Bev Metcalf
Childminder in Sunderland
Usually responds within 12 hours
Female Member since Sep 2010 Last Updated Sep 2024 Last Login 10 Oct 2024
My Summary
Outstanding Experienced Childminder
About Me
Hello! My name is Bev and I have been a Professional Registered Childminder with the City of Sunderland / OFSTED since 2004. I live with my husband ( been married nearly 30 years) My husband works full time as a Quality Engineer for an automotive company. Our son who is 26 years old who has been to University doing a sports degree and finished his teaching degree at University, has done placements in Primary schools In Sunderland and in Darlington and now is a Primary school teacher. My spare time is taken up with my hobbies for sewing, doing crafting, spending time with my family.
I enjoy taking the children I care for blackberry picking, sledging, nature walks, toddler groups, soft play, park and beach etc, The children love doing crafts, baking, singing, reading books etc here. I am a member of the Forest Childcare Association. This means I take children on weekly/ daily outdoor outings as the outdoors is something I really believe is important for children to discover and learn from and builds confidence outdoors by discovering nature and learning about the environment around them, I am a strong believer in getting children outdoors this is a proven fact that children learn more in an outside environment quicker and children who are outside more have less stress, anxiety, promotes wellbeing, health benefits and physical development etc.
As a Professional Childminder I can take the opportunity to go out at any time during the day so this is a bonus for children to get to know the world around them and explore in different environments for them to learn and enjoy, Not keep the children in one room or one environment all day every day.
I like to think that all the children I care for see this as their second home when they are with me and have use of most of the house as they would at their own home and are not confined to one room. As my house is a home with a homely feel and NOT a nursery or school look and I keep my home homely with the benefits of learning and development too.
My parents of the children I care for log on to The Baby's Days system via their phones/ computer or tablet in the parents spare time to view all paperwork / pictures / diaries for there child/children's care only. This means they can keep up to date during the day with their child's progress, daily routines, pictures and many more. This is an online system to provide the parents with information and also to aid my job doing paperwork and regulations I work from. All my parents do find this very helpful and easy to use and great for keeping them up to date and informed, it is a great way to work in partnership with parents. Parents feel connected to their child's day to day children activities and fun.
My Experience
My experience working with children and parents / carers are that I use to run a local toddler group for 8 years. I also volunteered in the local school in the nursery and reception years as a mummy helper when my son attend. I then did my placement at the school when I was doing my Teaching Assistant qualification. I also grew up with children as my Mother was a Professional Nanny in Cambridge for a family. I am originally from Cambridge and moved to Sunderland 30 years ago.
I decided to become a Professional childminder in 2004. I have got a GOOD grade on my passed Ofsted inspections and on My last two inspections I have received Outstanding grade ( 24/09/2014 / 20/08/2019 ). The inspection reports can be found and viewed on the Ofsted website if you wish to read them.
My Qualifications
Level 3 qualification in childcare
Safeguarding Training
Early Years Foundation Stage Training
First Aid Training
Food Hygiene Training
Health And Safety Training
Play work Training
Teaching Assistand Qualification
My Availability
Please contact me for further details.
I do not have currently any childcare spaces for under 3 years of age and at this time.
I do also have spaces for all school age children for before and after school for drop off and pick up from South Hylton Primary Academy. Please contact me for further details.
Please when sending a message to me please add your child’s age in the message as this does help me lots to assess if I do have/ do not have space for your childcare requirements more quickly. This is because Ofsted regulations, professional childminders are regulated to a Ofsted ratio of children of certain ages at one time. This is a GOOD thing as children get more one to one care in my childminding setting.
I do full time childcare contracts ( all year excluding my holidays, Bank holidays and National holidays ).
Term time ( school yearly terms ) childcare contracts and school holiday only contracts.
Monday - Thursday 7.00am - 6.00pm
Friday - 7.00am - 3.00pm
Local school drop off and pick-ups only due to having no car. ( I do like to walk everywhere and so do all of the children it is good for their health and well-being ).
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before School | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| Morning | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| Afternoon | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| After School | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| Evening | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Overnight | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Last Updated: 01/09/2024 | |||||||
My Fees
- Childminding from £4.75 per hour
My fees are £4.75 per hour.
I averagely take 6 weeks a year.
A fee is charged for food at meal times ( if required) but I do suggest parents provide all main meal food.
Snacks and drinks are provided by my self for children during the day.
Also any fees for toddler groups/ outings are charged to parent when required and needed etc At this time we attend a local playgroup on a Tuesday morning and Wednesday mornings, This aids all children socialisation, helping the children understand the sense of community and a fun learning environment too.
My Local Schools
- I provide drop offs and pick ups at South Hylton Primary Academy
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: Last OFSED Inspection report (added 20/04/2020)
- Ofsted Certificate (added 20/04/2020)
Reviews
Below are the latest reviews for BEV METCALF. 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.
Bev has looked after my two girls for a little over a year and she has been amazing!
She is very passionate about what she does and she she’s very good at it also!
Your child will always feel part of a family and take part in fun and educational activities. We are going to miss you so much❤️
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by
StephT
about
BEV METCALF
on 09/03/2023
Response by
BEV METCALF
on 10/03/2023:
Thank you so much, It has been a pleasure looking after your girls and we will miss them coming to my home.
Bev was fantastic and we will definitely miss her, she did a great job of settling in my child and he was very shy and upset to begin with but it did not take him very long before he was settled in. Bev was very accommodating and she did go out her way to support me with childcare arrangements and I can't thank her enough.
Thanks again bev xxxx
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by
missanna
about
BEV METCALF
on 18/01/2023
Response by
BEV METCALF
on 27/02/2023:
Thank you so much for this lovely review. It was a pleasure to care for your child and to meet you too. I wish you both well in your future.
Auntie Bev has been working with our family since 2015, with two of our boys since they were 12 months old.
I genuinely cannot recommend her enough, we originally got the endorsement for her through Sunderland High School; and she’s been part of the family ever since.
Our boys have everlasting memories of the time they have spent with the Metcalfe’s. Bev, with her husband and son are the most nurturing, honest and loving family.
Bev genuinely delivers the best in class care, she invests her time into the Childrens’ well-being, and creates such a positive and creative environment for our little ones to thrive. There’s lots of opportunities for exploratory play both indoors and outdoors, and I receive daily pictures of the boys engaging in the most magical experiences. I couldn’t wish for anything more from the family.
Get ready for some adventurous cooking too, my children have a specialist diet; and Bev throughly researched what she was able to give our boys before they even entered her setting. She created menus with variety, that is nutritionally balanced and carefully selects food from outside, when they are on little outings.
The planning, precision, and management for this level of care is truly commendable, and I feel like our family hit gold when we met Auntie Bev. I always call her Mary Poppins, as she is a wizard with their young minds, always driving measurable milestones of mental, emotional, physical and developmental growth.
If you want someone who is a beacon of knowledge, who will plough her energy into making your child content, then this is the lady for you.
We absolutely adore her, and she’s such an asset to our family.
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by
Rebecca
about
BEV METCALF
on 13/01/2023
Response by
BEV METCALF
on 27/02/2023:
Thank you so much for this lovely review and such kind and thoughtful words. it has been my pleasure to care for all your children and make sure they can be the best that they can be! and have fun along the way.
Can’t thank Bev enough for everything she has done for me and my boys over the past few years. Bev bends over backwards to be accommodating around my unreliable shift patterns and always ensures my kids are in a safe and fun environment. From having a shy one year old who had never left his mams side to now having a confident 4 year old who makes friends wherever he goes , this is all down to being at Bev’s house, Bev makes an unbelievable effort to build trusting relationships with both the children and their parents , I’ve never known anyone to dedicate such time and effort into making sure kids are happy and well looked after whilst also teaching them so much, from academic learning to life skills they wouldn’t learn anywhere else , my boys are always full of story’s of the adventures they’ve been on with aunty Bev. There’s no one else I would trust to look after my kids , and I’m sure they’ll be going to aunty Bev’s house long after they’re old enough to look after themselves 😅
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by
merryn
about
BEV METCALF
on 13/01/2023
Response by
BEV METCALF
on 27/02/2023:
Thank you so much for this lovely review. It is a pleasure to care for both boys and also watch them become the fantastic children they are. They and you will always be welcome at my house as you well know into the future.
Our son has been in the care of Auntie Bev since he was 9 months old. I was returning to work following my maternity leave and we felt that the group setting of a nursery wasn't what we wanted at this time, and we discovered Bev! Sending our son to her was the best decision we ever made! I could not have felt happier returning to work knowing he was in her care. He absolutely loved being dropped off on the days he attended (he often didn't bother saying goodbye to us!). He settled in straight away and that put us at ease immediately.
Bev always kept us so well informed of what was going on, and her diaries and photographs were awesome!
The thing we liked the most was the range of activities she engaged our son in throughout he time was there. They were always out and about seeing the horses, at the beach, visiting the farm, play cafe and playgroups. He was always coming home with crafts and pieces of art and gorgeous decorations at Christmas-time.
Bev's home is such a comfortable, warm and child-centred environment - busy and boisterous and full of music and fun!
We really could not recommend Bev highly enough, and we know we would use her again in the future if the need arose.
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by
Lucytee2
about
BEV METCALF
on 04/02/2019
Response by
BEV METCALF
on 05/02/2019:
Thank you very much for your kind words and appreciation. Thank you for your trust you placed in me for looking after your wonderful son. He is and always will be an Auntie Bev's kid.
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