Safehands
Childminder in London: Lewisham
Usually responds within 30 minutes
Female Member since Sep 2015 Last Updated Jan 2025 Last Login 24 Jan 2025
My Summary
About Me
OFSTED said, "All children make good progress in their learning. The childminder has a good knowledge of the children in her care. She gets to know them well and plans activities accordingly to increase their learning."
Safehands Daycare is a popular registered childminding service with over 20 years of experience. It strives to create a safe space for children, encouraging fun, learning and development.
Safehands is driven by her love for children and believes it is a child's right to be treated equally and to have a bright outlook on their future and the world. She provides children with a secure, loving and stimulating home environment that allows children to feel comforted and nurtured whilst giving them room to thrive. In her latest inspection, Ofsted described her as "a good role model." She was also praised for her outstanding partnership with the parents and carers of the children in the setting.
Her childminding service provides a high level of care, offering well-planned educational play opportunities that help children develop positive relationships and reach their full potential. She believes that learning is a key part of children's development, and so all activities are based on the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) curriculum (Revised September 2021). There are weekly trips to the local library to encourage their reading skills, to toddler groups, parks and open spaces.
Safehands also provides balanced and varied home-cooked meals daily.
The setting is operated out of a four-bedroom house where the extended ground floor and garden are used for childminding. There is a wide range of garden toys to suit all ages.
It is situated in close proximity to the local library and a few parks. Approximately 7 minutes from Sydenham and Forest Hill Station and about 10 minutes from Catford Station and Lower Sydenham, and a short walk from the local buses (194, 202, 181, 356, 352, 450).
My Experience
I have been a Registered Childminder for the past 20 years, graded GOOD with outstanding features over my last 5 inspections. During this time I have successfully minded many children, most of which have been in my care on a long term basis. I have minded children from the age of 6 weeks old right to the age they start secondary school.
As my motto says "Children Spells Love T-I-M-E" I am a childminder who minds from the heart. I believe in investing time into the children I look after, along with fostering good, positive relationships with parents and carers, which has lasted long after the children have moved.
My Qualifications
Childcare Level 3 Diploma
First Aid
Safeguarding Level 2
Food and Hygiene Level 2
Special Educational Needs Level 2
American Sign Language and Makaton
Art and Design Diploma
Numerous and ongoing training and development on Childcare.co.uk, Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (Pacey), Kinderly and other platforms and classrooms.
I am always seeking ways to gain more knowledge and to develop new skills in the area of childcare and development and so along with the above qualifications, I have undertaken various short courses and attended numerous workshops.
My Availability
I am available from Mondays to Fridays from 8am-6pm my normal hours of work and from 7am - 8am and 6pm - 8:00pm (unsocial additional hours).
I am also available to do care on occasional Saturdays.
I do pick up and drop off at the following schools;
ADAMSRILL PRIMARY
ST. MICHAEL CE PRIMARY Champion Cresent
HASELTINE PRIMARY
BRENT KNOLL
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before School | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| Morning | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no |
| Afternoon | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no |
| After School | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| Evening | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| Overnight | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Last Updated: 15/01/2025 | |||||||
My Fees
- Childminding from £9.00 per hour
My fees are; £9:00 per day for a full day 8am-6pm including meals and snacks.
£10.00 per hour for half-day attendance 8am-1pm and 1pm-6pm.
£12.50 per hour for unsocial hours 6 am-8 am and 6 pm-8 pm
£15 per hour for occasional Saturday's
Fees are paid in advance on the 1st of each month.
My Local Schools
- I provide drop offs and pick ups at Adamsrill Primary School
- I provide drop offs and pick ups at Haseltine Primary School
- I provide drop offs and pick ups at Kilmorie Primary School
- I provide drop offs and pick ups at Brent Knoll School
- I provide drop offs and pick ups at St Michael's Church of England Primary School
My Ofsted Inspections
The inspection grades below have been obtained from the Ofsted website based upon the registration number the childminder has provided to us. You should verify this information yourself prior to using the childminder.
My Documents
- Inspection Report: DONNETTE HINDS-GRIFFITHS INSPECTION REPORT JANUARY 2019 (added 21/08/2019)
- Ofsted Certificate (added 10/07/2017)
Reviews
4.97 out of 5
Parents say
The childminder receives overwhelmingly positive feedback for providing a warm, nurturing environment where children thrive. Parents praise the structured activities, healthy meals, and regular communication. The setting is described as safe, stimulating, and educational. Children form strong bonds with the caring staff and are excited to attend. Many reviewers highlight the childminder's professionalism, experience, and genuine love for the children in her care.
Summary generated by AI from the text of most recent member reviews
Latest reviews
Below are the latest reviews for SAFEHANDS. Please note that reviews represent the subjective opinions of other Childcare.co.uk members and not of Childcare.co.uk. Parents must carry out their own checks and references on childcare providers to ensure that they are completely happy before enaging in the use of their services.
We are incredibly grateful to have Donnette as our son’s childminder. From the moment we met her, we knew he would be in excellent hands. She possesses a warm and nurturing demeanor that immediately puts both children and parents at ease.
Donnette and her team creates a safe and stimulating environment where our son has thrived. She engages him in a variety of activities that promote learning and creativity, from arts and crafts to outdoor play and trips around the local area. We’ve seen significant progress in his social skills and confidence during his time with her.
Communication with Donnette has been outstanding. She provides regular updates on our son's development through conversations, phone calls, pictures and parents meetings and is always open to discussing any concerns or suggestions we may have. It's evident that she genuinely cares for the children she looks after, treating them as if they were her own and giving lots of helpful support and suggestions.
She has been very accommodating and supporting our son with his fussy eating and I love the variety of healthy and delicious foods she provides.
We highly recommend Donnette to any parent looking for a dedicated, reliable, and loving childminder. Thank you, Donnette for all that you do!
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Jade
on 15/01/2025
We were so lucky to find Safehands for our daughter! She’s now been in their full time care for over a year and we couldn’t be happier with her development. She started when she was just 7 months old and I was very nervous of the transition. Auntie has such vast experience with settling in young babies so we took her lead and my daughter responded so well to a gradual introduction starting with only a couple hours and then building from there. A year on and my daughter really sees it as her second home.
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Forest H
on 08/02/2024
My 2.5 year old son has been attending Safehands full time since he was 10 months old and I can honestly say that we now couldn't be without Auntie and the Safehands team. They are so caring and genuinely love the children under their care. My son is absolutely thriving and his development has been nothing short of phenomenal. Thank you Auntie!
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Clare
on 10/01/2024
Our almost 3 year old has been going to Aunty for around 6 months and we only recently took her out as she was showing signs of being very ready for nursery. Our daughter now goes back to visit Aunty regularly and she is extremely excited to do so. Aunty has created a genuine loving bond with our daughter which we will be forever grateful for and we plan to stay in touch.
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Gracie I
on 20/12/2023
Donette is a fantastic childminder that has taken extremely great care of our little boy. We sent our son in at 10 months old and he spent just over a year and a half in her care where he developed leaps and bounds. It’s a very important decision to choose the right child care and Donette certainly ticks all the boxes; from nutritious food, to fun yet developmental play and activities, to care and a safe space, her care provides a trustworthy setting for any child. She creates a great environment that the children clearly enjoy and also developed a special bond with our son making him extremely happy and comfortable. We are extremely pleased that we made the decision to send him there.
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Mei
on 25/11/2022
Our son started attending Safehands when he was 9 months old, and they have been absolutely brilliant with him. We started with 3 days a week and then moved full-time when I went back to work. He loved the setting and was very happy to go there every day, to the point that he would ask about Safehands during the weekend too. Over the following 2 years, he learned so much and was very well supported and looked after. He also has eczema and food allergies and they would look after him with great experience: having had other children in similar situations, they are very well prepared.
The setting is really nice, with a good outdoor space for summer activities too. Every day they would organise something different for the children to do and learn, following a structured activity program that was shared with us beforehand. Also, the staff would share updates and photos during the day and on a dedicated app which both me and my husband absolutely loved. They really supported us during every step of our son's growth, from the first steps and words to the toddler phase, through sleep regressions and potty training, always with great expertise and a big, warm smile on their faces.
Our son became friends with the other children and we still meet them for play dates now, so it was also a great experience for us to bond with other parents.
We couldn't ask for more and we definitely recommend them.
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Sara
on 07/11/2022
I highly recommend Safehands childminding services. My son started going there when he was about 9 months old and settled in very quickly. The setting has a family feel and Donnette and Nats are very welcoming and takes great care with the children they look after. They are kind and polite when interacting with the children and parents. Activities provided are well planned to foster development based on individual needs. My son really enjoyed his time there and we were sad to leave when we relocated.
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Ciske
on 06/07/2022
Safehands have looked after our daughter four days a week since she was 8 months old. We’re so happy to have a place for our son from February, too. I can’t recommend this setting enough. I have absolute confidence in the staff and I know my daughter receives all the love, cuddles and discipline that she needs. You can tell that Aunty genuinely loves the children and can work magic on the children's behaviour. They have the benefits of a small setting (two members of staff) in terms of consistency and bonding but they take great effort to create a structured activity program for their learning and development, too. They get healthy, balanced and interesting meals. They have independent play every day. My daughter’s behaviour is reasonably good for a 2 year old and she plays very well on her own at home. She comes home dancing and singing the songs she’s learned. I love it when I notice a makaton sign/song/word learned at nursery. Each morning she runs into the setting laughing and looking for the staff to cuddle. They’re really helping us to raise a happy, confident daughter and I can’t thank them enough.
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Helen
on 27/12/2021
We’ve had our daughter looked after by Donnette (Aunty) four days a week for over a year now. We’re so happy to now have a place for our baby boy for next year, too. I can’t recommend this setting enough. I have absolute confidence in Donnette and her other staff, Nat and I know when I leave my daughter there that she will get all the love, endless cuddles and also discipline that I would hope for her to get. You can tell that Donnette genuinely loves the children and she appears to be able to work magic on their behaviour. They have the benefits of a small setting in that it’s always the same two people looking after the children (great for consistency and bonding) but they take great effort to put on a structured activity program, too, for their development / learning. They get very healthy, balanced and interesting meals. They help them learn to play independently as well. My daughter’s behaviour is pretty good for a nearly 2 year old and she is always coming home singing and dancing to songs learnt at Safehands. I love it when I notice a Makaton sign/ word/ activity she’s learned there. She always runs into the setting in the morning laughing, looking for Aunty to give her a cuddle. They’re really helping us to raise a happy, confident daughter and I can’t thank them enough.
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Helen
on 22/11/2021
We were looking for a childminder for a short-term period and we couldn't have asked for better or for more from Safehands.
It is so evident they love children and they have so much enthusiasm and joyfulness that right from the beginning my daughter felt very comfortable and happy there. We also felt assured from the first visit that our daughter would not just be well looked after, but would be with individuals who really cared and who genuinely enjoy being around children and watching and helping them grow and develop.
As there were only 6 children maximum there at the same time, our daughter received lots of attention to allow her to develop and play. It also meant we also got a very personalised service, with text updates and photos throughout the day. This was particularly reassuring when our daughter first started as we could see how happy and engaged she was. We also got a detailed description (of how she had been, what they had done, what she ate, if she slept and how potty training was going etc) at the end of each day.
They do lots of activities with the children, including taking them to the park regularly, and in the summer putting up a paddling pool and doing puppet shows in the garden. Our daughter had a wonderful time there and looked forward to going.
The reason our daughter left their care was based purely on location (her new nursery is the road behind our house and she had been on the waiting list). If Safehands had been equidistant, we would have kept our daughter there instead. We were so sad she had to leave, and she has asked lots of times since when she will see them again. That alone is testament to how happy she had been there. I would highly recommend Safehands to everyone.
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Samantha
on 18/08/2021
Response by
SAFEHANDS
on 18/08/2021:
Thank you Samantha for your kind words.
It was a real pleasure to have your little angel in the setting and to work with your family. Thank you for trusting us with her care.
She will be greatly missed by us all.
I wish her the best of luck in her new setting.
Our door is always open to you all.
Thanks again
Safehands
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