this, she gives the children what is the most important: a loving and nurturing world. My daughter can be a bit shy and doesn't like strangers but she's completely opened up her heart to Debbie and has grown so confident with her.
Debbie is also flexible and welcomes any input from parents. She'll work with parents on what is important to them. I have for example used the potty from very early on with my daughter and Debbie has always been very supportive in this (while nurseries told me it wasn't impossible). She also really caters to the individual and won't force any concepts onto anyone. She's well embedded in the neighbourhood and will give the children a balanced experience with regular outings to parks and singing groups.
I can wholeheartedly recommend Debbie to anyone who's looking for a loving and caring environment, the closest to a family extension you can have for your child.

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication

by Akane on 29/01/2025

A wonderful childcare environment!

Our son has been with Debbie for 5 years now and our daughter for 2.5 years. Where has the time gone! Like all parents we were initially worried about finding a great childminder, but our time with Debbie has turned out better than we could have hoped for.

We really appreciate the time and effort that Debbie has put into caring for the children. From organising play dates, to arts and crafts projects, to early years workbooks, the children have had lots of fun and grown along the way.

Debbie is concientious, responsible, and very organised. I feel our children are safe in her care and that the setting is great.

Keep up the excellent work!

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication

by AdrianR on 29/09/2021

My little girl loves Debbie!

My daughter has been with Debbie since she was 1 and she loves going to Debbie's, she has been there for 2.5 years now. They have wonderful unicorn tea parties, go to many different parks and playgrounds, have special field trips with their friends such as Kew gardens. The care Debbie provides is excellent and I completely trust her. Debbie is calm and loving with my daughter and a great role model. I can't recommend her enough. My little girl always has lots of fun stories about her day with Debbie and it's a pleasure to hear about everything they do together. Debbie has 3 kids under her care right now and it is perfect as the little one have someone to play with, but it's not a hectic nursery environment. Debbie also prepares very nice homemade meals for the kids and does a weekly deep clean, so her place is spotless.

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication

by tng on 29/06/2021

My daughter is very happy with Debbie

My daughter has been with Debbie for nearly a year. She was very premature and I was worried about leaving her with anyone but she thoroughly enjoys her time with Debbie and even tries to avoid leaving when I pick her up! Now and again my daughter gets a bit tearful when we leave her but Debbie is very affectionate and caring, and I can tell that my daughter is quick to settle.

Debbie seems to manage her time well with the children in her care and they all get attention from her. Debbie will do arts and crafts with them as well as take them on outings.

Debbie works with us as parents when there is an issue, such as when my daughter went through a phase of 'snatching'. We talk about how she is developing and I feel Debbie is honest about how my daughter has been during the day.

I am a child protection social worker and have never had any worries about Debbie and would recommend her as a childminder.

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication

by Amy on 23/02/2019

Lovely, secure, and happy environment for our son

Debbie has been looking after our son for the past 8 months and he absolutely loves her.

To start, Debbie's house is amazingly well set up for looking after children - our son loves being there and she provides him with a clean, safe, and fun place for him to learn and explore (with a garden too!). And while her home environment is top-notch, Debbie also organises routine outings to local parks, museums, and play groups, as well as parties and play dates with another local childminder. The children all get along well together and truly enjoy their time with Debbie - both my son and the other boy I see at pickup each day show genuine affection for her. (We hear a lot about Debbie at the weekend!)

Debbie is also organised and communicative - she keeps a daily diary with details such as nap time, meals/snacks, and nappy changes and she also provides us a space to fill it in during the weekends. We receive picture updates from her that demonstrate how much fun the children are having. If there's ever an issue (normal bumps or bruises), Debbie handles it professionally and documents the incident so that we are well-informed. She's also very flexible in receiving communication from us - there are times where I've been stuck in a meeting and had to text last minute that I'd be a few minutes late, or remembered late at night that our son had an appointment the next day.

Lastly, I want to add that Debbie has a lovely demeanor with my son and the other children I've seen her interact with. She's firm but so caring and someone I feel extremely confident leaving my son with. We truly think of her as an extension of our family in terms of the care she provides and the affection she shows for my son and the other children. I can't say enough good things about Debbie. Please don't hesitate to get in touch with me if you'd like a personal reference.

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication

by tara123 on 22/11/2017

Wonderful, Caring, Reliable Childminder

Debbie has looked after my son 5 days each week for the past year since he was one year old. He is now 2 and loves seeing her. She has always provided him with lots of attention and affection. Her manner is calm and reasonable and she appears to really enjoy childminding. My son always has lots of playmates and friends and has a daily outing to a local playgroup or park where they can see their friends. Debbie is creative and plans lots of special activities and field trips as well. Her house is very clean and safe and the food she prepares daily is very healthy and home cooked. She is very reliable and I feel very lucky to have a childminder that I trust completely.
A previous review said she was soft and lacked authority - I find that comment to be a odd and inaccurate. Debbie is firm with my son if his behaviour is unacceptable and has taught him excellent manners. He has a lot of respect for her authority.

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication

by tng on 23/09/2017

strange but true

I am sorry to say the least I sent my daughter to Debbie. She was little on the soft side and lacked authority she explained she was newly registered so I gave her a chance as she had a great schedule and a clean nice house I couldn't have been happier she led me to believe this would be a good placement.

After a few days she decided she could no longer have my daughter who is 3 and I had to return home from work after being there for an hour. Didn't look too good for me at work. Her reason? My daughter got a bruise playing and she was worried that I would think badly of her. I reassured Debbie kids will be kids and that my daughter is a bit of a Tom boy and has a bruise every other week. But she was adamant she couldn't handle it.

My advice is be wary she is a let down and should re consider being a childminder if she is worried about kids and bruises. I am now on the verge of being jobless as I can't find another childminder local to me.

Complete nightmare!!!

• Overall

by Parent on 13/07/2016

Response by Debbie on 23/09/2017:

Unfortunately I made the decision that it would not be possible for me to work with the family. This happened during the trial period
Children's development is an important part of any childminders role and it is vital to have a good working relationship with parents.

References are available from my three current families