Neil has been childminding our son Vince ( 23 months ) since November 2020 and looks after him for 4 days each week.
We have been extremely happy with the care Vince has received, and the great progress he has made whilst in Neil’s care. Neil’s home is always welcoming, clean and well organised and Vince has great fun playing with all the toys available and with the other children in his care.
Beyond all this though, it is Neil’s warm and friendly approach which sets him apart from other childminders we have experienced.
He provides a wide, fun range of activities including plenty of outdoor exercise, which we feel is important for an energy filled growing boy! Neil often takes the kids out to local attractions and national trust sites to let the children explore nature which we know they all love and we appreciate the extra effort.
Neil is a fantastic communicator and has no trouble in gaining Vince’s confidence and therefore encouraging good behaviour and kindness and compassion to others, both skills which are important to us at home. When Vince steps outside his boundaries he responds with helpful redirection and kind discipline explaining what we would like to see in terms which he understands. When Vince is hurt or feeling under the weather we know that he feels happy to be comforted by him and we are confident that he can administer either first aid or medication following all the correct procedures and completing the necessary records to ensure his health and safety.
Neil provides Vince with nutritious and well balanced meals for breakfast and lunch, and takes care to ensure that Vince eats a good amount. He provides a good range of both flavours and textures that often leave us jealous! We are also aware that Neil ensures good personal hygiene around meal and nappy change times - We are sure that it is this practice together with the cleanliness of the environment helps towards Vince’s overall health and he is always in clean nappies and clothes at pickup times which is very handy!
Even before we started with Neil he really took the time to understand what ours and Vince’s requirements were, and as first time parents we were quite nervous and eager to know how Vince was doing. Neil goes above and beyond to keep us fully up to speed on plans and updates at drop off, during the day via messages and at pick up. This helps us to feel involved with his care and we feel that we are more working in partnership with Neil so that continuity of care between us and him is maintained. This is reflected in Vince’s development which has been outstanding and accelerated since starting with Neil. In just a few short weeks Vince was up walking, running, climbing, understanding and starting to communicate non verbally and we see progression on all fronts which has been really positive, and only achieved through Neil taking the time to truly understand Vince and use a flexible and adaptable approach to his care.
All in all we are thoroughly happy with the level of care Vince receives and we are certain that being in such a positive and happy environment is helping him develop into a confident and self assured little boy. All of this is reflected by how happy and excited Vince is when we arrive at Neil’s in the mornings - and that is proof beyond all doubt in our minds.
We would absolutely recommend Neil as an excellent and reliable childminder.

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication