Our son has been going to Sonia for 8 months, since he was just over 2. We'd just moved to the area and needed to find someone local. Little did we know, we'd stumbled on a gem - not only is she a 3-minute walk away, she also happened to be exactly the sort of childminder we needed!

Sonia is child-led in her approach, getting to know the children really well and adapting play to suit their needs and interests, ensuring they cover a range of different skills over time. She was flexible with settling-in, allowing us to take it as slowly and gently as we needed, and is always kind and gentle with our son when upset at goodbyes, even after he'd been there for a few months and had had a few weeks away from her over summer. This was important to us so that he didn't feel abandoned.

Sonia spends a lot of time outdoors with the children usually at parks or the local moor but also often takes them further afield for more adventurous trips out. This was also a key attraction as we wanted him to spend time outdoors as much as possible! She uses these trips as an opportunity to teach them about nature and the world, but always in a fun rather than didactic way. She also does activities based on diverse celebrations such as Diwali and Chinese New Year as well as British/Christian holidays. Her background as a teacher clearly shows through!

Sonia is gentle in her approach to food and eating - she lets him eat as much or as little as he needs, again important to us that he learns to listen to his own appetite and hunger cues rather than being forced to eat or rewarded for eating all his food.

Rowan looks absorbed and relaxed in the photos we receive from Sonia through the day. He's always happy on arrival and waves to Sonia cheerfully. We are confident that he is happy spending time with her and trust her to be empathetic to his needs.

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication