Marian is a childminder in a small village. When looking for childcare, I asked around to other parents in the playground and babygroups. I think it is fair to say that everyone who has children in the village probably knows Marian or has seen her at the school gates pushing her huge 4-seater pram! Marian has been in business for nearly 30 years, which I think speaks for itself (particularly in a small village where people talk to each other and would be quick to pass on any negative comments!), but I found that everyone I spoke to when I started my childcare search either knew Marian or knew of her, and all recommended her to me.
My son has been going once a week for the last 3 months and it is nice to see the book that Marian hands over at pick-up time which details how much he has eaten, slept and what he has been up to and to see pictures of him playing happily while he is there (particularly reassuring to see a smiley picture if there have been tears at drop-off time!)