Our son was looked after by Christine from 13 months until he was nearly five years old. When I first visited her setting, I was struck by how relaxed the children in her care seemed. I think this is due to her approach, which balances “going with the flow” of what the children need and want each day, whilst at the same time providing firm boundaries and rules to help them feel safe. Christine is very experienced in looking after young children and brings a lot of passion to what she is doing. She has a warm and affectionate style and has made her setting a true “home away from home”. She stimulates the children’s learning with some structured activities, but also lets them engage in a lot of free play. The children spend a lot of time out-of-doors in her garden, which is very well equipped for all sorts of adventures. The kids have a good structure to their day and opportunities for resting and napping. There is also fun to be had – not just in daily activities, but Christine celebrates birthdays and other occasions with the kids, and they enjoy the party food, singing and dancing. It was great for us to have found someone we felt we could trust, so we could focus our minds on our jobs on the days our son was with Christine. There was good communication between her and us, and she worked alongside us with things like potty training. We were very happy with her setting and how she helped our son thrive whilst looking after him.

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication