Happy Faces

Excellent childminder!

Victoria is a lovely caring and genuine person & that shows in how she does her job.
My son loves going to hers, which really puts me at ease!
Her home environment is lovely & super clean.
She does lots of activities with the children and takes them out regularly for fresh air.
She’s very professional & I honestly couldn’t recommend her highly enough.
We are very sad to be leaving Victoria & only doing so due to relocating.
Thank you Victoria from the bottom of my heart for all you have done for us.

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by Colleen about Happy faces on 29/09/2022

Lovely, warm & supportive childminder!

Vicki looked after my son between the ages of 1 and 2 (he had to leave because of a change in my work situation unfortunately).

If you’re looking for someone fun, caring, empathetic and energetic to help you and your child manage the transition into a new childcare routine then I’d say, you’ve found her!

It’s always a wrench to leave your little one, especially to start with, but Vicki was great at settling both of us (!) and it wasn’t long before my son was happily waving goodbye. Even from the first few days, when he was still getting used to me leaving him, he was coming home in great spirits and talking about the toys he had played with (mainly trucks, which he’s obsessed with!) and the other children at Vicki’s, as well her daughter whom he also adored.

After juggling childcare and WFH during COVID, it was difficult to imagine how my child would cope in a new environment - or how I would cope factoring drop offs and picks ups into my days on top of everything else! But I found it was just enough of a change for my son to help with his confidence and social progress, without being too daunting. I actually think it was easier for him in lots of ways than being in the house with me when I wasn’t fully available. And it gave him a change of scene, new playthings and experiences, all of which he clearly found valuable.

I also found it really healthy for me to start the day with the drop off routine while WFH. It helped create a good boundary between family time and work, which I’d lost a bit when I stopped commuting.

His usual routine was well really managed, so the transition wasn’t too tricky, and he always slept well during the day at Vicki’s. Vicki also made sure he got time outside to burn off some energy, as well as quiet time reading and lots of free play with the toys. Her place is always spotless and still feels really homey, and Vicki always supported my son in following his interests so he was able to undertake activities depending on his mood, just like we do at home, which I loved.

His language skills and counting/colour recognition etc were always taking leaps forward and Vicki would take every opportunity to help him develop those skills, from focused play to identifying numbers they saw when out on walks, for instance. My little one also loves singing songs and he would often come home and share the nursery rhymes they’d been singing that day.

Vicki always made sure there were plenty of healthy food and snack choices available. My son is a finickety eater, but she was very patient with him and made sure there was something for him to eat that he liked, as well as encouraging him to try new things.

Just as important as the excellent care Vicki gave my little one, was the kindness she showed me. Vicki was willing to be flexible where she could, was always caring to us both, and really understood the types of things (big and small) which I wanted to hear about in my son’s days and development.

I can’t recommend Vicki highly enough - we really miss seeing her every day!

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by WSVEB about Happy faces on 17/01/2022

A warm family environment

Vicki looked after my son from the age of 6 months to 2 years. Upon initially visiting Vicki's place, the cleanliness was a stand out and she quickly built a natural rapport with our child.

Whilst it was a difficult time to look after children during several lockdowns, Vicki kept the children well entertained and spent a lot of time teaching colours, numbers etc, as well as completing various arts and crafts and taking the children to the playground.

Vicki encouraged a homely environment, and the children were able to get along really well together. Our child also really enjoyed his interactions with Vicki's children greatly.

If you are looking for a warm, caring childminder, look no further!

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by Tiffany about Happy faces on 01/11/2021

Amazing Childminder - Highly Recommend

Vicki has looked after my son from the age of 6 months to 2 years (we are only leaving due to relocating overseas).

Vicki is a fantastic childminder, she is warm and loving, full of enthusiasm and has an amazing connection with the children she looks after. We feel extreme comfort in the fact that every morning my son happily and excitedly walks straight through Vicki’s door (often without looking back) excited for the day ahead.

Vicki provides a warm and caring environment full of encouragement, compassion and patience. It’s been incredible to see my son’s development with Vicki as he learns and grows. She always plans really nice activities for the children and although going to playgroups has been limited due to Covid, she takes the children on outings to the park, there’s also lots of singing and creative messy play. We are big fans of the creative activities she does with the children and it’s a real joy to receive some of the arts and crafts creations at the end of the day.

With all the activities, Vicki is also really good at creating balance for the children during the day, she makes sure that the children also get quieter and calmer downtime as well. I am always really impressed how long and well my son naps at Vicki’s during the day. We are also really impressed at the healthy meals she cooks for the children - there’s always a wide variety, including lots of fruit and veg.

Vicki has been incredibly helpful, patient and flexible with me as a first-time mum (I think the settling in process was more for me than my son). I was concerned about maintaining my son’s routine and nap times, which Vicki happily accommodated. We appreciate how honest Vicki is and she is fantastic at keeping you updated on how the day is going.

A final note in regards to Covid - Vicki and her family have been extremely careful and conscious through all of the lock-downs. While friends have often been forced to consistently isolate for weeks due to out-breaks at Nursery, our bubble with Vicki and the two other families have never needed to isolate. Everyone took great care to make sure we protected our bubble, which resulted in little disruption to our lives.

We are very grateful for the genuine love and care Vicki has shown towards our son during our time together. Vicki enjoys what she does, she takes utmost care and nurtures the children as if they were her own. We feel very fortunate to have found her and it’s been a good first child care experience for our family.

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by Jacqui about Happy faces on 15/06/2021

Highly recommended childminder

Vicki has been a true gift for our family. Our daughter remained at Vicki’s from 6m old to 2.5 yr old and has been consistently happy over that period. We’ve left Chloe everyday seeing her smile when she saw Vicki and there’s nothing as comforting.

Vicki genuinely cares about the children she oversees and makes sure they have the right combination of active entertainment (incl. Playground, learning activities, music, etc.) and calm to ensure both their development and their peace of mind.

Vicki provides detailed summaries of kids days when they are young (meals, sleep, etc.) so that parents can monitor their progress. She also sends pictures every now and then when something special happens. She also keeps track of kids development based Ofsted checklists.

On top Vicki is happy to babysit which offers a great option as our kid is super comfortable with Vicki, to the point that she’s almost happy when she sees us leaving for dinner :)

We recommend Vicki 100%

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by Alice about Happy faces on 11/10/2020