Tina Str's 5 Star Reviews

Great childminder

I was really nervous about leaving my 11 month old son with a child minder but Tina was great! Her house feels like a little nursery and is set out specially for the children with bright wallpaper and full of toys, books etc.

Tina and her Sister Marion are great with the kids, treating them like family and my son settled really well. They keep to your child’s own routine and at the end of the day give you a full update of how they have been, how they ate and slept.

As the youngest there my son loved trying to play with the older kids who all seemed really good with him, it’s a real family environment and he has really come out of his shell by spending time there

I would highly recommend Tina

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by georgina on 07/02/2019

Response by Tina Str on 07/02/2019:

Thank you Georgina. Will really miss your little man, he is a credit to you both, anytime you need a few hrs to yourself pop him in, glad to have him x

a home from home for my children

I have 2 children who both go to Tina’s. My eldest has been there for 3 years, and my youngest started in August 2018 when she was 8/9months old.

Tina and Marion look after them both as if they were their own. My eldest really enjoys spending time there and has got to know all the children so well as they have all been looked after by Tina for such a long time together. They are like a little extended family.

The children do lots of activities. Regularly take trips into town. If there’s a birthday, Tina will throw a little party for them. She really makes their time spent their so special.

My eldest always wants to be the last kid collected from Tina’s at the end of the day. She even tells me she wants to stay the night. A testament to how at home she feels at Tina’s house.

My youngest (14 months) has a daily diary, which includes all details of her day. I am informed on her general well-being, what she’s been up to during the day, what time she has napped and how long she napped, how many dirty nappies she had, how much she ate and if she took her bottle. Very thorough and great to read once I get home.

Highly recommend Tina and Marion

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by emilyf on 24/01/2019

Response by Tina Str on 28/01/2019:

Thank you for such a lovely review. Happy enough to keep her over night ( both of them ) any time. They are a pleasure to look after. X

Warm and attentive with excellent facilities

When we moved to Inverness in May 2018 we had to take our 2 year old son out of the nursery he was happy in and I was very concerned about finding the right place. I originally looked for a nursery but Tina was recommended to me and we went to meet her. The environment was lovely and stimulating and clean with lots of toys and books. We loved Tina as she is so warm and personable and James took to her straight away. It is like a mini nursery at Tina’s and her sister Marion works with her and is equally lovely and fun. Between them they look after a lovely bunch of kids. They offer all the activities and outings at a nursery but also a good balance of structure and fun.

The thing that I liked most was that if your child has an off day they notice and are nurturing. My son isn’t a good sleeper and on an off day he will be bundled up on a beanbag with a blanket to watch a Disney film and have a wee nap. This is the sort of thing that just couldn’t happen at a nursery.

James is now three and loves copying the older children and playing with the little ones and it’s a really family environment. James loves Tina and Marion like family and I know he is happy and cared for much in the way I would myself. They really pay attention to his personality, what he is good at and what he likes and each day they complete a diary to tell me what he’s been up to and what he has eaten and so on. We get pictures and crafts to bring home. Little parties for special occasions and birthdays. I can hardly get him to come home!

Tina provides snacks/drinks/fruit and we take healthy lunch (Tina encourages no treats as they bakewith the kids - pancakes are a favourite - they they have these as a treat).

It’s all just worked out better than we could have hoped.

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by Alison on 18/01/2019

Response by Tina Str on 28/01/2019:

Thank you Alison, kind words. Your boy is a wee smasher great fun to care for. X

Outstanding commitment to wellbeing of children

I have had the pleasure to work with this childminder on a personal and professional level.

Firstly, my daughter has been in Tina's home and care on many occasions and has thoroughly enjoyed the time that she spent there. I might add that my daughter was as young as 9 months old when she spent time in Tina's home and she was given the best of attention. The room is bursting with toys, all clean and easily accessible to the children at all times. Her home is a delightful place to be and has a welcoming feel, all down to her!

Secondly, I have worked on a professional level with Tina. I am a fully qualified secondary teacher of Modern Languages and run my own French classes for children. Tina approached me and asked me if I would be willing to come and teach the children in her care French on a weekly basis. It is worth mentioning that Tina is way ahead of the game here in terms of implementing the early years curriculum as Scotland is just trying to get to grips with introducing modern languages in the primary school from P1. To see a childminder willing 'to go the extra mile' for those in her care at such a young age is testament to how much she values their learning. It might also be worth pointing out that she was willing to pay for this service given the small numbers of children involved. Each week when I arrived the children would greet me with 'Bonjour' and they were clearly encouraged to practise their French without me.

With regards to the wellbeing of children, if we look at the Scottish Government's indicators SHINARI (safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible, included) Tina's child minding services certainly excels in all of these aspects. I particularly liked how she encouraged the children to be independent, a very important quality as we send our children off to primary schools where the ethos of Curriculum for Excellence is all about fostering successful and independent learners.

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by Fiona on 07/06/2017

Response by Tina Str on 08/06/2017:

Thank you Fiona for the great review. The children really enjoyed your teaching, I was amazed at how quickly they learned. Your teaching skills are brill, easy, fun and professional. I even learned a few words myself. X

Highly recommended

When i was first putting my children to a childminder i was very nervous at the thought but after initially meeting Tina i was made to feel at ease about the process and within a couple of days of my children being with Tina i knew i had made the right choice she is a fantastic childminder and my kids settled amazingly they always went with a huge smile on their faces. Tina provides a safe and homely environment and is always very easy to speak to. Tina also does her best to put in place a similar routine as i had at home to insure consistency for the little ones. Tina is also very flexible and adaptable to your needs. i would highly recommend Tina to any parents who are looking for chilminder unfortunately we had to relocate my kids have had to leave Tina but they will miss her terribly but should i ever return to inverness Tina will defo be my first fone call for childcare xx

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by Parent on 27/02/2012

Response by Tina Str on 01/02/2019:

Thank you. Hope you are all well.