Our daughter Lucy has been cared for by Barbara since September 2011 from when she was 14 months old. Being first time parents, we were very nervous about leaving our daughter with someone we didn’t know. Lucy seemed very relaxed in the house as soon as we walked in. Lucy was keen to get stuck into all the toys. We took time to look through Barbara’s policies and observe Lucy in a new environment with other children who were already in Barbara’s care at the time.

We have to say from the moment we met Barbara we were put completely at ease, she is incredibly friendly and very open. Barbara’s home is impeccably clean and she dedicates her home to the children she looks after. Her living room is stacked full of toys for all age ranges as well as huge amounts of toys in the garden.

Barbara will have new topics or themes for each month or term as per the Early Years Foundation Stage. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets standards for the learning, development and care of children from birth to 5 years old. All schools and Ofsted-registered early years providers must follow the EYFS, including childminders, preschools, nurseries and school reception classes. Barbara will incorporate EYFS into show and tell, story time, library trips, farm visits, park visits, picnics, painting, drawing, toddler groups, singing, dancing etc. Educationally Lucy has thrived whilst being in Barbara’s care and proved to be an intelligent little cookie.

Barbara has always been approachable when enquiring how Lucy was doing during the day. Both my husband and I felt like we could always speak to Barbara providing it was an ok time to talk.

Lucy flourished since she has been at Barbara’s. Lucy has gone from tottering, not saying any words, to running around and conversing at the expected level a 4 year old should talk. The daily diary tells us exactly what has happened during Lucy’s day – what she’s eaten, what activities have been done, how long her naps were, any funny incidents, new words, naughty moments etc.

The feedback given by Barbara is honest and she is very open to feedback from parents. ‘Naughty’ incidents are dealt with in a fair and appropriate way. The amount of activities Barbara does with the children is wonderful – show and tell, story time, library trips, farm visits, park visits, picnics, painting, drawing, toddler groups, singing, dancing etc.

Lucy has been with Barbara from 3 days a week to 5 days a week and we feel completely at ease in leaving her in Barbara’s care. Indeed every day we have to chase Lucy round the house to convince her to come home with us after a fun filled day with Barbara! In all the time Lucy has been with Barbara, there has not been one day where we have been greeted at the door with tears or concerns from Lucy.

Barbara is a hard working lady and rarely takes time off for sickness. In the 3 years Lucy was with Barbara there has only been a few days where she has only been ill. In respect of holidays Barbara will let you know well in advance of any up and coming annual leave. You’ll find that Barbara will not always take her full allocation of annual leave for the year, which is very honourable as Barbara feels responsible for the children in her care and the general response from Barbara as to why she hasn’t taken all of her holiday is because she doesn’t want to let the parents down with taking time off. Barbara treats each child in her care as she would one of her own.

Lucy left Barbara’s care in June and started primary school in September. Since then I have had another baby and Barbara started looking after him at 5 months old.

Barbara has become a member of the family and is more than a childminder. She is a friend, parental coach, confidant and role model.

We have absolutely no reservations whatsoever in recommending Barbara as a childminder.