Brentford Childcare's Reviews

Loving Environment

I was due to return to work when my daughter was only 10 months old, so it was important for me to find the right childcare arrangements for our family. As soon as I met Mary, I knew that I had found the right setting! Mary welcomed my daughter with her nurturing and warm manner. She provided a lot of settling in days prior to me returning to work, which helped my daughter settle quickly and without too many tears. The setting itself is organised, well resourced and feels like a family home. I particularly liked that each child had their own sleeping space and that there were different areas within the house for the children to do different activities (such as a reading area, art area, and an area for climbing). She also takes the children into the community for special trips, like visiting the library or the park. Mary also makes delicious, home cooked meals for the children. My daughter did not take to solids instantly, but Mary's perseverance definitely helped our daughter with this area of her development. Mary maintains excellent parent communication, and I always look forward to checking my phone to see the photos and videos that Mary has taken throughout the day. My daughter always smiles and laughs when she sees Mary and has formed a close relationship with her in a short amount of time. I would highly recommend Mary to any parent looking for childcare.

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by AlishaMa about Brentford Childcare on 04/11/2023

Response by Brentford Childcare on 05/11/2023:

Lovely to have your precious girl with us she is amazingly sociable and full of joy . Enjoying and cherishing everyday she is here with us in our family setting 😊

Amazing

Mary is a very special kind loving caring person with all her children in her care. She provides a safe and stimulating environment in her home for children of all ages. She does amazing trips and cooks healthy food. She's very helpful with mine and my daughters needs my daughter loves Mary so much' she's now called her her second mama I highly recommend Mary to any parent of any age child as Mary can provide the correct needs of the child

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by Sarah about Brentford Childcare on 30/10/2023

Response by Brentford Childcare on 30/10/2023:

Thank you so much for your review , taking care of children is so precious trying to understand their individual needs , I aim to provide a high standard of care so the children are happy comfortable and feel safe which for sure boosts their confidence and helps them develop to become a role model for the society and the country we live in .

Excellence in professional child-centered care

Mary is amazing! She is very loving ,calm and still a professional. She's made such ease leaving my little boy for the first time and then such a peace of mind whenever my boy is with her! Mary makes my son to feel "home from home", but still engaging him in variety of both educational and leisure activities like different art projects, drama, music, cooking, sports, games, also outside activities that she keeps updating me throughout the day,
She can also be very flexiable and adjust to child's routine, sleep, potty training etc .even help to learn how to zip a jacket.
Interaction with a few other kids made my son more open to sharing , also caring for others and I can clearly see that he is not that shy anymore and he has improved quicker at his speaking and communication skills. All play and learn acrivities,space and equipement are adjusted to the age.
Mtadros childcare  provide Montessori way of a care service that is based on respect, it is child-centred place with open-ended play and learn.
I cannot find any other words that would describe Mary but professional, fully commited, caring for all kids childminder. I am lucky and my son is so happy we have Mary after some bad previous experiences.
I would 100% recommend her .
Jo

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by Joanna about Brentford Childcare on 14/07/2023

Great with kids

My daughter settled very well with Mary.

The setting was spacious and Mary was doing lots of different activities to stimulate the children artistic skills and talents using a variety of crafts, cooking and play, both inside the house and in the garden/outdoor area.

Mary provides a stimulating environment for the children and works around the individual child’s routine.

Mary makes lovely healthy food of different cuisines so the children can try and be familiar with different textures of food, my child loves her food and has tried new things with Mary as well. It is all home cooked and nutritious.

The communication was brilliant in terms of knowing what the children are doing, Mary sent regular WhatsApp picture updates and I was very happy with the care of my child. This definitely reassured me my daughter was well cared for as a parent.

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by Claire about Brentford Childcare on 29/06/2023

Would not recommend

In short, I would not recommend Mary Tadros as a childminder.

We employed Ms Tadros’ services from mid-March to the end of April 2022, which included our one-month notice period (we handed in our notice after two weeks). This review is based on our experiences during that time and includes the things we would have wanted to be aware of before signing a contract. The reason we waited to post a review is because we were waiting for the outcome of a court case we lodged against her, which we won on all counts.

For transparency, these are the things we claimed for, and won, in the court case:
• £10 for a trip which we had paid for in cash but was taken out of the deposit at the end of the contract.
• £70 (a day’s fee) that was taken out of the deposit for a day after the contract ended.
• £70 for a day Ms Tadros took off sick, although she hadn’t provided us with her sickness policy before the contract started so we weren’t aware we would have to pay for her sick days.
• £70 for a Bank Holiday that fell outside of our contracted days (she charged us for Good Friday, although we didn’t normally send our child to her on a Friday) – if you decide to employ Ms Tadros as a childminder, I would recommend you get in writing that you will only be charged for Bank Holidays that fall on your normal contracted days.

Ms Tadros provided a range of healthy, home-cooked meals for lunch. She involved the children in a variety of different activities, baking for example, and sent photo updates to parents via WhatsApp. The children wore overalls during messier activities to help protect their clothes.

Other things we would have liked to have known include:
• She took a certain number of holidays a year and charged parents for that time, which was in the contract. Again, I would suggest you clarify in writing that you will only be paying for her holiday if it falls on your normal contracted days.
• She does occasionally take the children out on trips, but doesn’t regularly take them to local playgrounds and playgroups, which other childminders in the area do.
• She has a very strict sickness policy for the children: if the child has a temperature of 37.5 or above, they will be excluded from the setting for 48 hours, even if it’s because of teething, the temperature disappears by the time the child gets home, and/or there are no other symptoms. You have to pay for days when your child is unable to attend because of sickness (having to pay is clear in the contract and common among childcare providers).
• She took the children to church around Easter time.
• She has rabbits and dogs (she did tell us about this before we employed her).

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by Samantha about Brentford Childcare on 13/03/2023

Response by Brentford Childcare on 13/03/2023:

Response Updated June 2023

Update on the appeal to court to overturn the judgment

I made an appeal on the original judgment and the the judge overturned two of the charges because I submitted new evidence and hence cancelled two charges .
I admit that it was a mistake from me to charge the Easter bank holidays as both The Friday of the Cross and the Monday following are both Holy days and I do not wish to paid for these.

I have changed my policy hence after not to charge any parents for these days going forward in the future .

I did refund the charge for my sick leave although I did not think it was ethical to make me refund it as i was only following government guidance regarding covid .

I take pride to provide a safe clean nurturing environment to the little ones and will always provide the best possible service to the children and their parents .

Response in March 2023

I thank God that I am able and skilled to provide the best possible environment and resources of high standards to meet the needs of the children that are in my care to help them flourish and achieve their best potentials while growing up in a positive , safe healthy and very well established setting.

Regarding the financial points mentioned in the review I find these irrelevant on this platform and as they are not affecting the care I provide for the children and my level of competence in providing the best care, I see it is pointless and futile to reply to you. However I am applying to appeal the court judgment as there is new evidence to support my position.

Amazing Childcare

I just want to start off by thanking Mary for all she does. She is by far the greatest Child minder who ever looked after my son. So thank you so so much you’ve been a massive help.

The facilities Mary has are amazing not only for learning but self development. My little one is picking up so many good habits from whenever he is with Mary.

It’s amazing that she provides the food for him but not only that she tries to figure out what my little one likes and cater to his needs. I always know what he has eaten and if he wasn’t specifically fond of something.

The most important thing for me was the communication between me and the child minder and I could not have been more happier. She updates me on all the little things my son does throughout the day. She is very flexible with my early drop offs and I am yet again so great full for her flexibility.

But the bottom line is I know that when my son is with her he’s not only looked after but being educated and is able to experience new thing every single day. That can be arts and crafts, trips to park or even to Museums which he absolutely adores.

I would recommend her to anyone who lives within Brentford area, as there’s no one better to care for the little angels.

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by Anna Hun about Brentford Childcare on 23/10/2022

Amazing childminder. My son loves coming there..

Mary has been taking care of my son since he was three years old, now he is almost six .

Mary is extremely understanding and flexible even now more and more as I am now pregnant and due in September .

My son used to attend a local nursery but because he was not happy there , I removed him and registered with Mary where he has settled in quickly and I could see he was happy again .

Mary had been an amazing support for me a single mum with her flexibility her understanding of my needs and that of my son . She has been so accommodating to the care I needed as at times specially after my son started school , our childcare needs changed but Mary is always there to support when ever we needed her, specially during school holidays .

Mary organises annual parents lunch get together so that the parents in the setting can get to know each other in a relaxed atmosphere , these events are joyful with lots of delicious food . I always attend these events and my son is happy to meet up with his Freinds .

Mary never took a day off sick not even during the time my son was with her full time . This shows how she pushed herself to the maximum even when she was unwell at times so as not to disturb my work routine .

I am extremely pleased and confident with her compassion and care towards the children in her care, she loves them all as her own and my son is always happy to go to Mary’s . Even after he started school he asks me when will he go back to Mary .

Mary always provide a balanced appetising home cooked meals to the children . She has shown and demonstrated a high level of dedication and integrity in her care for the children . She takes the children out on regular day trips to Kew Gardens , odds farm , local parks etc…. Which my son enjoys immensely .
She encourages the children to celebrate family events like mothers days and fathers days and birthdays and make birthday cards for each other (children in the setting ) so as to encourage their social and caring developments

Mary has an amazing setting with lots of high quality resources to help with the children‘s development in all areas . The setting is extremely calm with positive energy which influences the children confidence and security .

I highly recommend Mary as a childminder someone you can actually trust with your own child .

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by Marlena about Brentford Childcare on 13/06/2022

Enjoyable time at Mary's!

Mary looked after our 3 Yr old daughter very well, and with much kindness for 5 days on a temporary basis when we were back visiting the UK. Our daughter often came home excited about her fun day, and Mary gave us regular updates through the day which we appreciated.

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by Camsilla about Brentford Childcare on 04/05/2022

Good with kids, but inflexible - beware of T&Cs

Mary approached me on this website offering childcare for our 12month daughter, which we needed only for a few hours on Mondays. She said she could help, and we met her at her home. Everything seemed lovely so we agreed to work together. Mary explained that, because we were only doing one day, we'd have to pay the higher £12 hourly rate. Even if it was more expensive, we agreed so at least we could have some flexibility on the hours. We paid her the £350 deposit she requested, as well as paying for settling sessions.

Mary took good care of our daughter in March, she seemed to be sweet to her and kept us posted during the day. She also helped us the days when our nursery closed due to Covid and we had to do extra hours with her, she was very flexible then.

Mary was sick on the last Monday of the March, which we had to still pay for, but we didn't question this and wished her well. However, before starting the second month working with her, she sent us her invoice which requested 5 days payment for April. We were confused as we only use Mondays. Mary told us we had to pay for "all bank holidays", including Good Friday. And that she was also taking a week off before Easter, and we had to pay for that Monday too, despite the service being closed. There was no prior notice of this holiday and, with less than 2 weeks notice, we therefore also needed to arrange childcare elsewhere. When we questioned the Friday BH and the unannounced annual leave, we were told if we didn't agree, we could terminate the contact.

Having to pay Mary for sickness, annual leave, and bank holidays we didn't use, as well as fund additional childcare to cover these days, this was over budget. As a one off, Mary accepted to cancel the Friday BH charge as "good will", and we agreed to pay for 4 days in April (despite using 2), but reducing the hours slightly. Apparently that was not possible either, as she said she had booked her assistant and it couldn't be changed - despite Mary advising us (when we first met) that only a couple of days’ notice were necessary for her assistant if we ever needed to adjust the hours.

Mary's contract mentions that BH are to be paid, but we expected only to pay if it falls on the day we used, not every BH of the year, especially as our arrangement was on a more expensive hourly basis, one day a week. The contract terms were unclear, and seemed very unfair. And although it mentioned 2 weeks paid holidays in summer with notice given, it wasn't in our case.

After just one month working together, due to this inflexibility and unwillingness to find a fair solution, we didn't find an agreement for April days and worse, she kept our £350 deposit. All in all, a disappointing experience which has cost us a lot of money, but most of all, it was Mary's nonconciliatory approach which disappointed us.

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by Eva about Brentford Childcare on 07/04/2022

Response by Brentford Childcare on 08/04/2022:

Thank you so much for your positive feed back and review regarding my childcare services they are priceless 🌹as I am always aiming to provide the best possible nourishing and stimulating environment to children, at these tender and crucial stages of their lives . So I did appreciate your comments and thank you again for using me to care for your adorable lovely and beautiful and extremely enjoyable and bubbly little one . It was such a pleasure to care for her and I have to say to care for all the children it is always a joy and I find it a blessing too to be able to provide the best possible care and love .

I have taken into account that you have overlooked my terms and conditions when you first signed with me . So I am taking measures to make sure now that I discuss the terms and conditions fully whenever I get a new contract . Thank you again for your positive feedback

Amazing Extremely Happy

I cannot express how happy I am with Mary!
The setting is great for my younger child 3 and also my older child 6 they are both stimulated with arts and crafts or just learning through play. My son had been in a private Nursery setting since 7months old and was extremely comfortable so I worried about him moving and with so much change with school and leaving old nursery I thought he would be very shy and reserved but no within minutes of being in the setting Mary sent me pictures of him calm relaxed happy and laughing they have built such a great bond in a short amount of time. My older daughter is very happy and comfortable with Mary so much so she wants to go every day after school. The setting is the best I have ever seen in a childminder perfect for different age groups and different areas to play. I would rather go there than to work :). The food is presented in a way it is exciting for the children and Mary had tried different foods they would not eat with me but they have with her. She has a way of helping the child become more comfortable and open up to new things. Mary has such a good kind manner which is calming not only for the children making us all at ease. The communication is great between Mary and myself constantly letting me know how children are and what they are up to as any parent at work you clock watch knowing they are being picked up seeing the message makes me smile while at the desk feeling completely at ease. I cannot recommend Mary enough to other parents. I am one happy mummy knowing my babies are well and truly looked after. :)

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by Robinson about Brentford Childcare on 28/09/2021