Jo M

Parent of a child witht Jo and Alan for nearly fou

I cannot rate Jo and Alan highly enough. They looked after my son from a baby until school age. They nurtured him and got to know him very well. They personalise their care, but the children learn key social skills at the same time.

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication

by Dervla76 about Jo M on 24/01/2017

Best childminders ever!

Jo and her husband Alan are absolutely wonderful childminders. They looked after our two young boys between September 2013 and May 2016 and we had complete trust in their ability to care for our children. The boys settled quickly in their care and would often chat away at home with real affection about Jo and Alan and the things they had been doing when they were with them.

Jo and Alan are such caring and nurturing people and so much fun as well. Our boys really enjoyed their time in the Masters lovely family home. Jo and Alan have two lovely daughters and our boys formed lovely relationships with them too.

Jo and Alan did a large range on activities with our boys - playgroups, dog walks, lots of creative and messy/sensory play at home, library visits, train trips......I could go on! We received plenty of communication from them during the day I always felt like I knew what was going on.

Jo has a large amount of experience in working with children and I really valued her insightful input in dealing with potty training, sibling relationships, anxiety associated with a new baby etc. She is so calm and kind and this definitely rubs off on the children. She has high expectations for good manners generally and also at the dinner table and really promotes thoughtful and kind behaviour in the children.

Overall - we couldn't have been happier with Jo and Alan and we will always value to input they have had with our family.

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication

by Parent about Jo M on 24/01/2017

Fantastic childminder providing a happy, safe and

Jo is everything we could have wished for in a child minder! Her and her husband Alan make a fantastic child minding team and we couldn't be happier with the service they provide. Our little girl has been looked after by Jo and Alan since she was one and has always loved going to their house. She is treated like part of their extended family and I know she is happy in thier care.

As most parents are, I was anxious to get the right child care for when I returned to work. As an Early Years teacher I was probably even more critical because I know how important these early years are in a child's development for life long learning. I wanted to have peace of mind knowing that my child was happy in a safe and nurturing learning environment- well we got this and more and feel very lucky to have found these guys.

Communication is great, all done on a daily basis via a book which has a list of things she was interested in, things she's done, naps, nappies and what she's had to eat. I even get sent lovely pictures throughout the day of what she's up to.

The resources they have are amazing- always something new to play with and they differentiate the activities based on the different ages of the children. I'm so glad that she is never put in front of the tv, I've never even seen it on.

The food is great and very healthy! It makes me feel better that she's eating so well on her days with Jo and Alan! All the children sit together around a table to eat and we have seen a huge improvement in our little one's table manners. Snacks are also provided throughout the day and she always has access to water. (Not juice! Phew!)

I was anxious about nap time as our child doesn't sleep very much and I was worried that she would be left to cry in a cot but because Jo and Alan allow for all the children's needs, rather than being in a strict routine, this hasn't ever been an issue and has actually helped with day time naps at home. I'm so grateful for this.

I highly recommend Jo and Alan 'Masterminders' as child minders.

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication

by Parent about Jo M on 23/01/2017

Great childminding couple - great experience

We couldn't recommend Jo & Alan highly enough. They provided a nurturing, stimulating environment for our little boy, who was always happy to be dropped off (not the case with pre-school & nursery...)

There are, of course, particular advantages with a husband and wife team: it's great to have a male role model as well as a female, and if one's ill, the other's usually fit enough to manage the kids.

To sum up: lovely people, who are also diligent, creative and fun when it comes to childcare.

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication

by Parent about Jo M on 23/01/2017