Karen's 5 Star Reviews
Childminder
5 out of 5
Showing only 5 star reviews
Below are the 5 star reviews for Karen. 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.
Karen has created a truly nurturing environment that feels like a second home for our son. She goes above and beyond to engage our son in enriching activities that stimulate his curiosity and development.
We are very grateful for her support during our son's potty training journey. Her patience, encouragement, and gentle guidance have been invaluable as our son reached this important milestone.
We can highly recommend Karen to any parents seeking a nurturing and supportive childcare environment for their little ones.
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Monika
on 24/06/2024
Response by
Karen
on 24/06/2024:
Many thanks for your lovely review!
We see Karen as an extension of our family! Having to go back to work when your first born is 6months is a scary time. Karen made us feel completely safe, and it helped so much ease me back into work.
Fast forward Leo is 19 months, and he loves going to Karen’s! She’s always doing activities, trips out! She’s incredible, Leo’s skills have come on ten fold, words and songs are lovely to see!
It’s so lovely when standing at the door at the beginning of a stressful day at work, and because Leo loves his days with Karen & his little friends, he puts his arms out to go to her which I love!
Always lovely meals, and it has been brilliant getting the wisdom and guidance from Karen along our journey. She has helped us with naps, nutrition, and loads more!
Could not recommend Karen enough!
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Holley
on 16/02/2024
Karen has been childminding our son for the past 2 years. She provides a great range of activities for children, whether it be themed activities, baking or painting and also visits a range of places. We have been really grateful as Karen went above and beyond with helping out with referrals for our sons speech delay. She provides weekly photos so we can also see what he’s been up to with her which is fab. We would recommend Karen highly to anyone looking for a childminder. Thanks Karen!
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Helenw26
on 15/11/2023
My eldest has been going to Karen’s since she was just under 1 years old (now 8) and Karen has been absolutely amazing with her. From interactive (and often messy) play, potty training, brushing teeth and endless adventures to various places in her younger years, to supporting her after school and offering a listening ear during difficult times, Karen has taught her so much and has been such a big influence on the bright and independent young lady she has become. We are so thankful to her for all she has done and so happy our youngest still gets to benefit from being in her setting too.
We cannot recommend her highly enough!
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Fiona
on 21/11/2022
Our daughter has been going to Karen for just over a year and we couldn’t be happier. Karen has a wonderful relationship with our little girl and offers her so many different experiences. She has really grown in confidence thank to her time with Karen.
We highly recommend Karen to anyone wanting a caring and interesting childcare experience for their children.
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Elaine
on 02/07/2022
I honestly wouldn’t know where to start, there is just so much to praise and thank Karen for! It’s so reassuring to know my childminder knows my child inside out like I do, who also shares an absolute love for the joy and entertainment children bring.
Both my children have really benefited from a very structured and development focused environment. Good manners, listening and kindness is always promoted and I really do think that has helped shape my boys into the lovely, polite kids they are (most of the time). As parents we gain honesty and great advice which has always been invaluable.
The support we’ve had with our youngest potty training is unreal, nothing is ever too much trouble but always so very helpful!
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Cheryl
on 03/03/2022
Karen has looked after my son since the day after his 1st birthday and now he is off the school! Karen has always supported my son through his development. Communication has been fab. Whether it was on a daily basis, with what he had been up to, to a monthly newsletter and his learning journal. My son loved his time as Karen’s and will remain in school holidays, as well as now having his younger sibling. Thank you for everything that you have done for us as a family. We really do appreciate it!
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Victoria
on 28/08/2020
My wife and I can highly recommend Karen's Childminding. Karen helped our son feel comfortable in her setting from the start, and filled each day with a variety of fun activities that aided his development. We appreciated Karen's excellent communication, whether through conversations on the doorstep, regular newsletters or in term plans and reports. We also enjoyed the thoughtful home activities she suggested. Karen fosters a positive and inclusive environment and our son got on well and made friends with the other children. Thank you, Karen!
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Ksmiles
on 17/06/2020
Karen came highly recommended to me by a number of mums, so was thrilled when she had space. My son hates change so I had concerns but he settled with Karen immediately. She provides a friendly, clean and safe environment and is always super organised. My son has loved his time with Karen.
I have been more than happy with the care provided and whole heartedly recommend Karen.
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JoR
on 23/04/2020
I cannot recommend Karen highly enough. She has been an absolute life saver, I’m so pleased I found her. She currently looks after my daughter before and after school 4 days a week and will soon be taking on my son one day a week. You can rest assured that your child / children will be well cared for. My daughter absolutely loves her time there and always comes home happy. It’s clear that Karen is very creative with activities planned for the children to keep them occupied and stimulated. I can’t thank you enough for all that you have done to accommodate our needs. Thank you x
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Rachael
on 03/01/2018
Karen is an outstanding childminder. She looked after our 2 children from 5 months and 7 months old, and for 7 years. Karen provides a very caring and stimulating service, and her setting is spacious, clean, and full of resources to provide fun and education in a safe environment. We were very sad to have to leave and our children will always remember their time at Karen’s very fondly .
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Parent
on 10/04/2017
Karen has been looking after our son for almost 5 years. She has provided excellent care and support, ever since he was a baby, through many, many developmental milestones, and also played a huge role in his fantastic preparation for starting school. Because of the catchment area my son can only be looked after by Karen during school holidays now so it is even more obvious how much he loves the environment she has created. He is very happy at school and has made new friends but is always very excited to go back and looks forward to it, sometimes counting down days.
Karen organises a fantastic range of outings and activities for the children in her care and somehow manages to cater for all the ages. She follows EYFS and provides comprehensive diaries, reviews and ways of tracking your child's progress. She organises strong framework of routines whilst still recognising each child's individuality.
Another important point to mention is how incredibly reliable Karen has been in the last 5 years, she is very organised with her holidays and gives plenty of notice of time off.
It is always difficult to leave your child with someone else and it took me a long time to decide 5 years ago but I feel very fortunate having found someone like Karen to help with giving my son the best possible start in life.
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by
Parent
on 08/03/2016
Our two year old son has been looked after by Karen for over a year now and we cannot overstate how fantastic she is, nor how much our boy loves his time with her in her setting. He is happy, settled, supported and valued and I can honestly say that it feels like he has a second family! Karen keeps detailed records of all her children's progress and developments and she plans varied interesting and stimulating activities each and every week. We feel hugely thankful to have found Karen and can't believe our luck we have.
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Racy975
on 28/10/2015
Karen has been minding our 3 year old since September 2013 and we are very happy with the care and attention she puts in. She provides a loving, secure home environment with a wide range of home cooked meals. Karen is a warm, caring, engaging individual, whose genuine love for children is reflected in her attitude and behaviour towards them.
Karen in very organised and has endeavored beyond her call of duty on numerous occasions. She completes the EYFS documentation to a very high standard and maintains contact with the pre-school. My daughter eagerly looks forward to the well planned activities like crafts, walks, storytime and especially making yummy cakes!
My daughter is extremely happy in Karen's setting and is evolving into a confident little girl.
We highly recommend Karen as a childminder.
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by
Parent
on 18/01/2014
Karen looked after my son for nine months between me returning to work and him starting full time school and I could not rate Karen high enough. My son settled in immediately and loved going to 'play' with Karen and although he had never been to a childminder before, I had no difficulties with my son settling in at all and that was due to Karen's caring, calm settling in time for him, where she invited him to come and play for a while before being left for the whole session which really helped. My son would occasionally not want to go to nursery but I never once had an occasion when he did not want to go to Karen's.
Not only did Karen care for my son really well, he also had fantastic fun going on fun, exciting, educational visits with her, as well as playing at her house. She also liaised with his keyworker at nursery school and so she could follow the same planning he was following at nursery, helping him retain continuity in what he was learning. Then, not only she told me what she had been doing with him, she also kept a detailed diary of notes and photos showing me what he had been doing, which I still have now.
Before my son had another change of starting school, she also arranged to take my son into the school once a week to read books in their library which also helped him settle and was something Karen organised herself in my son's best interest and something I was really grateful with.
I had never left a child of mine with a childminder before, but my son's time with Karen could not have gone more smoothly and if I ever did have another child, I would not hesitate for one second looking at her for childcare. We still see Karen at the school my children attend and my son will often talk fondly about his time with her which is lovely.
I think she would make a fantastic childminder for any family. She is reliable, caring, honest and everything you could ever seek to find in someone you are trusting your children with.
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by
Parent
on 13/01/2014
She has had a real calming good influence on my son after school. I love it that she often manages to fit in craft activities after school and before collection. One of my priorities in a childminder was finding someone who didn't let the children watch TV or play computer games on a regular basis (we all have enough of that at home!) My son also gives her great compliments to me "Mum, if only you could cook like Karen". She treats the children as nieces and nephews always remembering birthday, Christmas and Easter and this especially melts my heart.
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by
Parent
on 09/01/2014
Karen has looked after my 2 children for over 7 years while they have been at Elvetham Heath Primary School. We wanted our children to go to a childminder so that they could be cared for in a home environment and Karen provides an excellent level of care. Her outstanding rating is highly deserved.
Karen provides an excellent range of activities in term time taking into account the range of ages of the children. Karen also plans a variety of activities during the holidays which my children have enjoyed.
Karen provides a good variety of home cooked meals and this has really helped my children to be happy to try a variety of foods.
Karen is incredibly well organised and always keeps us updated with plans via a monthly newsletter which I look forward to receiving. She also provides monthly invoices in good time and a receipt each month. She is also keen to get our feedback as parents but also to get the children's views on what they enjoy and don't enjoy.
My children have enjoyed being with Karen and I would highly recommend her as a childminder.
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by
Parent
on 08/01/2014
