Amanda A

Exceptional Setting fostering independence& growth

Amanda’s Setting was the first childminder I approached, and I knew right away it was the perfect choice. Her warm approach and well-structured environment made my decision easy—so much so that I chose her almost a year before my son was due to start. In the short time he was there, he settled in quickly and thrived, developing independence, key life skills, and a love for learning. Amanda’s dedication is truly remarkable. I was gutted when we had to leave due to a change in circumstances, but I would recommend her without hesitation to any parent looking for exceptional childcare.

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by Mrs B on 27/03/2025

Response by Amanda A on 28/03/2025:

Thank you for your lovely review. It was a pleasure being part of your life’s and watching your son develop and grow.

Truly exceptional - cannot recommend highly enoug!

Amanda was highly recommended to us and my son started going when he was 14 months old, in the middle of lockdown! From day one he loved going, Amanda does different themes every week. There are new toys out, her food is freshly made (my son prefers her cooking to mine now!) a lot of effort goes into her planning and she shares this in advance.

The children are out every day, climbing trees, running, exploring the parks and woods, identifying birds and all sorts of wildlife. We are updated daily on their sctosbd what they’ve been up to. He has thrived in her care and is a very confident well adjusted little boy.

The only reason we are sadly leaving is he is starting school. We feel very lucky to have found Amanda, she is flexible, accommodating, engaging, firm and loving. Just what you want in someone who you are trusting your children with. I cannot recommend Amanda highly enough - she will absolutely brinvv go out the best in your child.

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by Clare on 02/09/2023

Response by Amanda A on 03/09/2023:

Thank you- He was a joy to look after and made us laugh a lot with his little antics. He will be missed by everyone here. I look forward to hearing about his new adventures at school.

Home from home

Amanda looked after our little treasure for two years. The only reason we finished with her was because we moved home to Ireland. Amanda’s professionalism Is above and beyond. She was always completely transparent with her childminding. She relayed all information through the communication book as well as all necessary verbal communication book at drop off and collection. As an early years primary teacher myself, I could see that the children’s activities were so well planned and thought through. From sensory Valentine boxes, to camping sets to padlocks and keys. We are home in Ireland 2 years now and my son still speaks about Amanda. He attended until he was 2 and a half but still holds his memories of her house so dear. She brought them to the library, to the park, to the pet shop and many more places. I am so grateful that Amanda’s childminding was such an important part of our London experience and I would recommend her without question.

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by JennOKee on 13/06/2020

Response by Amanda A on 13/06/2020:

Thanks Jen for the review. I miss your boys so much. They were always full of life.

Amazing childminder

Amanda has been looking after our daughter for almost 2 years. She has started to take care of her when she was 10 months old. Since the beginning, Amanda has impressed us with her approach to kids and her professionalism. Our daughter enjoys her time at Amanda’s and always looks forward to her days there.

For us the biggest factor is our daughter’s development, in which Amanda plays a very big part. She spends a lot of time developing kids but they have lots of fun too. She teaches kids good manners, and good habits.

Amanda is very understanding, trustworthy and friendly and I would definitely recommend her. You can see that she has very good rapport with kids.

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by agata on 06/06/2020

Response by Amanda A on 13/06/2020:

Thank you for the review. Your daughter is a joy to look after who makes me smile every time I see her.

Wonderful childminder!

My daughter had only been going to Amanda's for a short time in which time she had come on in her development. She was very happy to go to Amanda's and she can't wait to get back.
She'd always talk positively about her time at Amanda's and what they had been doing. My daughter is also adopted so has early trauma, Amanda has helped her through some of her difficulties with understanding. My little one has complex needs but Amanda was not phased by this which is what we really needed in a child minder.

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by Emmy23 on 06/04/2020

Response by Amanda A on 06/04/2020:

Thank you. It's been lovely watching her develop and become more confident.

Fantastic!

My son has been with Amanda since just before his 1st birthday he is now 6. When I was looking for a childminder I reached out to many childminders and nurseries. Amanda was my favourite by a mile. She was very open and helpful when I had many many questions and helped me as well as my son settle in her setting.

During my sons time with Amanda he has come on leaps and bounds. She supported me with the transition with preschool where he would share his time with them and her. This was seamless and he as a result is a happy confident boy.

I now use Amanda’s setting for after school hours and holiday time and I am happy to confirm that this system is also working well. Amanda is my voice with the after school collection system as I am at work and I have complete faith that she will convey my messages as I would myself.

I have enough trust in her that I have referred a couple of parents to her setting as well.

Her setting is clean and tidy. The kids also seem very happy when I turn up to collect. She in my opinion runs a very tight ship which is what I would expect for someone who I am entrusting my child to. If paperwork needs signing it is ready for when I collect and I can just quickly get it done.

Amanda in my opinion is a very open and friendly person. Will tell you if something isn’t right or what needs to happen. In my time I genuinely haven’t had an issue with this setting.

All in I have no issues writing this review and stand my what is written.

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by Caroline on 25/03/2020

Good to begin with but quickly went down hill!

After I found Amanda I was thrilled with what she explained she could offer our child whilst she cared for him. Her house was very clean and I felt like she would be a good fit with our family. Once our son had started it was very clear that when you try to communicate verbally with her about any concerns she takes things very personally and the break down in a professional working relationship case around fast due to this. Our child had a few instances where he came home injured, and I’m not oblivious to the fact children fall over and hurt themselves. However this happened one too many time and some quite bad injuries to our under 1 year old.
When I brought the last concern about our sons injury to her attention explaining I wasn’t happy, she decided to say that she will be terminating the contract as it doesn’t seem like I trust her to care for our son. Only when I mentioned the cat scratches that potentially came from her pets on my sons body did she decided to drop the bomb shell that she will be terminating the contract. I found this extremely heartbreaking and disappointing as a parent really does take a lot of time looking for a childcare provider and wasn’t expecting this. I had to adhere to her contract and for a further 4 weeks he attended her setting which was extremely awkward for me as a parent baring in mind she ended the contract.
I would say if you are a mum like me that is vocal and likes to talk openly to your childcare provider, Amanda is not the right option as she takes everything personally instead of just reassuring that she will keep an eye out for any concerns brought to her attention going forward.
There were many other issues such as saying her fees include all food. However for the 6 months my son attended I had to provide food and she only mentioned this after I had sighed the contracts and he started. She said because he isn’t weened. Overall I felt like I was sold a lie.
Ananda provides a written communication book where she writes daily food and nappy changes. Also any other thing she wants to communicate. She didn’t talk verbally at pick up unless prompted.I had to ask her that if he hurt himself or anything serious to actually verbally speak to me not just write it down and expect me to read when I got home. She seemed to understand this point intermittently.

Apart from the complete lack of understanding from a parents point of view, Amanda has taught Our son skills and he has progressed well in the 6 months he was with her. So academically I was satisfied. I’m sure he will miss the familiar face he has gotten used to.

I do hope Amanda can improve these flaws to make it a more pleasurable experience for the parents as well as the child.

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by Shanice on 16/03/2020

Response by Amanda A on 25/03/2020:

I have been a childminder for many years and pride myself on giving a good, high a quality service to all my parents, twice achieving an outstanding grading from Ofsted. This is the first time I have felt the need to terminate a contract with a parent. It was something I thought long and hard about but due to confidentiality I cannot explain openly the reasons for this but hope that as it is a first, and I have supported and worked with many families over the years, that in itself speaks volumes to perspective parents.

At pick up times, I still have children in my care who require my attention and supervising. It is therefore impossible for me to spend a long time at the door going through every aspect of a child's day. This is why I use a communication book, which has all the routine of a child's day such as food, sleeps, nappy changes and a brief description of what the child has done in it. When a parent picks up their child they are verbally informed of any significant event, such as achieving a goal, what their mood has been like and if a child has had an accident . If an accident has occured , parents are asked to sign an incident report detailing the accident and given a copy of the report. If, parents have any queries regarding the circumstances of the accident or how it was dealt with they can of course ask at this time. In respect to my cats, I never saw any evidence of a problem. The cats are rarely around the children, no concern was raised with me prior to me giving notice.

If a parent has a concern or needs a longer conversation with me regarding their child's care or their learning and development, I am always happy to give them a call in the evening when I am no longer supervising other children or can arrange a meeting at the weekend, when I can give that parent my full attention.

When I take on a young child, it is explained to parents that I only provide food once the child is fully weaned and able to eat from my normal menu, alongside the other children. This has always been my policy and whilst some parents like me to say what age this will be, I cannot define an age as this will be different for each child.

It has saddened me that I have had to give notice to a family, but I guess that one family in 14 years of childminding is a testament that the families I look after are generally happy with the service they receive from me. For perspective parents, I ask that you come and see for yourself what I can offer your child and make your own minds up.

Absolutely Amazing Childminder

Amanda has cared for both my children aged 3 and 18 months for just under a year and they have loved every second of it, bounding into her house each morning eager to see her and start the day!
Amanda has not only provided an outstanding degree of care for my children, she has also been a constant warm and calming presence and they have thrived whilst being with her.
Communication is excellent and I receive a daily update in their home book of what they have done that day, including what they have eaten, naps and nappy changes.
Her provision truly is outstanding and if I weren't changing jobs, I wouldn't be leaving her as both my children and myself are desperately going to miss her.
Cannot recommend highly enough - It is evident just looking at the progress my children have made while with her just how wonderful she is.

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by Tara on 23/07/2019