Claire King has been my childminder for 6 years. She began with my eldest when he was 10 months old; 18 months later my second son followed at the age of 4 months.

In the time they have been with Claire, both boys have grown in independence whilst she has supported their learning in a number of ways - we now think of her more as an extension of our family. Both boys are always delighted to go to her house; My youngest will eat carrots and strawberries there, neither of which he’ll do anywhere else! On occasions they have done their school reading with Claire, plus she has shared a number of stories with them that have since become family favourites.

Claire is extremely reliable and always gives more than adequate notice for her infrequent holidays and where possible, will try to arrange holiday cover through the network of child minders she knows; I don’t remember the last day that she took off for illness.

Whilst with Claire the boys have enjoyed numerous holiday day trips including Willows Farm, Standalone Farm, Jungle Mania, Clacton, and Van Hague Garden Centre and Steam Railway.

In the six years that the boys have been looked after by Claire I have had a number of employment changes. Claire has always accommodated whatever impact these have caused to our childcare arrangements and so has maintained stability in the boys’ routine. Claire has also been immensely supportive of me and the children through my recent relationship breakdown with the boys’ father.

One of the most important factors for me is that Claire has always provided continuity in the parenting tools I use with my children (for example sticker charts and timeouts), and so the messages and boundaries the boys hear remain consistent between home and Claire’s, which is invaluable for me, particularly now that she and I now share the bulk of my sons’ out of school care.

I’m delighted to have this opportunity to highlight Claire’s excellent work and so thank her in some small way for her continued professionalism, loyalty and care.