Our son Francis was in the care of Mrs. Sarah Arnold from 16 months of age until his 3rd birthday, just before the start of preschool. Francis was at Sarah's three days a week, for a total of 21 hours a week.

Sarah's setting is a lovely family environment. Sarah is passionate about her job, she has a very energetic yet sweet personality which suited our son's vigorous approach to life. Sarah is a trustworthy and reliable provider.

Because Francis started at Sarah's at a fairly early age, it was important for us that he should follow a consistent routine during the day, in addition to enjoying lots of different activities. Sarah always scrupulously followed our instructions on how to deal with Francis with regard to naps and meals, and recorded this information in a daily diary, along with the fun activities the children had done during the day. The diary was a really useful tool which would ensure continuous communication between us and Sarah.

Fun activities included arts and crafts, gardening, nature walks, visits to science museums and local parks. There was never a dull moment! Sarah also made sure to include activities which would expose Francis to both languages he speaks at home, English and Italian. As a result, Francis is making good progress at becoming a bilingual little boy.

Because Sarah closely follows the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) guidelines, she also reported Francis' progress on a separate book with lots of descriptions and pictures to document Francis' educational journey. Francis' preschool teacher will use these books (we now have two) as a tool to ensure continuity in Francis' development.

We always felt Sarah had a genuine interest in Francis' physical and intellectual development, and we knew we could trust her in doing the best possible job in raising Francis and making him the happy, confident child he is today.
We will miss Sarah lots, though luckily she lives just down the road so we'll make sure we visit her often enough!