Dmc3

My Summary

My Experience

Background
DK’s Childcare consists of two childminders working together; Donna and Kirstie’s Childcare. We have both been childminding for 7 years each and have lots of experience within our profession. We started working together in October 2016 and haven't looked back! We have two lovely assistants working with us; Sam who has 18 years worth of experience in childcare and is Level 5 qualified and Maria who has lots of experience running groups for young children. Sam and Maria work 3 days a week each.

We initially worked from Donna’s home for 2 years and then made the decision in April 2019 to take a step forward and trial working from a larger space, our idea was that we continue to offer the childminder feel but on a slightly larger basis. By taking this step we were able to offer more space for the children and a more varied choice of activities, giving an almost preschool type feel. Upon receipt of some amazing feedback from all the families who were with us during this period of time, all of whom loved the new set up and the balance we were offering, we decided to go ahead and work from the Buckingham Youth Centre on a Monday Tuesday and Thursday. Donna and Kirstie work from home on a Wednesday and Friday with either Sam or Maria and we have found that families really like this balance.

A Day at DK’s
Both Donna and Kirstie start from their homes each morning with children arriving from 8:00am onwards, the children then either come with us on the school run or stay with Sam/Maria then we all arrive at the Youth Club or back home after.

At DK’s we currently cover school drop off and collections at Buckingham Primary School and St James and St John's C of E at Akeley and Chackmore.

At DK’s Childcare our days usually run with different activities set up for each morning for the children to enjoy, Snack time being at around 10:30am where children of all ages sit at the table together to enjoy a choice of healthy snacks usually prepared by themselves too. After snack the children enjoy the activities on offer for the morning. We enjoy being outside lots too so will often choose to play in the garden, go for a walk into town and visit the post office or shops, attend the local parks or local playgroups and we are also National Trust members. After lunch time, we rotate the activities to more relaxing ones and offer quiet time to those children who need it.

In the afternoon we leave for our school runs with some of the children joining us, we then return to the Youth Centre or to our homes to enjoy further activities until dinner time. All meals are prepared on site and are freshly prepared each day, we encourage children to be involved in the cooking processes where possible.

Communication
At DK’s Childcare we use communication books an to track development, set next steps daily diaries and share any information. During the day you may receive photos of what your child has been up to via Whatsapp which are sent at the time of taking and we have found are gratefully received by parents/carers.

Fees
Included in our £5.50ph fee is snacks, lunch and entries to playgroups (we attend around 2-3 playgroups a week). We also accept 2 & 3 year old funding (3yr old funding has an additional consumables rate of £0.75ph). There can be a degree of flexibility on session times discussed on an individual basis. We take children from the age of 6 months upwards. Here at DK’s Childcare we offer All Year Round Contracts as well as Term Time Only contracts. We are open 50 weeks of the year, only closing for 2 weeks over the Christmas period.

If your child does not attend due to holiday/sickness ect fees are still due, however we will refund you if for some reason we are unable to care for your child for example when closed over Christmas or illness.

Feedback
We are well known in the local community and receive regular positive feedback from families, and we have lots of lovely feedback from families that we would love to share with you during your visit.

My Qualifications

Level 3 Children and Young People Diploma, Peadiatric First Aid, Safeguarding, Food Hygiene, Ofsted Registered.

My Availability

Monday - Friday 8am - 6pm

My Fees

• Childminding from £5.50 per hour