Downtoearth
Childminder in Canterbury
Usually responds within 1 hour
Female Member since Jul 2022 Last Updated Sep 2024 Last Login 07 Nov 2024
My Summary
About Me
A term time setting open 8am-5pm Monday - Thursday. With some dates available during school holidays. I provide a cosy home from home environment for a small group of children.
I love working with children, helping them to settle in and learning about what each child is interested in. I believe children are born ready to learn and they do that in their own ways and at their own pace. I love providing resources that children can freely explore while finding opportunities to further their knowledge. Whether that is a social moment learning to share and play with children of different ages or help to sound letters they have found there is opportunity all around and I will provide resources based on what each child is interested in.
The downstairs of my home is open for the children to freely enjoy access to indoors and the garden. The dining room provides an area for messy play and crafts, the living room has easy access to a wide selection of resources with direct access to a purposefully designed secure garden with a variety of areas and resources including mud kitchen, rock climbing and a slide. I use the gardens as an extension on my house with lots of fruit and herbs growing all around, a vertical growing wall in the front for children to grow their own plants and a vegetable patch in the back. We have 4 very friendly cats and 2 chickens who have always lived around young children and will pop in to say hi before sneaking off to hide in their favourite hidden places.
My Experience
With over 14 years experience within the early years sector I have cared for children as an early years practitioner, classroom assistant, babysitter and nanny, as well as having two of my own children. Working as a childminder allows me to spend more quality time with a small group of children and create an environment where I am flexible for each child's individual needs.
My Qualifications
Foundation Degree in Early Childhood Studies (Level 5)
Level 3 Childcare
Level 2 Managing Children's Behaviour
Paediatric First Aid
Food and Hygiene Certificate
Health and Safety Certificate
Safeguarding Courses
Full Enhanced DBS Check
Clean Driving Licence
My Availability
One space available for Mondays and Tuesdays
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before School | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| Morning | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| Afternoon | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| After School | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| Evening | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Overnight | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Last Updated: 06/05/2024 | |||||||
My Fees
- Childminding from £6.00 per hour
Daily fee
Tax free childcare
Government funded places available
My Local Schools
- I provide pick ups at The Canterbury Primary School
My Documents
- Ofsted Certificate (added 07/05/2023)
- DBS Check (added 22/09/2022)
- Training Certificate: Food and Hygeine (added 26/08/2022)
- First Aid Certificate: Paediatric First Aid (added 26/08/2022)
Reviews
Below are the latest reviews for DownToEarth. 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.
We have relocated from London to Canterbury recently with our twenty month old son, Brody. One of the most nerve-wracking parts of that move has been "will we find a setting perfect for Brody". Our son is absolutely nature mad, loves animals and is a real sensory seeker. For this reason, we wanted to find a setting that had a real focus on being outdoors, getting mucky and having lots of fun. We wanted to find a space where this could be off-set with the feeling of a "home from home" and offer the kind of comforts that Brody loves most. We viewed lots of settings but what Nicola provides at Down to Earth could not be more perfect.
Down to Earth places a clear focus on learning through play with lots of focus on time spent outdoors in nature. Brody absolutely loves it here. He has settled remarkably quickly and now understands Down to Earth as part of his daily routine. Down to Earth provide updates on absolutely everything you could think of via a secure app including photos, comments, videos, incident reports in the event of any accidents, notes relating to the administering of medication (if required). It is so polished, professional and easy to use which certainly helps keep anxious parents' minds at rest!
When we pick Brody up he is just beaming from ear to ear. You can tell he is genuinely delighted to have spent his time in this space and that is the most heartwarming thing. You can sometimes hear him laughing on the way to the door!
Down to Earth is something truly unique and special and I could not be more thrilled with the decision we've made and the outstanding service that Nicola provides.
Overall-
Setting
-
Cleanliness
-
Food
-
Communication
by
HSFamily
about
DownToEarth
on 25/09/2023
You must be a registered parent and logged in to leave a review.
If you don't have an account then Register Free now.
This profile has been produced from information provided to us by the user. We have not verified or confirmed the accuracy of any of the information and members should undertake their own vigorous checks and references. Please ensure you read our Safety Advice and information on how to Check Childcare Provider Documents.
