Leahs Childcare
Childminder in Portsmouth
Usually responds within 24 hours
Female Member since Jun 2010 Last Updated Nov 2024 Last Login 13 Dec 2024
My Summary
About Me
Ofsted Registered "GOOD" Childminder my Working hours 8am 5pm Monday-Thursday
NO SCHOOL RUNS SORRY
Spaces from July 2025 Monday Tuesday Wednesday 8am-5pm
I can add you to my waiting list
Funding Please be aware funding only covers 38 weeks of the year term time only. any unfunded days will have to be covered by the parents.
Forest school qualified
Hello there!
My name is Leah & I live in a very spacious home in central Southsea near Victoria Road North, with my Husband Andy and our two children Astra and Jack. No one smokes in my home,
We have a fun loving male Cockapoo called Bruce.
I have a large enclosed garden water /sand play and lots garden toys.
I grow fruit and vegetables in the garden and at my allotment with the children I care for as this expands their knowledge of the world and encourages good eating habits. we also teach children how to be eco friendly :@)
I offer high quality care in a warm homely environment that makes children feel safe and secure.
The children have a choice of spending quiet time in the mini library, play with jigsaws make music in the kitchen/diner room or do messy play, and also in the garden. I encourage the children to make themselves comfortable, But to treat my home and each other with respect. We follow simple house rules too. I have been Registered since 2009. I provide a fun, stimulating, educational, calm and relaxing environment for babies & young children.
In my home we do creative fun involving natural resources, paints, pens, water, sand,gloup chalking, messy play & baking.
We also have an allotment that we visit too, where children can dig, water and haRvest fruits and veggies, strawberries & tomatoes are a favourite!!! We made strawberry jam July 2021 and carrot soup in the winter the children will take some of the produce home or we will bake/ cook with our bounty !!!!
We visit local groups, including groups outside the area, which I will drive to. We sometimes catch the bus the train or the ferry to visit places.
I have an annual membership for (Staunton Farm), Manor Farm and the Blue reef Aquarium.
We go to the beach and splash pool in the summer.
We visit the woods, And go to Fairthorne Manor & Queen Elizabeth Country Park for Forest School ,
(I am a Forest school childminder) and have a forest school qualifacations x
We go to the Southsea Library, Local parks, The butterfly House, Southsea & Porchester castle, museums,trips on the bus, local shops and anywhere interesting we can think of to stimulate and educate your children.
We also visit indoor play areas, mostly when weather is bad which is included in the fees no extra cost to you.
My aim is to provide a high quality service of childcare to children and babies.
Forest Childcare Association Member
Outdoor outings contribute to learning and health. These benefits apply to me as well! Being out in the woods with the children is one of my favourite parts of being a childminder. It is wonderful watching how alive the children become when they were exploring the great outdoors and how recharged I feel watching them play. I am giving children a really great experience, better than the most expensive toy in our play room, and more special than anything they would be ‘learning’ in an overcrowded play room.
Following the Early Education Framework & the new Education inspection framework I use Whatsapp and take pictures (with your signed permission) of activities/projects we are involved in and places we visit and what we are up to on a daily basis which is good practice for sharing information with you.
Other Resources, (Unisex)
Books
Puzzles
Craft Time
Messy Play
Painting
Clay
Playdough
Drawing & Colouring
Music, singing time
Board Games
Natural resources
Role play dress up
Baking / Cookery
I am also a member of PACEY (Professional Association for Childcare & Early Years)
and Connors Toy Library, where I frequently borrow toys and games to give my service a good turn around of new toys & equipment.
I can except 30hour Funding from age 2yrs - 3yrs & 4yrs
I can except 15hour Funding 3 & 4yrs
FOREST SCHOOL Level 2
Graded "GOOD" By OFSTED
My working hours are 8.00 am 5.00pm
Monday to Thursday
I do a minimum of 2 full days a week for 0-5 as I have found from experience that young children find it very hard to settle when only coming 1 day a week.
References available on request. You can also read my reviews too :@)
My Experience
I have gained my experience from a young age being the eldest of seven! My Mother was a childminder too so it seemed natural to me to follow her profession.
I have also gained more experience with my own and my friends children & have been childminding for just over 15 years now.
.
I am registered with Ofsted and am up to date with polices and procedures I follow EIF and am constantly training in order to keep my knowledge up to date and relevant.
I also attend courses and workshops & online regarding all aspects of childcare.
Graded "GOOD" By OFSTED Childminding for over 14 years
My Qualifications
First Aid Qualified. 2022
CACHE Level 3 Diploma in Home Based Childcare.
CACHE Introduction to Childcare Practice
CACHE Working in partnership with parents in the home-based setting
CACHE The childcare practitioner in the home-based setting
CACHE Childcare and child development (0-16) in the home-based setting
CACHE Planning to meet children’s individual learning needs in the home-based setting
Food hygiene & safety level 1 & 2 2019
Child Protection level 1 & 2 2020
Early Language training & english as a second language
Being a key person in eary years 2020
Keeping Children safe online 2020
Cretificate of excellence Childcre.co.uk 2020
Tracking childrens progress 2018
Outings webiar 2020
Risk assesment training 2020
muilticultural Britain 2019
CRB CHECKED
Quality Assured
Prevent duty training 2022
GDPR Training 2023
Own car MOT & fully insured
Forest Childcare Association Member
Age 2 check update training 2019
Schemas Traning
British Values training
ICO registered since 2014-2024
Advanced child protection 2022
British values training 2022
Forest School Practitioner Level 2, 2022
L2 Understanding specific learning difficulties (West London College) 2022
Introduction into Neuroscience in the Early Years Level 2 (Chicester College) 2023
Makaton level 1 & 2 Jan 2024
Graded "GOOD" By OFSTED
My Availability
None atm
Not available on Fridays
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before School | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no | no |
| Morning | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no | no |
| Afternoon | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no | no |
| After School | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no | no |
| Evening | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Overnight | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Last Updated: 28/11/2024 | |||||||
My Fees
- Childminding from £6.20 per hour
£6.20 Per hour per child This includes healthy snacks & all days out such as playgroups, The blue reef, Staunton petting zoo, Manor Farm, Forest school, indoor play area's such as Wacky warehouse The play cafe ( Wonder) In Havant, Bus & train rides, going on the ferry and other fun adventures!! :@)
My Local Schools
- I provide drop offs and pick ups at Southsea Infant School
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
- Ofsted Certificate (added 06/07/2020)
Reviews
Below are the latest reviews for Leahs Childcare. 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 took our son Damon out of childcare for a year as I had another baby and was at home full time but after that time had passed we went straight back to Leah!
He is a very energetic but has learnt to listen, be kind to others (he used to hit and bite) and sit still to listen to Leah reading books. Leah sets up play doh, painting and trains which he loves there’s always a range of activities. It’s also great that they go out for the day like to the farm and blue reef he loves to tell me about what he saw. Whenever we get ready for the day he will always ask ‘are we going to Leah’s house’ even on days he doesn’t go.
We are currently potty training him which Leah is incredibly supportive of. She has given us some ideas on how to get him out of nappies like a star chart.
He has also learnt what numbers look like and can match the word to the visual he has also become very curious about letters.
We hope to send our daughter one day as we are very impressed with the level of care and progression Damon is making.
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by
Coral
about
Leahs Childcare
on 25/03/2023
Response by
Leahs Childcare
on 26/03/2023:
Many thanks for this lovely review!
🥰
Our daughter has been with Leah for a couple of years now, and we couldn't be happier with Leah as a childminder. Our daughter has a genetic condition, and Leah tailors the care beautifully to help and accommodate her special needs. We can see that our daughter is progressing almost daily, and that's a lot to do with Leah's care. She will, for instance, spend time with our daughter in her walker, to help her progress with her mobility. Our daughter is now using a fork, and sitting up unaided, which are incredible steps forward, and so much of this is due to Leah's patience and dedication to helping our daughter in these areas.
In addition, our daughter absolutely loves going to Leah's. When we arrive outside the door, she gets excited to see Leah, and is totally at ease in the setting. She is really well integrated too with the other (non special-needs) kids that Leah looks after, and we really appreciate this integration, as it definitely helps with her progress and socialisation.
Finally, I say go the extra mile for many reasons, but here's an example that is extraordinary. I'm English, but her mum is French, so our daughter is being brought up bilingual, and Leah takes French classes on duolinguo in order to practise French with her! Simply incredible.
In short, we feel very lucky to have found such a lovely, professional, dedicated and caring childminder.
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by
Lewis R
about
Leahs Childcare
on 24/03/2023
Response by
Leahs Childcare
on 24/03/2023:
Merci beaucoup
☺️
Quelle belle revue!
Rose is an absolute joy to look after
Our son loves coming to Leah’s. She does so much with the children which we are so grateful for. She is so fun and bubbly and all the children love her. I love the updates and photos I get when I am at work. Couldn’t wish for a better person to look after our son.
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by
Annawall
about
Leahs Childcare
on 16/12/2022
Response by
Leahs Childcare
on 18/12/2022:
Awwww
Many Thanks for this lovely review 😁
We love bringing my Son Damon to a Leah’s he started with her when he was 8months old as we wanted him to have more one on one time as he was young and didn’t want to leave him in a nursery. Leah is great as she takes them out and does more with him on the days he’s there than we can do as a full time worker and my husband as a uni student. We also love getting pictures on the days he’s so the Leah 🥰 he has grown so much with her!
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by
Coral
about
Leahs Childcare
on 02/07/2021
Our son has been with Leah for 6 months now and my god what a difference she has made!
We made the decision at Christmas to move him out of a nursery and into a childminder, due to wanting him to get more one on one support.
Leah is amazing, she’s helped us and our son develop so much in these six months. Always encouraging to try new things, takes the kids out at least once a day (weather permitting), send regular updates and pictures.
We couldn’t be happier with Leah’s care and would highly recommend her to anyone needing a childminder in the area.
Leah you have changed our life! Thank you!
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by
Cat
about
Leahs Childcare
on 24/06/2021
Response by
Leahs Childcare
on 24/06/2021:
I am blushing!
Thank you for the lovely review X
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