Caroline's Reviews
Childminder
5 out of 5
Parent reviews
Below are the latest reviews for Caroline. Please note that reviews represent the subjective opinions of other Childcare.co.uk members 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.
We are very sad to be withdrawing our son from Caroline's care but we are moving out of area and so we are left with little choice but to do so.
Caroline has been brilliant. She engages with our son from the second he arrives and tailors activities around his interests and likes. Caroline has a good routine at her house and always has interesting activities and outings planned.
At the start we had some worries about how our son would settle after an awful experience at a nursery. Caroline listened to our worries and worked with us to ensure that he settled quickly, offering 1.1 settling in sessions and lots of reassurance. Caroline has always stayed in touch with us about what our son has been up to throughout the day and sends lots of photos. She has taken a keen interest in his development and has been instrumental in the development of his language and motor skills.
We couldn't recommend Caroline highly enough.
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Hannah
on 23/08/2023
Our 15 month old started with Caroline in October and settled in very quickly. He loves his time there and runs to the door when we say we are dropping him off at Caroline's. Caroline knows baby sign and uses this with them, which has been great because we have been doing it at home too. We really enjoy getting updates via the app and seeing what he has been up to during the day and we have a notebook we communicate with Caroline with about things such as his naps, food eaten etc and also from our end if he's had a bad night etc. I would highly recommend Caroline, our son is extremely happy there.
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Becca25
on 25/01/2023
We were apprehensive about childcare for our shy son and spent a lot of time considering and visiting different childcare providers, but from our first meeting with Caroline we were confident that we didn't need to search any further. Our son settled quickly and was with Caroline for 1.5 years, and Caroline is currently caring for our younger (more outgoing) daughter. We have been so happy with the care that she has provided for both our children, and especially with how she communicates with us, from the daily updates and regular photos from their little adventures to bigger discussions about their development. Both our children have always come home happy from their days with Caroline, and half a year since moving on to preschool our son still talks about how he enjoyed his time with Caroline, especially the visits to the allotment. We have been impressed by the seasonal nature-based activities that Caroline does with the children, such as partaking in the Big Garden Birdwatch and watching tadpoles hatch from frogspawn, as well as by the range of fun outings and home-based activities that they enjoy together. Knowing that each of my children were having such a nice and safe time with Caroline, in a lovely home environment, made going to work so much easier! We are so grateful to have found Caroline and highly recommend her.
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Kat
on 15/01/2023
Our youngest is currently with Caroline four days a week. He started at six months old and he is now over three. Some of this time was over covid, but despite the occasional enforced closures he was always excited to go to Carolines.
The environment at Caroline’s is fun, healthy, kind, educational and supportive. Our eldest also grew up spending time with Caroline and both children throughly enjoy spending time outdoors, have good understanding and vocabulary to express themselves and are both confident. Both children talk fondly about their experiences with Caroline and their friends.
Caroline is very knowledgeable and provides daily feedback as well as regular reviews to ensure and help on anything the child might be finding tricky.
We fully recommend Caroline. You won’t find better.
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Claire
on 10/04/2022
Our two year old daughter hadn’t been left with anyone other than family until she started at Caroline’s, naturally we were slightly apprehensive as to how our daughter would settle but we needn’t have worried.
Caroline provides a safe, fun and happy environment for children to grow in confidence and learn.
Painting, visits to the allotment, muddy walks, baking, garden games and attending various groups are just a few of the activities. Caroline consistently puts the needs of the child first and is incredibly conscientious to do the best for your child. Our little girl talks on a daily basis about Caroline and her friends which shows us the happy memories she has with Caroline. We have been able to go to work with complete peace of mind which is a real blessing.
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LBuck
on 21/08/2020
We cannot rate Caroline highly enough. From the first time we met her we know we wanted her to be taking care of our little girl once I was back at work. I can honestly say we go to work knowing that our daughter will have a fun filled day with Caroline and her little friends, we don’t have any worries! Our little girl started at 9 months and she quite often carried her on a sling to make sure she felt comfortable and close. She’s almost 2 and she blossomed into the girl she is also thanks to Caroline’s amazing work.
Caroline truly knows children and she provides an amazing range of activities. The children get to spend lots of time outdoors, doing so many different activities from going to the allotment, going out to groups or the woods. This is just a small part, she has loads of ideas for educational activities.
She know the children very well, she is very caring and so is her family. Our little girl has the best time there and we get to know about her days and progress through a diary and through an app called Tapestry. The rest of our family can access the app too so they can see the progress and pictures of her fun filled days. Caroline is very focused on development, she ensures children get the best start.
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Roberta
on 23/07/2019
We can’t express enough just how lucky we are to have found Caroline; it really takes so much stress away from a busy working day knowing that our son is really well looked after.
After visiting many local nurseries, it was only after meeting with Caroline at her home did I feel completely sure about leaving Luca & returning to work. Not only do I know that he is having a great time but I know he is safe & comforted by Caroline.
Luca & his friends get up to lots of great activities - including those outdoors. I love the thought of Luca playing outside in the fresh air & looking around the allotment!
Caroline ticks all the boxes for a great childminder! Thank you for giving us a space!
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by
Parent
on 08/01/2018
We were looking for a childcare that provided a home from home environment for our little boy. He has been with Caroline since he was 15 months old and settled in very quickly as he feels safe and comfortable with her. It is nice that he can spend the day with a couple of other children of a similar age, and they can all play together and also get plenty of individual attention.
Caroline has a wide range of toys and activities for playing indoors, as well as space outdoors in the garden and allotment for playing outside and exploring nature.
I would highly recommend Caroline as an excellent childminder, particularly if you have a young baby or toddler and are looking for childcare which feels more like a family home than a nursery setting.
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on 08/01/2018
Our daughter has been with Caroline since she was nine months old and she is now nearly 15 months old.
At every drop off she is so happy to see Caroline and the other children (including Caroline's two sons), and at collection she has clearly had a wonderful day with everyone – all smiles and chatting away on our walk home. We've never had any issues with drop off at all, which is partly down to the steady build up of time over the first week or so that Caroline offers and also because Caroline is just so wonderfully kind and caring. When our daughter started, Caroline had two spaces but would not accept another child until she knew our daughter was settled. This meant a lot to us. In the first couple of weeks Caroline took her around in a sling for a few hours a day to allow our daughter to slowly connect and embrace her new surroundings when she needed to feel secure.
Life at Caroline's is similar to life at ours and that was so important to us. Our daughter enjoys plenty of outdoor activities in their wonderful garden as well as local woods, the beach, lakes etc. Caroline builds in a lot of time and provides wonderful resources for the little ones to be creative. They have mornings down at the allotment where they learn about where their nutritious lunch comes from. They have plenty of messy play and I have learnt some great 'not quite as messy' activities from Caroline that we now use at home, much to our daughters delight. There is a fabulous piano which the children are allowed to use, or sometimes they just enjoy a concert from one of Carolines lovely sons who plays brilliantly.
Caroline has great focus on your child's development. We are updated daily via the Tapestry app and also a written daily journal on anything new our daughter is doing and how we can help her develop in other ways. We also use this journal and app to keep Caroline updated – she really cares!
Our daughter has truly come on in leaps and bounds as I am sure a lot of this is down to Caroline and her structured fun-filled days.
My mum was a primary school teacher for her entire working life and is continually amazed by what Caroline does for the children she minds. She says we couldn't have picked better and we agree! If Caroline has a space you should definitely visit and see the magic for yourselves.
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Claire
on 31/05/2017
Our daughter started with Caroline in April 2017, since then I cannot be happier with her care so far.
Prior to her first day, both my husband and I had several meetings with Caroline, everything was made abundantly clear to us, everything had been thought of.
I love that Olivia gets to go out almost every day, weather permitting and not just propped up in front of a tv and left to it, the kids get to go to toddler groups, lunches in the woods, nature reserves and more. One of our favourite points when we met Caroline at her house for the first time what that there wasn't a tv on the ground floor at all.
Caroline uses an online kids diary so both my Husband and I get to see at least one photo every single day to see what our daughter has been up to that day. We never feel that we are missing on what she has been up to.
Our daughter leans to Caroline when we drop her off, for Caroline to take her from us and is always full of smiles when we collect her. I have absolutely no worries about leaving her with Caroline.
All in all, I can't recommend Caroline enough.
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sarahlou
on 27/05/2017
I knew after a few minutes of meeting Caroline that I wanted her to look after our little girl. Our little girl took to Caroline the moment she saw her, reaching out to touch her face in the way she reserved for close family at the time. Our daughter has been with Caroline since March and has blossomed in her care. Caroline is an amazing early years practitioner who provides a fun, stimulating, nurturing environment. Our little one is very fond of Caroline, her husband and their lovely sons. Everyday is an adventure with l
Caroline works closely with parents and keeps us updated about our little one's day through a link book and online journal. In addition to charting our child's development she works with us to plan next steps and has given us lots of ideas for open-ended, inexpensive play opportunities at home.
I cannot recommend Caroline highly enough. When I'm at work I have complete peace of mind that my child is content and having lots of fun!
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by
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on 13/10/2015
What can I say about Caroline?! Well if you’re reading this and lucky enough to be in the position that there is a space available… take it!!
Our 1 year old daughter has been with Caroline for a few months now since she was 10 months old. I have never seen her cry leaving her with Caroline, she is greeted at the door by her little friends and happily waves us off! Caroline is the perfect mix of being a professional childminder and ticking all the boxes with helping your childs development, but also being so sweet and caring and providing the most nurturing environment for your little one. Her home is a treasure trove of toys of the natural variety for them to explore, they enjoy music together (her lovely boys play the piano), messy play, read stories, play in the garden and go out on daily adventures together.
She uses both a tapestry website/app and a blog so you can see photos/videos of what fun they get up to, as well as a notebook that is a go-between so we always know when she slept, how she ate (always amazing home cooked food, often grown in her allotment), any noteworthy developments etc.
When you entrust someone so precious as your child with a carer for the day all you want to know is that they are safe, happy and well looked after, and with Caroline they will be. I cannot recommend her enough!
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on 08/10/2015
Caroline really is an outstanding childminder. She has looked after my daughter for a year and we will be very sad to say goodbye when my work comes to an end this summer.
So what's brilliant about Caroline? Here are some highlights:
*Safe home environment: Caroline's home is welcoming and totally geared up for play and fun
*Food: healthy nutritious meals eaten all together
*Daily diary: it's so lovely to know exactly what our daughter has done, eaten and felt throughout the day - it makes us feel really involved
*Blog: Caroline keeps a Blog of our daughter's development - I get excited when a blog report come through to my email and I get a glimpse of what the day has had in store for our daughter
*Early years development: Caroline is passionate about early years development and our daughter has really excelled and grown with her support
*Seasons: they embrace each season enjoying its colours, tastes and experiences
*Fresh air: whatever the weather they are always outside enjoying the environment, whether it's in the park or down at the allotment or just playing in the garden
*Routine: our daughter flourishes with routine and Caroline is great at keeping the kids on a routine attending regular toddler groups and play centres and even enjoying the school run
*Friends: our daughter is always talking about her friends at Caroline's and looks forward to seeing her little buddies after the weekend
*Family: Caroline's family is lovely and our daughter clearly adores them - especially Caroline's sons who are generous with their time playing with her
I really can't recommend Caroline highly enough!
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by
Parent
on 05/05/2015
Caroline has been looking after my son for a few months over a year, two days a week. I could not have asked for more from a childminder. Caroline is professional, reassuring, nurturing, kind, informative, imaginative and adaptable. She provides a welcoming family setting, her boys are delightful and Jamie is sometimes around to help out too so it is a home from home. I have always felt completely up to date with my son's activities from the daily journal and the blog! I can't believe my little one has his own blog! They have been indispensable to me. Caroline's knowledge of policies and the ever changing regulations and advisories for childminders and nurseries is second to none. My LO is off to nursery now and we are very sad to say goodbye and leave behind what has felt like a truly co-parenting year.
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by
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on 28/01/2015
Since February our fourteen month year old daughter has spent four days a week being looked after by lovely Caroline. It is so hard for an parent to leave their child, but after meeting Caroline I knew immediately that she was 'the one'. It was such a massive relief to find her and her fabulous family and homely setting. It has given me such comfort to know that my daughter has such a brilliant time and is thriving in Caroline's care.
Caroline has really really fun and innovative activities to help my daughter play and learn. There are different trays full of sensory objects to play with and such a variety of really interesting toys and books for our daughter to explore. As well as all the activities at Caroline's home our baby regularly visits toddler groups and sensory rooms with Caroline, has been on adventures to the woods and has been playing in the garden with water trays and footballs.
Many of the ideas Caroline has I would never have come up with! and I always know that our daughter will be having a great adventure.
Caroline has a real respect for nature and our daughter visits her allotment to help pick vegetables for dinner. We love Caroline's values and our daughter gets to play and learn outside and interacts with the other children being looked after by Caroline and her two great boys.
Everyday we get a journal explaining what our daughter has been up too and an online blog where we can see pictures of the days activities, it is so reassuring and great to hear what our daughter has been learning all day. I would highly recommend visiting Caroline, you will not regret it!
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by
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on 21/04/2014
My son of now two years 4 months has been in care with Caroline for the last two months one and a half days per week. He loves going to Caroline's and is full of chatter after his time with her. He does a multitude of activities and Caroline is extremely vigilant with his progress and learning. I have no hesitation in recommending Caroline to anyone requiring too quality care for their young ones.
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by
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on 27/02/2014
Our daughter has been in Caroline's care part-time now for 2 years and she always enjoys her day there. The children are involved in craft activities and baking, gardening and all sorts, and I love the fact that she takes them to the allotment as well. Caroline goes the extra mile to help with learning development too and get toys/puzzles from the toy library that enhance what each child is interested in at that time. We have very much enjoyed the online learning journal as well, a lovely record to have. We will be very sad when our daughter leaves Caroline as we have moved to a new town; Iknow that she will miss her and all her family very much.
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by
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on 01/08/2013
We are really pleased with how our daughter, Lily (16 months) has taken to Caroline. Choosing a childminder and leaving Lily was so hard. It is such a relief to have found someone who is as kind and caring as Caroline. I can leave for work and my mind is at ease.
Lily has been with Caroline for 2 months now, 3 days a week. We read her daily diary as soon as we get home which keeps us fully informed on how Lily has spent her day (trips to the allotment, toddler groups, park etc..), how Lily has been, what she has eaten, how much she has slept etc. This is invaluable, as are the regular posts on Lily's blog with photos and videos which are so lovely to see.
Caroline has 2 lovely boys and a lovely family home. The children enjoy healthy home cooked and home grown food. It is an environment in which Lily seems to feel very happy, secure and confident to explore and learn. The children also spend lots of time outside in the fresh air exploring their natural environment which we feel is so important.
We feel lucky to have found a childminder so committed to every aspect of child development and would not hesitate to recommend Caroline. We would be happy to talk to any parents who are thinking of leaving their child in Caroline's care.
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by
Parent
on 08/07/2013
Caroline looks after my two precious girls aged 3 and 15 months. I thank my lucky stars the day I met Caroline. I had viewed nearly 10 child minders in the Horsham area and there was something about Caroline's childcare setting that stood out a mile! Caroline provides a very educational and stimulating environment and at times of the day when the children require naps she relaxes the environment and they read stories and listen to CDs. Everyday through our daily diary I read the adventures they have been on...from trips to Caroline's allotment to watching the tadpoles grow! I have always been so impressed with Caroline's meal choices and her whole family ethos. Everybody sits down at the same time for there evening meal - her boys. husband and the children she looks after all sit down and share a home cooked and often home grown meal. Caroline is an excellent cook and her baking my eldest daughter thoroughly enjoys!
Caroline is very keen on child development and makes sure my children are where they should be and posts regular blogs on the on-line journal. Most of all when I leave for a hard days work I know for the three days I work my girls are taken care of and are stimulated and thoroughly enjoy their time with Caroline. She has become part of our lives and is a regular name in our household. It will be a sad day when we have to leave Caroline and start school. I would highly recommend Caroline's childcare setting.
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by
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on 07/07/2013
