Our daughter has been looked after by Jenny for the past eight months, since she was 11 months old. Jenny inspired confidence from our first visit, when we spent time in her house watching her interact with the other children then in her care. There was a happy, calm atmosphere and the children I observed were clearly very attached to Jenny. Jenny's house is clean and safe with plenty of interesting toys (and a rabbit in the back garden). Part of our reason for choosing a childminder was that our daughter would only be attending part time, so we were worried she might get a bit lost in a nursery setting.

Most importantly for us, our daughter quickly settled in with Jenny and has been very happy there. On a handful of occasions early on, we have had some tears on dropping her off, and Jenny was very quick to send us a picture of our daughter once she had settled a couple of minutes later. Now, she is enthusiastic when it's time to get in the car to go to Jenny's house and puts her arms out for a cuddle with Jenny when she sees her. Jenny is very kind and has a natural warmth that I think made our daughter feel at home very quickly. I also know she gets plenty of cuddles when she wants them!

The children take part in many activities - they attend local playgroups and go on trips out. Jenny also regularly meets up with another childminder, so the children can all get to know each other and play together. Our daughter has also picked up a number of words (such as animal noises) that we didn't teach her, so we know she is also learning. One thing I was a bit concerned about initially was how naps would fit in around other children and all the activities they take part in. That hasn't been a problem in practice, as our daughter has been able to nap in the buggy during playgroups when needed, and now she only has one nap a day she can nap at Jenny's house. We enjoy reading the detailed accounts of what the children have been up to during the day, and frequent pictures of the various activities!

We have found Jenny to be reliable and accommodating when needed. I commute from London and on occasion have been later than planned to collect, and Jenny has been understanding about that. She has also been able to cover the odd additional day we have needed from time to time.

In summary, we feel very fortunate that Jenny looks after our daughter.