Littlechicks's Reviews

2 happy children

Debbie and Paul have been fantastic with my kids. Now 10 and 5, we have been sending them to Debbie and Paul for 5 years, and both girls are very happy. Debbie and Paul clearly love my girls, and are happy to see them, whether when they are working, or if we happen to see them at weekends.

Despite her age, and the fact her dad works from home, my 10 year old has never asked to stop going to Debbie and Paul's. To me, this shows how happy she is.

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by IzzyandF about Littlechicks on 08/01/2020

Excellent Childcare

My two girls have been going to Debbie & Paul since we moved to Reading 3 years ago and had to replace our childminder in our old town. My girls were 4 and 1 at the time & we were looking for a home from home setting for them. My oldest daughter started school a few weeks after they started and loves the wrap around childcare Debbie & Paul provide. She loves the interaction with other children that she wouldn’t get at home & the crafts and activities they do after school.
My youngest is not currently at school and is with Debbie & Paul all day, 3 days a week. She settled well initially but had a wobble which Debbie & Paul dealt with really well & now she talks about them all the time when she’s not with them. Her manners are excellent when she comes home, and she is well behaved walking to and from school, something she has learnt since doing school runs with her childminders! Communication is excellent, if I ask for anything I get an immediate reply. My girls are confident and happy children and I’m certain that some of that is down to the care they receive whilst I can’t be around for them. As a working mum, this is extremely important to me as knowing I’m leaving them and that they’re happy makes it easier for me to go to work.

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by AmelieWr about Littlechicks on 08/01/2020

Childcare review

I have been with debbie and paul for roughly 4 years on and off due to job changes, i think they do an incredible job of what they do! Always very helpful with my daughter when we have a rough morning ( as have an early start) to the point of calming her down, giving her a sticker chart for the morning behaviour, giving her breakfast ect really helpful and encouraging and when i needed quick childcare for my new job, they were there for me!
I will continue to use debbie and paul for as long as i need, have also highly reccomended to other friends who now use this service!
Clean and tidy home, great routine for the little ones & during the holidays they really do try and make it fun for the kids!
I couldnt fault them!

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by Natasha about Littlechicks on 08/01/2020

Bruised face disregarded.

My child spent about 4 months with this child minder and seem to enjoy it very much, myself on the other hand had several perifrial issues. They have a box outside for bags ect but her drink was always left outside, even after I asked them to keep it inside, it was always outside when I collected her. I was "told off" for bringing her in a snow coat and on another occasion her Wellingtons. I always felt rushed upon collection, I wasnt given information reg her day (shes too small to ask) so I asked for the online form to be completed, this was but it was very de personalised. "We went to the post office, we had lunch, we napped, we played until collection " I looked for another setting and was pulled up twice by this setting saying they have been told I'm asking around from other c.minding friends. There was no confidentiality. I was told at collection they have decided not to have her back for 48 hrs re a soft nappy. At no point in the day was I contacted to say this might be happening (Shes teething, this is a reflection) there is no contact in the day no photos no comments, if I did ask it was "fine". I was told on collecting one time her poo was soft and she now has a sore bum. Upon taking her, and her sudocreme home which was outside.. her bottom and front bottom was so red she was crying in pain. The sudocreme was not applied all day. She was left to get incredibly sensitive and extremely red for 9 hours. I told them the creme was outside and the response was oh I didnt know. On one occasion I collected my child and she had a bruised nose and the skin above her top lip was also bruised. I was told that nothing had happened at their setting and it must have been with me when I brought her from the car to their front door that morning. No. They logged the "existing injury" online but refused to log it as an accident. They stated it happened prior to their setting. I showed them photos of that very morning of the child where you can clearly see she has no Mark's, but they didnt respond. In my opinion, they took their eyes off her for a short time and she either got hit by a toy or hit the door. I would understand them saying this as it does happen, but to be lied to and totally disregarded it happened with them is completely shocking. I decided to report this to Ofsted and a few hours later, I had an email saying "Please take this email as Notice to terminate our Childcare Contract for *****. We terminate with immediate effect" later that evening I received a message from another childcare provider saying that Debbie had gone online and sent this message in a whatsapp group of childers, "A warning ladies. We have just had ofsted on the phone. One of our parents has Reported us for not giving the child water and not applying her cream. Both facts are untrue. Her cream is applied and documented and obviously she has a drink!! Several in fact. Luckily no action from ofsted just a phone call. But I?m about to give immediate notice so if you have someone looking for 4 days a week for an almost 2 year old girl be very careful." To be slated like this from a professional setting is just beyond me. I have the full right to report any concerns I have to Ofsted, that's why they are there. To see this message not mentioning the bruised face reason is completely shocking. I feel they have been doing this job for a long time now and have almost become de sensatalised to feelings and it's just become a means to an end to get money. Unfortunately after the online slating from the childminder, I wouldn't reccomend this childminder setting at all. I have photos of every chat and the bruised face so please get in touch if you have any concerns

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by Hannah about Littlechicks on 08/01/2020

Response by Littlechicks on 08/01/2020:

Firstly I’d like to say how shocked and saddened we were to read this review. We love what we do and it’s really upsetting to read here someone being so unhappy. We’ve always strived to run a great setting and all our other reviews reflect this.

We’ve always had good communication and our messages have always been friendly. To find the same day that we had your daughter here in our care and you had sent friendly emoji WhatsApp’s and thankyou’s for the craft gifts your child had made, you reported us to OFSTED caught us by surprise. It’s taken us some time to try understand what has happened, but feel we have to respond.

We always kept your daughters belongings in the house during the day. We only put things together for you at the end of each session. We had explained this previously and you said you understood. I’m sorry if this caused an issue. We always, always have water available for the children.

We did indeed ask for shoes as well as wellingtons. This was so your daughter could attend a church based toddler group where wellingtons weren’t allowed. The snow suit, we asked for her coat as well so it was easy to remove when strapping your daughter in the car. I’m sorry if you felt you were “told off” as we’ve spoken a lot since and nothing has ever been said.

The daily diary is a description of what we have been up to. It’s for all our families. We also respond to messaging and we were happy to chat about what we’ve been up to with you at pick up when asked. We never mean to rush anybody, we are just aware people are busy and try to keep things friendly but not too long.

We do exclude for illness. Your daughter was poorly and we needed to exclude for both her own benefit and that of the other children. We don’t make this decision lightly and understand it’s disruptive to working parents.

We did use Sudocrem. I remember us requesting it from you when we noticed your daughter arriving to us with a sore bottom.

The bruised nose. We noticed this shortly after your daughter arrived. We did make a note of it and speak to you at pick up. I’m sorry if this situation wasn’t managed to your satisfaction, we couldn’t log it as an accident as it wasn’t an accident in our setting. We did discuss this via WhatsApp and I thought we were all happy with actions taken.

Immediate notice. This wasn’t an easy decision but we thought that it was best given the horrible situation we were all left in. You did report to OFSTED rather than just having a chat with us. I’m sorry if you still wanted to leave your daughter with us, we just felt unable to continue the contract after the breakdown in trust.

Wonderful childminders

My daughter has always settled happily with debbie and Paul. I am more than happy with the care and love they show towards her. They are accommodating and kind, and I have every faith she is well looked after.

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by Parent about Littlechicks on 16/10/2017

Very happy!

My 5 year old daughter, Jessica, attends Debbie and Paul's childcare setting 5 mornings a week before school. Paul walks Jessica to school and she fills me in on how much fun it is!
When we see Paul after school in the playground Jessica has to say hello!
Jessica is very happy at Debbie and Paul's and has been in their setting for 6 months now! Jessica settled well, very quickly. She loves that there are lots of children to play with and as a working mum it's very reassuring to know that she is happy.

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by Lyndsey1 about Littlechicks on 05/06/2016

Great care from Husband and Wife team

My daughter started out being cared for by Debbie when she started at pre school. Debbie would take her to pre school and collect her three days a week. Then Debbie approached me about her hubby joining the team, which I was more than happy with. It gave my daughter a real home from home environment. Both Paul and Debbie are amazing with the children, they always have a house full with lots of activities and trips going on and with there being two of them you know that there will always be someone watching over them. They take the children out on trips during the school holidays, including cinema, bowling, the park , Lockey Farm etc. It must be quite a mission sometimes yet they seem to have a good sytem going and all the children respond well to them. Paul took over walking my daughter to pre school and she loved the one to one time he spent with her and her "2nd Daddy". If you want to know your children is being cared for in a home from home environment choose Debbie and Paul. Sadly my daughter had to leave as she started school and it wasn't one that Paul and Debbie covered, but two years later she still mentions them.

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by RubysMum about Littlechicks on 16/05/2016

Caring and Experienced Childminder

My Daughter has been with Debbie and her husband Paul for a 1 year 1/2 starting when she was 11 months old. She found it hard to settle at first but both Debbie and Paul were patient and caring, making sure that she felt at home and worked with me to make her feel happy.

She enjoys varied activities and is always out and about trying new things and getting involved. She go's to toddler groups, cinema, parks, playgrounds and museums. She is always very proud to show me her artwork when I pick her up!

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend both her and Paul. They make a great team and provide a happy and loving environment.

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by Parent about Littlechicks on 03/05/2016

Great childminding team

Debbie and Paul have been looking after my youngest son for 2 days a week since September 2014.

He settled in well and enjoys a wide range of activities every week, going out to toddler groups, pet shops and parks during term time and the cinema and other trips in the school holidays.

Daily diaries are sent every night and it's always lovely to see photos of the children enjoying themselves. Any issues during the day are well communicated.

Debbie & Paul are always kind and caring towards the children and are experienced parents themselves - I think this really helps their calm nature, as I'm sure they've dealt with pretty much every situation a child could throw at them! This experience has also been really helpful for me, as they gave some great advice when I was having issues with one of my older sons at school.

In summary, Childminding doesn't seem like 'just a job' to Debbie & Paul. They genuinely care for the children and work in partnership with parents to make the best of the children in their care.

I'd happily recommend Debbie & Paul's setting to any other parents.

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by fayethom about Littlechicks on 02/05/2016

Lovely childminder

Debbie looked after my son for over a year from about 10 months to two years old. The only time he cried was when I came to pick him up - he was enjoying himself so much! I loved the fact that Debbie took my son out on day trips to museums, the park and bowling (to name a few) rather than being kept in the house all day. Thoroughly recommend Debbie, a real home from home experience.

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by Parent about Littlechicks on 25/04/2016