Although as first-time parents we don't always get everything right, the one constant that we look back on as being the best decision we made was to send our son to Emma when he turned one. We saw him develop so much in the three years thanks to Emma, not only due to her amazing qualities as a carer but as a fantastic host too by creating a warm, engaging and loving environment where the children grow deep and meaningful bonds.

We visited numerous nurseries before finding Emma. Although there was not wrong with them per se, none of them gave us that feeling that it's the one until we found Emma. We felt we'd be sending him to a home away from home, rather than putting him into childcare. And I'm so glad to confirm we made the 100% correct judgement.

We never thought our son would be the type to look forward to being away from us, but it didn't take much time at all for him to settle in and be legitimately excited about hanging out with Emma and all his friends everyday. Emma was incredibly considerate during the settling in period, communicating wonderfully which put us at ease and therefore having a positive effect on our son too (that is to say, if we remained anxious during this important period, I doubt our son would have settled in as seamlessly).

Her strong communication was a constant throughout our son's stay – we're eternally grateful to have a written daily diary by Emma capturing our son's journey and we'll treasure this forever. From speaking to other parents, do not underestimate how important it is for there to be a open feedback loop between you and your childcarer. Emma most definitely sets the benchmark. She's very flexible too which for two working parents helped so much throughout our son's stay.

Finally, and this is really important: Emma's just great fun with a fantastic sense of humor. It's not by coincidence that she remains in close contact with most parents/kids who have visited with many returning regularly, including ours!

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• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication