Katie14
Childminder in Kelvedon
Usually responds within 4 hours
Female Member since Oct 2009 Last Updated Dec 2024 Last Login 24 Dec 2024
My Summary
About Me
Hello, my name is Katherine and I have been an OFSTED registered childminder since 1998. I’m a member of PACEY, fully insured, have an enhanced DBS certificate and first aid trained.
As a mum I understand the pressures of finding good quality and reliable childcare that compliments your own beliefs and principles. It is therefore my aim to provide a stimulating and fun environment for children of all ages, yet keep it a relaxed place to emulate a home from home feeling.
Little explorers is situated within walking distance of public transport and local amenities, and with easy access to the A12. The entire house is used for childminding, thus offering a truly home from home experience. Children are able to move freely between a large range of resources. The garden is fully enclosed and child friendly, with all whether grass and a range of outdoor play equipment. We also have an allotment at Walnut Tree Allotments, where the children can grow their own fruit and vegetables.
It is very important to me that Children have fun and are happy when they are in my care and enjoy coming to my setting. Therefore I provide many different activities both indoors and out which are fun for children of all ages. We make full use of local facilities and groups, all of which are in easy walking distance of my home. Parents are kept informed about our daily activities
All meals are included in the fees and are all home cooked in line with the Children Food Trust Eat Better, Do Better guidelines on providing children with health, balanced and nutritious food and drinks.
My Experience
Over the years I have gained a wealth of experience, looking after children aged from 6 weeks to 12 years, not to mention the many years of experience gained from being a parent myself.
My Qualifications
CACHE Level 3 Certificate in Childminding Practice
QA level 2 award in Paediatric First Aid
ESCB level 2 Multi Agency Safeguarding Children
I’m constantly updating my skills and knowledge with additional childcare training and have completed many courses over the years.
My Availability
Little explorers is open from Monday to Friday, 7.00am to 6.00pm for 48 weeks a year. Providing full and part time place to children in the early years age group, and can provide free government early years education to 2, 3 and 4 year olds.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before School | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Morning | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Afternoon | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| After School | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Evening | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Overnight | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Last Updated: 24/12/2024 | |||||||
My Fees
- Childminding from £6.50 per hour
Year round childcare (48 weeks a year) fees and charges
Daily fee - £65 per day
A day is from 8am to 6pm (10 hours per day). Any hours needed outside of the 10 hour day will be charged a rate of £5 per half hour.
All meals are included in the daily fees.
Meal times covered (for example) breakfast for children who arrive before 8.30; morning snack at 10.00am; lunch at 12.00pm; dinner at 4.15pm.
Term time only childcare (38 weeks a year) fees and charges
Daily fee - £78.50 per day
A day is from 8am to 6pm (10 hours per day). Any hours needed outside of the 10 hour day will be charged a rate of £5 per half hour.
Term times dates are supplied by Essex County Council.
I’m registered with the Local Authority to offer funded sessions for babies and children from 9 months onwards.
Consumables fees: £10.00 per day.
More information regarding fees, funding consumables fees can be found in my fees and funding policies.
My Local Schools
This childminder has not yet informed us whether or not they provide any drop off or pick up services at local schools.
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 (added 11/12/2022)
- DBS Check (added 24/10/2016)
- Ofsted Certificate (added 24/10/2016)
Reviews
Below are the latest reviews for katie14. Please note that reviews represent the subjective opinions of other Childcare.co.uk users 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 have been fortunate to have known Katie as our childminder for nearly 4 years, with our younger son spending three days per week with her since he was one. It is honestly the best decision we have made as parents. Our older song attended nursery and preschool locally, but we wish we had known more about childminding (and Katie!) sooner.
Our son started with Katie in August 2020, with all of the complexities of Covid times. Despite this, our son settled in quickly to the setting, and it fast became considered a second home by him. Katie was also very supportive of us using cloth nappies and was happy to accommodate this for us. She also uses cloth wipes for all children around mealtimes.
Katie provides a clean, welcoming and well-equipped home, with an excellent range of quality toys that she varies regularly depending on the children's own interests and changing development, as well as different seasonal topics. She puts a great amount of time and effort into providing a range of activities to keep the children engaged across different age ranges, and shows a personal understanding of all the children in her care. Katie also prepares a great range of high quality and healthy meals for the children. She is very kind and caring with the children, and somehow always seems to be calm and cheerful despite the chaos of children! She clearly enjoys her job.
Katie encourages the children to spend time outdoors regularly, and takes them out on adventures most days, either visiting her allotment, the local park, using public transport to nearby towns, or going off for a walk across the fields to spot insects and wave at the trains. Our son is always happiest out and about exploring, and we think Katie's influence has played a big part in this. She also has a garden that the children spend plenty of time engaging in messy and physical play together.
Katie provides daily updates of what the children have been up to, and is always happy to provide personal updates when collecting our son at the end of the day. She has also been very supportive of us with any concerns or questions over the years, and is very knowledgeable of other local supports/ services to signpost us to. She is also aware of how her setting fits in with the wider context of child/ health care and liaises with any other settings your child may be at or moving to.
We are not looking forward to losing Katie as part of our life, but are very grateful for the love and support she has given to our child over the years, and the peace of mind for us as parents that he is happy and cared for.
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by
Hannah
about
katie14
on 16/06/2024
Response by
katie14
on 26/06/2024:
Thank you for the most wonderful review. It has been my absolute pleasure to have been a part of your childs early years. He will be miss greatly, not just by me but by all the other children who attend.
My two children (6 & 8 yrs old) have done a mix of school holiday full days and school pick ups / tea with Katie during the last few years. She is a brilliant with them, totally reliable and is an innovative and creative childminder. I feel able to go to work with complete peace of mind about their well being when they are with her. I fully recommend her! Francesca
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Our son has been attending Katie’s Setting for 5 years now. We cannot recommend Katie highly enough. The early years experience that Katie offers is so vast, within her setting and out on her allotment as well as visits to local areas. Katie kept us well informed with our sons achievements and helped us with areas which he needed help in. She has a wealth of knowledge and is always happy to help us should we need any guidance. The environment is homely and calm, our son settled in with no problems and now he is as school attends before and after school and during the holidays. We could not live without Katie!!! Our son loves food and everything at Katie’s is nutritious and home cooked too. The craft and resources Katie has is exceptional she will do all the things we struggle to do at home. All the children that attend the setting are very happy and we couldn’t ask for more.
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My son has been attending Katie's setting for 12 months or so now. I am so happy with the care Katie gives and the lessons he is already learning. Katie has totally exceeded my expectations and she really goes above and beyond when caring for him and all the other children. The thing I most liked about Katie's setting is the wide range of resources she has for the children that aren't screens or gadgets! Katie makes use of natural resources and creates an interactive learning environment for the children. There is lots of books and my son is very fond of reading already at a young age. Katie uses an online forum called Tapestry to keep parents informed of what our kids have been up to. She includes photos as well as detailing what skills the children are developing. Katie is very reliable and keeps the setting very clean. The variety of home cooked food is amazing. I would definitely recommend Katie if you are looking for a caring and reliable care giver for your child.
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Our son has been with Katie for just over 12 months and we couldn’t be happier with our choice. We heard about her from other local parents who were very happy with her service.
Katie is friendly and caring and caters for each child’s developmental needs.
I remember when I told her my boy had started to pull himself to stand, the next day she brought down a push along walker from the loft. And like this I have many examples. She is also very attentive of food preferences of the family and child, which was a relieve when my boy first started.
Katie uses Tapestry which is a lovely way of keeping track of little one’s progress and we love to see what he’s been up to.
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