Rainbowcm
Childminder in London: Islington
Usually responds within 2 days
Female Member since May 2012 Last Updated Aug 2022 Last Login 06 Dec 2024
My Summary
About Me
I am an Ofsted-registered childminder and qualified primary school teacher to your child. I am also a mum myself to two boys and a girl.
Along with my very well-qualified colleagues, I run RainbowN1 Early Years, where we aim to provide high quality learning and lots of fun. We were delighted to be graded 'Outstanding' for a second time in our most recent inspection in May 2022.
We work from a bright and welcoming family home set over 3 levels, with a roof garden, in Liverpool Road. We look after a maximum of six young children during the school day, with the possible addition of after-school children. However, we prefer to have better ratios than fill all the places.
I am educated to postgraduate level and am a former journalist but retrained to work with children after becoming a mum. I have been a registered childminder since 2010 and since then have also trained as a primary school teacher, qualified to work with children from the Early Years up to the age of 11. I love my job and have become passionate about early years education. We aim to delight and inspire children under our care within the 7 areas of learning relevant to the Early Years Foundation Stage, providing lots of great experiences to complement the activities they enjoy with you at home. The wellbeing, happiness and engagement of the children is of prime importance, and when this is in place, the learning flows easily. My own children are aged 8, 10 and 12 and as they have all grown up within the childminding and formed strong friendships during that time, they make friends easily with the children who attend.
We have a wide range of toys and educational equipment at home including a huge collection of books; song sheets, musical instruments and story sacks; literacy, numeracy and science resources; small world play; a lovely dressing up box and rail; pretend shop/home area; building materials, junk modelling and Lego; arts and crafts materials, puzzles and games and much more.
Outdoor play is extremely important to us and we get out once or twice a day to parks, playgrounds and other outdoor places. In the afternoons we have sports sessions (one of my assistants is a multi-sports coach and he really inspires the children to get active). At home, we enjoy dancing and other physical activities, as well as playing on our roof garden where we also feed the birds, grow flowers and vegetables and explore nature and minibeasts.
We attend a local music class once a week, and also have our own amazing in-house violinist, who runs a session once a week. Both are hugely beneficial to the children. We may also visit children's centres, stay and plays and soft play places where your child can learn to mix, share and negotiate with larger groups of children.
Chatting and singing goes on throughout our day. We strongly believe that talking to children and reading and sharing books and songs are among the most important things we do to promote language and communication skills, combined with a wide range of rich learning experiences to inspire and introduce language. We put on a Winter show, to which parents are invited every December, and hold a Graduation in the summer term for children leaving for school.
We have a well-structured day and enjoy sharing news and eating a healthy, home-cooked lunch together. We have an excellent hand-washing/toilet routine, have house rules and teach and encourage good behaviour and sharing. One or two children are chosen as lunch helpers each day.
We also visit other places of interest in London, such as the National Gallery for early years arts sessions, the Little Angel Theatre, fire station and local cenotaph for Remembrance Day, among other outings.
Sometimes it would be quite wrong to rush about as there are many important things for little ones to learn, such as how to get up and down stairs safely, use the sink and taps, turn lights on and off, as well as potty training and finding out how to put on their own clothes, shoes and coats!
Most importantly, we laugh and we look after one another.
Every day we keep a record of what the children have eaten, how long they slept for and the number of nappy changes etc and share this information with you. Each child also receives a more detailed daily diary at regular intervals. We communicate with texts and picture messages during the day where possible and I keep a nicely-presented book of your child's work, which is yours to keep when your child leaves my care. I plan activities to suit the individual needs of each child and help them develop, in much the same way as a nursery would do. We complete the 2-year-old progress check in consultation with you, when your child is ready. However, this is a homely and relaxed environment with a family feel.
My Experience
I have been childminding since 2010, when my first child was 1. As well as initial and ongoing childminding training, I have also since trained as primary school teacher and I now have three children, aged 8, 10 and 12!
I work with one assistant at any one time, and we are an excellent and close team, which helps provide a nice family feel and group of friends, as well as excellent ratios! We love what we do and the children form close bonds with each other.
My Qualifications
MA (Hons) English / French degree
PGCE primary school teacher training (Good with Outstanding elements) with QTS
Previous career experience as a journalist
Foundation course in art and design
Childminder-related qualifications:
Paediatric First Aid
Health and Safety
Food Safety
Child Protection
Early Years Foundation Stage training
Please ask to see my complete training file.
I am a member of Pacey (Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years)
I update my skills by attending ongoing training sessions
My extremely valued colleague is now qualified as a Level 3 Early Years Educator.
My Availability
We are full at the moment
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before School | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Morning | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| Afternoon | no | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| After School | no | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| Evening | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Overnight | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Last Updated: 12/08/2022 | |||||||
My Fees
- Childminding from £8.50 per hour
My fees ensure that I can provide quality care and experiences for the children under my care.
My Local Schools
- I provide pick ups at Thornhill Primary 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
- Inspection Report: Ofsted inspection report May 2022 (added 10/07/2022)
- Ofsted Certificate (added 04/02/2019)
- Inspection Report: Ofsted Inspection (added 25/02/2018)
- DBS Check (added 24/02/2018)
Reviews
Below are the latest reviews for RainbowCM. 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.
Olinka and her amazing team are the best thing to have happened to us since we started our family. Everything about Rainbow is just brilliant - the genuine expertise and insight into child development, the small group sizes and fab ratio of staff to children, the consistency of staff and children that means everyone gets to know each other really well, the super open communication, the activities both in the house and outside...we could go on. Most of all, the kindness that was a lifeline as we figured out how to parent through the pandemic in circumstances none of us expected. We ultimately moved out of the area and had to leave Rainbow, but it's no exaggeration to say that Rainbow was top of our list of reasons not to move. It was no surprise at all to see Ofsted give Rainbow another Outstanding rating - if they hadn't, I suspect a parents' petition might have been forthcoming...
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When we were looking for a childminder for our son who was 1 years old, we really wanted an environment that felt friendly and homely. After visiting several we came across RainbowCM and we just knew straight away this was the one for him and us. The owner and lead childminder Olinka, had a very calming effect on us and our son. She is warm, personable and you could tell she had great experience with kids instantly. It is their converted family home which is exactly what we were looking for ( her kids are sometimes around and they are all lovely, interacting with all the little children)
We were so happy with our decision. Olinka and her team are some of the loveliest people you will meet. They provide daily updates, photos and weekly mini reports which are always so nice to read. Meal and activity plans are also provided at the start of each week which is really handy.
Most importantly, our son Liam loved it and was always so happy to be dropped off. He had so much fun and I'm not sure if it's a coincidence but all the other kids (and their parents) were lovely. He really flourished during his time with RainbowCM and we noticed a big difference in his development. It was such a massive relief knowing our son was safe and receiving the best care.
We ended up moving out of London, otherwise we would 100% still be sending Liam here. We were gutted to be leaving and found it very hard saying goodbye to Olinka and her amazing team! We would thoroughly recommend sending your child here, you will not regret it!
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Rainbow Childminding is outstanding in every way and is completely deserving of their Outstanding Ofsted review. I only wish I could add a few extra stars to make it stand out even further from the rest but hope my glowing review will not go unnoticed by any perspective parent. I really can not recommend Rainbow Childminding highly enough, it’s a first class environment. I have introduced them to a number of friends and they have all been equally amazed by the set up, the staff and all the fantastic added extras. It is a safe, happy and supportive place to entrust your child to. An absolute joy.
Before choosing Rainbow Childminding (RM) I looked around about 10 other Childminder’s as well as loads of nurseries and I was in floods of tears as I could not picture my daughter being looked after by any of them and felt devastated. We have no family near by and this choice was so important to us, as this setting would be such a major part in my daughters start in life.
My daughter has never been the best sleeper, (unfortunately she takes after me in that respect) but because of this I really wanted her to be able to lie down in a bed at nap times when she still needed a nap and not just left in a pram in a corridor or sat in front of a huge TV screen or just put into the Childminder’s daily routine of going to the shops and back. RM just stood head, shoulders and extreme high heals above the rest (I must add I have not warn high heals for years but I hope you can get my point).
I originally thought that a Childminding setting would be a stop gap before my daughter went to nursery but there was no point in changing when RM has a personal tailor made care which goes well beyond what you would get in a nursery setting. The home from home environment is just so nurturing and encouraging and there is outdoor activities and sports every day with a sports teacher. They go to the farm, different playgrounds in the area, The National Gallery, Little Angel Theatre, museums, Libraries, play centers and messy play groups.
There is a clear routine everyday and you are sent a weekly plan as well as a weekly menu. At the end of the day you are given a daily report detailing every aspect of your child’s day, progress in learning areas, next steps, amount of sleep, food consumed and nappy changes/toilet visits. As a new parent all of this is just so supportive and puts your mind at rest. Not only that, you are sent photos and updates throughout the day on a WhatsApp group.
We started at RM just after my daughter turned one and have stayed right up to her first day at school. She is leaving the setting working well within and secure in her age bracket. A very happy, confident and loving child. We could not me more delighted with our choice and time at RM and are very sad to leave. My daughter and I have made life long friends and hope to continue using RM in some way during this next huge stage in my daughters adventure as school begins.
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Our little boy Theo started attending RainbowCM just after his first birthday for one day a week. From the start, he was welcomed wholeheartedly into this nurturing home enviornment. Olinka's own boys made Theo feel like a real friend and companion, teaching him to sing sillly songs, laughing together and play alongside one another. It quickly became apparent the bond that Theo had created with the family and he was always eager for his visits to RainbowCM. The house was always full of activity, both structured and unstructured, and Theo always had fun on trips to the park and other adventures. We have been 100% satisfied with every aspect of this childcare arrangement and feel like we struck gold when we found RainbowCM.
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Our 2 1/2 year old son started with Rainbow when he was 1 year old and over the past 18 months has gone from strengh to strengh. Spending one day a week ( and on occassion 2) Stanley has grown in confidence and built lasting friendships with Olinkas own two little boys. We have found Rainbow to be reliable and flexible often fitting around our schedule. We also discovered that our son had an allergy whilst at Olinka's and the way in which she dealt with this situation, both calmy and quickly was exactly what any parent would hope for. The care and devepment that Olinka has provided has far exceeded our expectations and if she were not taking maternity leave Stanley would continue to go to her in conjunction with nursery. He will however remain friends with her youngest son through continued play dates. We would highly recommend Rainbow CM for childcare.
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