Maria
Childminder in London: Brent
Female Member since Feb 2022 Last Updated Apr 2024 Last Login 31 Oct 2024
My Summary
About Me
Hello, my name is Maria (or Fatima), and I am an Ofsted-registered childminder with over 17 years of experience. I provide a well-rounded, and comprehensive service for the children I look after from my home in Kensal Green, London. I offer a wide range of activities, academic and creative, as well as outdoor activities and maintain a regular eating/sleeping schedule. I always aim to target a specific area of development with each activity and every task has a purpose, and there are always objectives that the children are expected to meet whilst also being able to enjoy their experience. My husband acts as my assistant and helps with preparation of food and activities sometimes. I am, however, always with the children and they are never alone. As an Angolan-Portuguese woman, I tend to sometimes speak in Portuguese around the children in my care. This encourages the kids to learn and they usually leave my care knowing an abundance of new English and Portuguese words. All the work in my setting with the children is thoroughly documented through Learning Journeys and regular communication with parents, all of whom have enjoyed their time with me. Visits upon appointment are encouraged for parents who are interested.
My Experience
I have been childminding for over 17 years. I have looked after over 30 children from a wide range of families from different cultures and backgrounds. I have qualifications in food hygiene, early years training, and safeguarding, and I carry out routine risk assessments of my setting, as well as observations and fire drills. I have been inspected regularly by Ofsted and have achieved the rating 'Good'.
My Qualifications
I am a registered childminder with Ofsted in Brent. The following are board-certified courses I've done which I regularly renew: Understanding and Addressing Behaviour, Child Protection in the Early Years, Full Paediatric First Aid Course, Early Years Professional Development, FGM, Neglect and Food Hygiene and Safety. The Food Hygiene Rating in my setting is 5. I am also a member of the Children Come First Quality Assured Child-minding Network in Brent.
My Availability
--Currently Full--
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before School | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Morning | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| Afternoon | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| After School | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| Evening | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Overnight | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Last Updated: 15/02/2022 | |||||||
My Fees
- Childminding from £8.00 per hour
My hourly rate is £10 per hour for non-full days. If a child stays for the entire day, from 8am to 6pm, the daily fee is £65, which amounts to about £8 per hour. Overtime fees are also £10 per hour. This includes food and snacks for the morning and afternoon, which are provided by me. All fees can be paid weekly or monthly in advance, and a two-week deposit is required. Special arrangements for payment can be made on an individual basis. My holidays take place from the beginning of the final week of July until the end of the first two weeks of August.
My Local Schools
This childminder has not yet informed us whether or not they provide any drop off or pick up services at local schools.
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
- First Aid Certificate: Full Paediatric First Aid (added 10/02/2023)
- Inspection Report: Proprietor’s Inspection Report (added 13/02/2022)
- Training Certificate: Understanding and Addressing Behaviour (added 06/02/2022)
- Training Certificate: Neglect Online Course (added 06/02/2022)
- Training Certificate: Food Hygiene and Safety (added 06/02/2022)
- Training Certificate: FGM Course (added 06/02/2022)
- Training Certificate: Early Years Professional Development (added 06/02/2022)
- Training Certificate: Children Come First Childminding Network (added 06/02/2022)
- Training Certificate: Child Protection in the Early Years (added 06/02/2022)
- Ofsted Certificate (added 06/02/2022)
- EU Passport (added 06/02/2022)
- DBS Check (added 06/02/2022)
- Proof of Covid-19 Vaccination (added 06/02/2022)
Reviews
Below are the latest reviews for Maria. 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.
I needed to attend a training course at short notice and needed emergency childcare. I spoke to Maria and she was happy to help! From the moment I met her I felt at ease leaving my daughter there. I would 100% recommend her. She is warm and welcoming. Thank you.
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My daughter Florence has been with Maria since she was 12 months old. I cannot recommend Maria highly enough. She is professional, friendly and a wonderful childminder.
I have been very happy with the care Maria has provided in her welcoming home setting. From the very beginning, Florence and Maria formed a special bond which has flourished over time and Florence absolutely adores Maria. This is wonderful to see and makes me feel comfortable in leaving Florence in Maria’s hands.
Maria has provided good routine for the children and always provided regular updates of their day and progress. It has been wonderful to see Florence interacting and building relationships with the other children through free play and activities that Maria has organised. I am very happy with Florence’s development and this is a testament to Maria’s care.
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Rudy started with Maria when he was 9 months old. As Rudy was still quite young, my top priority was that he was going to go into a homely setting where he’d be well looked after and cared for, and this is exactly what Maria did. From our first meeting, both Rudy and I felt at ease and very comfortable in her home and so leaving Rudy in Maria’s hands whilst I went off to work was made that much easier.
As Rudy grew, so did Rudy and Maria’s relationship. It was wonderful to see how much they cared for one another. It was also lovely to see Rudy build friendships with the other children Maria looked after. Regular pictures and videos of Rudy playing with his friends and enjoying the different activities with Maria always brought a smile to my face.
I was very pleased with how Maria split the time she looked after Rudy between learning academically and learning life skills through play and having fun. With her natural skills in childminding and the learning techniques she uses with the children, I feel she has played a huge part in Rudy’s development so that he’s ready for his next stage in life.
I would highly recommend Maria to anyone looking for a childminder.
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Maria is a truly wonderful childminder. She has provided a warm and nurturing environment for both my son and daughter they were 9/10 months old until starting pre-school, and she still looks after them on occasion after school or in the holidays. I have been very happy with her care for both my children, and cannot recommend her highly enough.
Maria and her family are extremely kind and loving, and she has created a wonderfully secure ‘home-from-home’ environment which I feel is absolutely ideal for small children to thrive - especially when it’s their first time being looked after by someone new.
The settling in periods went smoothly, Maria is very experienced at ensuring children settle well and quickly. Her kind and happy nature is so reassuring, and it was a lot easier than I anticipated. Before long, my children would rush in to play with new friends each morning, which was wonderful to see!
Maria and her husband provide a good routine for the children, allowing them play freely as well as take part in more structured activities such as art, crafts, and puzzles to help them develop motor, language and social skills, and she regularly updates parents on their progress. The children go out for walks to the park regularly and enjoy healthy home-cooked food every day. Overall, I am very happy with my children's development, they are both confident, chatty, inquisitive and eager to learn, but also feel secure and loved. I really credit a lot of this to attending such a nurturing and caring childcare setting since I have returned to work after maternity leave.
I would not hesitate to recommend Maria to anyone looking for a childminder locally!
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This profile has been produced from information provided to us by the user. We have not verified or confirmed the accuracy of any of the information and members should undertake their own vigorous checks and references. Please ensure you read our Safety Advice and information on how to Check Childcare Provider Documents.
