Mary T P's Reviews
Childminder
Below are the parent reviews for Mary T P. Back to Mary T P's profile
Average Rating:
(5 from 9 reviews)
I cannot recommend Mary highly enough and it is genuinely hard for words to do justice in describing how amazing she has been. We were so sad to move away and I can honestly say leaving Mary was the hardest part of moving- we haven’t found childcare yet (and probably never will!) which matches her compassion, commitment to the children and families she works with, fun and diligence.
From the very first phone call took all the time we needed to make sure it was a good fit and was always there to talk to about Evie’s wellbeing and development and answer any questions with her years of experience. Our daughter absolutely loves her, still asks after her and says she want to see Mary soon (she is 2yrs and we have lived away for 2months). In f act it was often hard to encourage her to leave Mary’s when picking her up!
Mary has strong values for the importance of family and community which is such a unique trait to have in childcare and something that felt very important and valued by us. From day one leave our daughter with Mary I felt comfortable and confident she was fine and never had any doubts that our daughter was having anything but fun, good learning opportunities, a good predictable routine and genuine care.
All the little touches Mary puts effort into doing makes such a massive impact on the families she works with means that Mary is not ‘just’ a childminder but more a family friend now. If you are looking for a child minder who goes above and beyond, provides a beautiful homely environment, cares deeply for children and clearly genuinely loves her job (and the children love her) then you have found the right one! 😊
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by
Lottie
about
Mary T P
on 19/11/2024
Response by
Mary T P
on 20/11/2024:
Lottie and family.
Thank you so much for your kind words about me, my home and my childminding environment. Having Evie your daughter and you as part of my Childminding group of families has been a delight as you brought smiles, song and Evie’s love of Owls and animals to share with us. I miss her chatter as she played with the little people of small world play and her creativity with her pictures. Her friends miss her a lot with 1 particular friend still talking about her even yesterday. Evie made a big impact with her friends while she was here and they giggled a lot together and loved being in the garden discovering bugs together, running and games of hide and seek and camping together in our tents and boxes.
I try to be a support to all my families through their child’s time with me being part of the team around your child who helps them develop and progress. I feel sad you have moved away but know this is not the end.
Mary
I don't know where to begin as there are just so many wonderful things about Mary.
My middle son was with Mary for two years (from 1.5 to 3.5). I feel ever so fortunate to have found her and the whole family were so sad to have to say goodbye but we had to relocate so it unfortunately had to be. I would have sent my youngest along to Mary's in a heartbeat had we stayed locally. This is not just a job for Mary, she really cares for the children and adapts so cleverly to their individual needs.
Mary welcomed us all into her house with open arms from day one. She became part of our family and very much welcomed us into hers. We met Mary's husband and some of her children over the two years and as expected they are all also very lovely.
Mary has a firm but gentle manner. The children are very clear with the boundaries and the daily routine. She has a very clever set up in her home and although she sets out activities she is very much guided by the children and what they would like to play with. The children were outside every day in her beautiful garden and being a keen gardener, Mary is also wonderful at teaching the children about nature.
Mary kept in contact via whatsapp which was very convenient and would send over photos of what they were up to each day. I could always message or call her with any questions and she would often send over helpful information, including for my eldest son who hadn't even been to her (we found her too late unfortunately for him) but she is just so thoughtful and always goes above and beyond. Mary would also write each day in Oscars book so we could see what he had been up to, naps etc and each year she writes the most detailed appraisal / summary of him.
It goes without saying that I highly recommend Mary, I feel incredibly lucky for the two years we had with her. She has become a friend and I will keep in touch as I think she does with many of the children she has cared for which says so much about her.
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by
Nikki
about
Mary T P
on 22/01/2024
Response by
Mary T P
on 22/01/2024:
Thank you for that beautiful and kind review Nikki. It was a delight and pleasure getting to know Oscar over the past 2 years but also getting to know all of your family and sharing thoughts and tips and hints not just on child development but on life as well. Oscar came to my door every week with a beaming smile and was always full of enthusiasm to play and was eager to
learn and be creative. He had amazing creative ideas on what to build with Lego or wooden structures in the garden and he would discuss where we could travel to in the big box that became a plane, train or magic carpet. We had a lot of adventures together and it makes me smile when I think of Oscar.
I miss you all and wish you all the best with the move but hope to meet again soon.
Mary x
Mary has been childminding our children since 2016. When the time came for us to seek a childminder we had no idea where to start, or what to look for. As soon as we met Mary we knew we had found the person to look after our children.
We have been extremely happy with the care that has been provided to our two children over this period. They both made such great progress whilst in Mary’s care. Mary’s home is always welcoming, clean and well organised and they both had great fun playing with all the toys available and taking part in the activities organised. Beyond all this though, it is Mary’s warm and friendly but no-nonsense approach which gave us absolute confidence that our children were in a safe and positive environment where they could develop. She provides a wide, fun range of activities including plenty of outdoor exercise. I know both of our children really enjoyed the activities they undertake outside in the garden.
Mary is a great communicator and has no trouble in gaining children’s confidence and therefore encouraging good behaviour and kindness and compassion to others, both skills which are important to us at home.
During Covid it was very clear that Mary spent time and effort to implement all of the expected measures and we never ever felt that the setting was unsafe or posed any risk to the children attending, Mary completes a diary detailing what our children have done each day. From this we had a complete picture of their whole day including what they had eaten, how long they had slept and all of their activities. Mary also shared photos during the day so whilst at work we received precious moments to make us feel comfortable.
Mary is also so much more than a childminder. It is clear that she really cares about what she does and is in a job that she is very very good at. When we had concerns about either of our children we knew we could discuss them with Mary and she would use her vast experience to guide and help us. For example when trying to decide when the right time to start potty training as no one tells you how to do it! Enter Mary who politely supported our wishes but guided us away from our mistakes!
I have asked my daughter, who is now six to describe Mary. Her response was, Mary is the best childminder in the world”. I asked our son, who is four the same question and he replied, I like playing with her toys and she is this good” (arms wide apart).
All in all we could not have been happier with the level of care our children received from Mary and I’m certain that being in such a positive and happy environment has helped them to develop into the confident and self assured children they are. We would absolutely (without hesitation) recommend Mary as a great, highly capable and reliable childminder.
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by
Zoe2511
about
Mary T P
on 29/03/2022
Response by
Mary T P
on 29/03/2022:
Zoe, it was a honour and privilege to be part of the care and support team around your children and being able to see them grow from babies to school age children and be part of their developmental journey. Through the last few years together we have experienced lots of changes in our families and in our lives with Covid especially having a huge impact but we supported each other and our wider family and friends and I’m so proud of how all of us worked together. Your 2 children and their 2 soft toys had many an adventure here with other fiends who they built lovely first friendships which was lovely to see, listen to their conversations and create happy times and memories. I have also many gorgeous memories from our time together that still make me smile for a long time. I look forward to hearing how the children progress through their school lives.
Thank you for all your kind words.
Mary xxxx
I don’t even know where to start with recommending Mary! She made the whole process so easy as a first time mum waving goodbye to her 9 month old for the first time returning to work. My daughter was immediately confident and happy in the cosy, safe, home environment, as was I.
My daughter completely blossomed being with Mary, there was never a time she didn’t come home having learnt something new and as a little girl who’s always needed a lot of stimulation and to constantly be learning, Mary always met her needs.
Mary’s family are all extremely welcoming not just to the children but to the parents too. Not only is she an amazing childminder but even more so she was just like a friend too! Always willing to give the best advice. They each had birthday cakes when it was their birthdays, they made all sorts of things and really made full use of the amazing, huge garden.
I was so upset to take my daughter out due to change of circumstances and very almost starting school but she and I still speak of Mary very fondly and I would never hesitate to send any of my children there. Thank you so much Mary!
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by
Emily
about
Mary T P
on 07/09/2021
Response by
Mary T P
on 08/09/2021:
Thank you Emily for your kind words. It was a joy caring for your daughter and having her here for 2 years, where she made lovely close friendships with those around her and they were like a little team learning together. Your child’s art work was fantastic and so detailed and she was always so keen to write everybody’s name as she perfected her writing skill. Her descriptive language was a joy to listen to and to be part of her conversation always brought a smile to my face. Forming a partnership with parents is hugely important so your child can get the best start and I’m pleased to hear that my childminding environment supported you all, not just your child. I know I will see you again very soon.
Mary
Mary is quite simply the best childminder I have ever come across or even heard of. We feel so lucky to have found her and she provided an outstanding environment for our son for two years. She provides a very warm, welcoming and nurturing environment in which he thrived. Mary planned engaging and exciting activities tailored to each child to support their interests based on the development goals. Every time I popped into her house I saw engaged, well behaved and very happy children. Her home is always clean and well equipped with a variety of toys and her garden is a generous size for the children to play and explore nature. Mary bakes, crafts, creates, explores the outside world, introduces phonics when the time is right, sings, plays the piano and so much more. It is a home from home and she is everything I would hope to be able to give my son, and so much more.
Mary is reliable and happy to be flexible when possible. Her house is a central location with large driveway making drop offs and pick ups a pleasant experience.
On our first visit I bumped into Mary's next door neighbour who told me that Mary was one in a million and we had been lucky to find her. Never has a truer word been said.
My son has now started school but he still loves visiting in the holidays and invites Mary to his school productions. She will always be a valued member of our extended family.
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Mary has been Theo’s childminder from the age of 6 months and we were very sad to hear her moving. Mary is a very warm and friendly person who is enthusiastic to provide children with the best possible opportunity to achieve their full potential in all of the 7 Early Years Foundation Stages (EYFS).
In the time Theo was with Mary, he learned to make friends, he developed self-confidence and self-awareness. He learned to share and how to treat people with friendliness and good manners. Mary encouraged him to move in all dimensions (crawling, standing, walking, climbing and sliding!) With English being Theo’s second language, Mary made sure she talks slowly and clearly and Theo quickly picked up the English language, pointing to pictures and objects when asked in both languages.
Mary has quality and well thought off toys and books which made playing and active learning fun. She encouraged creativity and exploring. Theo loved the walks in the woods and trips to the farms and enjoyed playing doctor while he dressed up in a white coat and listened to the teddy’s heartbeat.
We were kept up to date with what Theo did in a daily diary and regular got photos of him being very happy in everything he did. Theo still gets out the photo album regularly and talks fondly of Mary and all the activities.
Mary provided a rich learning environment with stimulating resources in a neat and welcoming home with so much love and care. We would recommend Mary to any parent for the best child care, based on our and Theo’s experience with her!
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Mary was my sons childminder for nearly a year.
When my son started attending Marys he was just over a year, as soon as i met Mary i felt like my son was part of her family,Mary is a natural with children and you can see this when you drop your children off for their time with her.
Mary is excellent at encouraging all the skills children need on a daily basis.
I felt confident in leaving my son with her knowing he was in safe hands and was going to have lots of fun doing lots of activities, which he thrived at in the environment Mary provides.
The only reason my son had to stop attending Marys was that she moved from our area,which means myelf and George will miss her greatly,Mary not only made my son feel part of her family but myself aswell,being able to feel like this takes a special person when your entrusting them with your child.
We are still in contact with Mary and will remain so for years to come.
I cannot recommend anyone better to choose as a childminder.
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Mary was our childminder for our 3 children for around 5 years, for my eldest son from age 3 until he started school, for my middle son from 6 months until he went to school and my youngest daughter from a baby until she was three,when we left Bristol and moved to Devon. I was very upset to leave Mary then! I can only reiterate the comments above, in that Mary is an excellent childminder, and became a good family friend whom we still keep in touch with after 2 1/2 years since we left Bristol.
All my children loved going to hers for the day, they did lots of fun activities together from nature walks in the woods, visits to the park, picnics etc. I think what all my children loved the most was playing at Mary's house with her youngest daughter (and the elder ones when they were home) and the wide variety of toys, playmobile being the most popular! They would more often than not be out in the garden when I arrived to collect them, and have arm fulls of art and craft things they had completed earlier in the day. Mary provided a safe, secure, caring environment where they all had fun, it would always take me quite a while to extract my children as they never wanted to leave!
I think the best comment I can make for you, if you are looking at Mary as a potential childminder for your children, is that my daughter, who was only just over 3 when we left Bristol and is now nearly 6, still talks about Mary and her youngest daughter a lot. Whenever we do any baking or cooking she wants to ring Mary up to tell her all about it, (especially when it's mince pies!) and knows all about how to grow potatoes 'because we did that with Mary'!
I was always 100% confident my children were getting the best care and attention all throughout the day.
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by
Parent
about
Mary T P
on 28/08/2013
Response by
Mary T P
on 29/08/2013:
Thank you justine for taking time to do this for me thats fabulous. Xx
I was so lucky to have Mary as my children's childminder for 4 fantastic years and I would highly recommend her services. Mary is a complete natural with babies and preschool age children. She gave my 2 children (who both started with her when they were about 6 months old) the most incredible experiences when they were with her 3 days a week.
I particularly liked the activities (often outdoor and often cooking) that Mary undertook with the children, almost always instigated by the children themselves. One of my boys might arrive at her house with a favourite train toy, for example, and they would then spend the day visiting the local train station, building tracks at home and role-playing journeys. Or bringing in a tiger toy resulted in reading the story of 'The tiger who came to tea', making cakes and having a tea party! Mary has the ability to plan activities brilliantly and also adapt them quickly with the children's needs. Mary has a fantastic knowledge of Early Years education and a huge amount of books, games and toys which means that she is able to pull out relevant resources that the children are interested in, and can use resources and play to promote learning.
The relationships that Mary has formed with the children in her care are lovely and very strong. Mary is incredibly patient and teaches them great behaviour through this approach. She always puts the needs of the children first so will never have too many children attending the same day and is careful when introducing new children to ensure that they mix well with existing children.
I only stopped using Mary as a childminder because she moved out of our area and know that we will not find another childminder like her. However, the relationship between her and the children is so close that we shall definitely be still seeing her. The children really enjoyed their time at her house and miss her lots which is the most important aspect of childminding and the highest recommendation I can give.
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