Nana Mar

She's great!!

Marvlon Gardener cared for my son from 7months to 2 years of age and he immediately felt at home and warmed to Marlon, as she met all of his needs and wants. Working in partnership with me and her own personal experience, she took the time and a tailored approach to focus and encourage my son to meet his developmental milestones.
Before the pandemic, Marvlon took my son and the other children in her care to soft play and local groups to encourage and enable the children to socialise with others of similar ages. This was handled very well when the government implemented now guidelines; Marv was able to keep the children well stimulated with a range of activities in her home, which she always recorded and shared with myself. Her approach gave me much confidence as a working parent that my son was receiving the care and stimulation he needed throughout the day.
Overall, Marvlon creates a warm, safe and stimulating environment for the all the children that she cares for and builds a strong professional rapport with her parents.
I couldn’t recommend Marvlon enough.

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by ShaniceB on 17/02/2021

Absolutely MARVellous

I originally used Mar's services for a two year old who needed to be placed in an emergency. I needed a Registered Child Minder at short notice and found Mar on the Child Minder Database. I was lucky to find a brilliant childminder so close to home.
Mar was able to reassure and work with this child and was instrumental in working with me to get him into a much needed routine. Mar kept me informed of his activities throughout the day and this helped and reassured me that I had made and excellent choice. I was able to use Mar again for 7 year old at short notice and was able to provide age appropriate activities. Marv became a very valuable part of my support network and I said at that time I would definitely use her services again and two years later, I recommended her to my daughter and now my grandchild is thriving with Nana M

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by Ebartley on 01/02/2020

Exceptionally Amazing

Nana is a brilliant minder and everything any parent would want in a care provider. My son of 18 months old has been in her care for the last 9 months. I highly recommend her she has a great wealth of experience with all temperaments, ages and cultures this was apparent from my 1st visit, Nana Mar and the whole family have welcomed me and my son and my son adores them dearly.
Kai has made huge developments from crawling to walking, feeding himself to now developing speech using language like Yes Please and Thank You. He is able to sing and action familiar songs. He loves there weekly routines of indoor/outdoor play at home going to drop in sessions,library fun play day trips to parks canals etc. Nana communicates with me during the day reassuring me of his well being and sends images and videos which I love to see while i miss him at work. She does regular assessments on his milestones and targets in which we discuss and make plans she maintains all boundaries set by myself as my son is very strong willed lol. My son is always clean well feed laughing smiling giving kisses and cuddles that tells me that he is a very happy boy.

Thanks You

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by Khamarra on 30/01/2020

Lovely

Our son has been with Nana Marv two to three days a week since August 2015. He was 15 months old then. I was nervous to leave him with someone else but everything has gone well and we have been very happy with Nana Marv.

After weekend he is always looking forward to going at Marv's. He always seems to be well looked after both physically and emotionally. Our son seems to be busy with activities and playing when picking him up and almost doesn't want to leave. Marv is brilliant coming up with creative activities with the children that develop their individual skills and imagination. She is very engaging but also takes into account children's individual characteristics and needs. She is consistent with rules and routines, children know what they are expected to do and we have been impressed how our son has learned some really good manners at Marv's and learned from her style at home too. However at the same time there is room for spontaneous things and understanding for the child (phases they go through, tiredness etc). All different events and special days are being celebrated and through that cultural education is there from the early years onwards.

Marv's approach is educational where she is aware of the different development stages, supports the children to develop their communication skills and other age appropriate skills, reads loads with them, teaches the numbers, colours and other things they show interest in. However this is all done in a playful way. We are a bilingual home and our son's English skills have improved much since being with Marv. However she also has the understanding of how to support bilingualism.

We really appreciate the warm family feeling at Gardner's and see how our son is welcomed to join that too. That holistic approach she has to childminding and to each child she is looking after is one of the most valued things in our opinion.

We have been very happy how things have been reported to us and how the communication between home and her is working. She would be happy to take suggestions from home but also give professional ideas how to support our son best at home with different challenges and his development.

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by Johanna on 14/06/2016

Looking for Marry Poppins?

Nana Marv was looking after my son since he was 18 months old. Thanks to her professional and friendly manner he settled in really quickly which made it easier for us to leave him in her care. Her firmnes and consistency helped him to give up his "very much loved dummy" in a short period of time. She was very supportive in his potty training and his personnal development eg.numeracy and vocabulary. She supported his creativity by helping him produce birthday and Christmas cards for us and provided photographic evidence of the various activities he took part in. Days with nana Marv included soft play fun, days in the park, trampolining and even pony ride lessons! I would recommend her services to anyone that wants their child to be supported in a proactive way.

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by Parent on 05/10/2014

childminder simply the best

I chose Marv to be my childminder having seen her with some of the other children in her care and especially with my then 7month old dear son Debo.
She has always been kind,caring with an absolutely lovely manner. All the children are always happy and very well behaved and know what is expected of them.
Marv has a deep understanding of a child's psychology and has been able to help him overcome certain fears, knows when he needs a poo, a nap or is generally unwell. She is always on the ball and has always been helpful with answering any questions, as well as recommending solutions to any challenge faced by my son.
If any parent is looking for a 1st class carer then both my partner and i whole heartedly recommend Marv! She just has a natural way with children, which is priceless.

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by Parent on 10/08/2014

A wonderful first childminder for my daughter

My daughter was 1 when she went to Marv's and she quickly grew close to Marv and would not want leave when I came to pick her up, she would ask on regular occasions if she could go to Marv's on weekends. My daughters vocabulary enhanced a lot while being with Marv and she loved the regular outings that Marv would take her on.
At the end of day when I would her pick up, Marv would have documented what activities she got up to, new things she had learnt and what my daughter had eat through out the day which made me feel involved in my daughters day while I was away.
Nana Marv is a lovely childminder and would defiantly recommend her to anyone that would like a homely, loving and educational environment for their little one.

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by Parent on 19/02/2014

5 stars

The contents of this review are no longer available as the reviewer's account has been deleted.

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by Parent on 31/05/2011

lovely and warm place

Marv is a fantastic childminder, I have nothing but praise and truly admiration for her. She’s loving, calm, reliable and has vast amounts of energy. Everything is handled very professionally, her home is spotless, she provides a variety of toys and activities at her setting, which my son really loves and enjoys.

Marv has been caring for our son since January 2011. He settled in quickly and I have always left him with her, knowing that he’s happy and in the best of hands. She takes the children to different activities and playgroups and they get lots of outside play too.

Marv really works in partnership with the parents - I really appreciate the daily written updates detailing my son's day. I have always been kept informed of what my son has done during the day and what he has eaten, which is very reassuring.

I feel very fortunate that I found Marv. I can highly recommend her as a childminder.

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by Parent on 24/03/2011