Marc Muddy Puddles

Exactly what we wanted

We knew right away Marcia was a good fit. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Rory is almost two has been with her a little less than a year. He settled so well and is always happy and excited to see her at drop off. No lie, the kid never once cried at drop off. My experience with Marcia made going back to work much easier knowing my baby was in good hands. We are moving and sadly won’t be able to continue with Marcia. Wish we could bring her with!

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by Ksand about marc muddy puddles on 02/05/2024

My son absolutely loves Marcia

My 2 year old son has been going to Marcia for a couple of months now and I’m amazed how quickly he has settled in.
He’s warmed up to Marcia so quickly which goes to show how brilliant she is with the children.
He talks about her all the time 😊
She takes them out everyday which is brilliant and our son is just so happy with her.
Couldn’t ask for a better childminder for him.

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by Charli89 about marc muddy puddles on 08/02/2023

Our daughter loves going to Marcia's!

Our daughter is 3.5 years old and has been going to Marcia's now for almost 2 years, she absolutely loves going! It's so nice not to see her excited to go, she enjoys playing with the other children and loves all of the activities that Marcia sets up for them.

From playing and crafts at home, to stomping in the woods, feeding the ducks, out to the library / zoo / aquarium etc - there's just so much variation to keep our daughter happy.

Marcia has a great way with children and has helped massively with our daughter's confidence. Communication is great, food and rest is always on point during the day and there's an amazing, clean space for them all to play. Couldn't recommend Marcia more!

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by Chris about marc muddy puddles on 09/11/2022

Bizarre and very upsetting experience

I was very upset and distressed by my experience so I've tried to keep my review purely factual, there is obviously more context but wanted to keep it to the indisputable facts.

I first contacted Marcia in June/July requesting a childminder for a September start. She met me and my child and agreed to offer a place.
We did several settling in sessions over the summer and Marcia gave me a contract to add my details to and sign, which I did before my child started at the beginning of September.
In my child's third week with Marcia I raised some concerns about her sleep and the number of children as she didn't seem to be coping well.
I sat down with Marcia on the Tuesday and she advised me she hadn't signed my child's contract as she "didn't want to be obliged to meet her needs" (I had assumed she had signed the contract as the start date listed had passed and just forgotten to return it to me) and felt I should find alternative childcare (at 8am, the start of my working day). We discussed at some length and she agreed to keep my child on for different and shorter days and then "would look to draft a contract in 6 weeks". I picked my child up at the end of the day and was encouraged to take all her stuff home, which I thought was unusual.
I then received a message at 8pm Tuesday night to say Marcia was terminating her care with immediately effect though I was due to drop my daughter again in 12 hours time and she obviously had no chance to say goodbye. She stated in this message that she considered this to be a "settling in period" and "couldn't offer a contract", presumably as the contract stated a 4 week notice period.
I was then left with no childcare and therefore having to take emergency leave from work. I received no apology and the "refund" I was given for the rest of the month was £40 short.
Also during the 3 weeks:
- I received soiled clothing back a week after my daughter's nappy had leaked. These had just been sealed into a plastic bag for me to deal with.
- I was informed one day that Marcia had not been giving my daughter snacks even though she had stated she would and just didn't tell me she decided not to because my daughter has skin allergies.
-My child came home with a nappy rash including hives which she has not had before or since.

When I met Marcia she seemed lovely and incredibly experienced, she seemed empathetic to my child's needs and interests and my DD warmed to her immediately. I cannot explain the experience that followed but it has been one of the most stressful experiences of my life, Marcia knew that I'm a single mum with no family support and that I was due to be at important meetings in another office on the Wednesday. I wouldn't normally write a negative review but I am currently unable to work and scrabbling to find a new childcare setting and I would hate for anyone else to have the same experience.

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by Anna about marc muddy puddles on 23/09/2022

Response by marc muddy puddles on 26/09/2022:

Hi Anna
i was expecting this it’s really sad that you had to make more lies up about my setting but i know people will see right through this and can see why we were not a match.I think other reviewers speak for them selves as some of these parents are still on my books.
like i’ve said before i wish all the best in finding the right setting that meets your needs.

Excellent Childminder!

Our son has been with Marcia almost a year now and has been with her since he was 10 months old! He is always very excited and happy to see Marcia every morning and enjoys everyday he’s with her, which is lovely to know as parents! Marcia loves to be outdoors with the children doing lots of activities which our son loves! We’ve really noticed how since he’s been Marcia his confidence has really grown and he is progressing very well! We feel very lucky to know he’s in such great hands and would highly recommend Marcia!

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by Barnes about marc muddy puddles on 09/12/2020