Popsicle
Childminder in Leigh On Sea
Usually responds within 4 hours
Female Member since Jun 2015 Last Updated Jan 2025 Last Login 22 Jan 2025
My Summary
About Me
Hi, my name is Diane, I am registered with Ofsted as a childminder, I live with my husband in Leigh, just off of Scrub lane so easily accessible from Rayleigh, Leigh and Southend. The children in my care have access to a large garden which has a lawn and paved area. I have outside toys and equipment, I also have a lovely playroom which is a favourite with my grandchildren, it is full of toys to play and relax in and a large kitchen diner which I use for messy play and food preparation. The utility room has a Butler sink for rinsing paint brushes and a handy toilet is nearby. In a friendly homely environment I will welcome your child into my home and through play will encourage learning through creativity, imagination and create a feeling that learning is fun. I live close to Belfair's wood where we enjoy walks, we also have parks nearby for fun and picnics. Some of the places we have visited in the last year includes, Southend airport, Hadleigh farm, Watt Tyler park, The Gruffalo woods in Brentwood, Tropical wings, Sea life centre, Hockley woods, Priory park and Shoebury East beach. I understand that the parent/carer is the main influence in the child life and respect the parents/carer wishes. To help children to feel valued i will celebrate your child's birthday with a cake and a card. I will celebrate and participate with other festivals and celebrations throughout the year. I will also display the work they are most proud of, although they normally wish to take their creations home. I promote the good health of the children in my care, I will provide where possible organic snacks such as fruit, vegetables or cheese crackers and I am able to accommodate any dietary preferences.
My Experience
I have a wealth of experience with children and working with children, in fact over thirty years of being a child carer, mother and grandmother. I have two grown up daughters and grandchildren. I am registered with Ofsted. I have attended courses and gained certificates in EYFS training,Basic safeguarding level 1@2, completed a course of training to become a Home based Child carer, (November 2016) completed a Safe guarding refresher course, a development course in Expectations of Behaviour, Raising Developmental Concerns with parents and Supporting children's emotional well-being. Further to this I have completed a Channel General Awareness module in August 2016. I have just completed 1st November 2018 a course Awareness of Child Abuse and Neglect-Core V10. I am insured with my Gold Childcare membership and hold full business class car insurance. I have a current First aid certificate and keep up to date with all aspects of child care through Southend Pacey. January 2019 I have just completed two short courses on Asperger Syndrome and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). I found the Asperger course very interesting and so have just completed another course Asperger Syndrome 12th May 2019. Health and safety in the early years January 2020. Safeguarding children in health and social care level 2 February 2020, child development 0-5 years May 2020. I have just completed my paediatric three yearly First Aid course in June 2023. I have just completed Child Protection Refresher 2020 Level 2 including Covid safety. Concussion Awareness level 2 completed 18th April 2021. 30 April I have just completed the training Mental Wellbeing in children and young people level 2. Very interesting, behaviour is communication ! October 2021 I took training in Understanding and Addressing Behaviour followed by in Jan 2022 Child Protection and in March 2022 Oral health Training. July 2022 I attended a Early Years update course on Safeguarding.
The safety and happiness of the children is the most important thing to me, to hear the children laughing and playing together is a joy.
My Qualifications
. I have completed a Cache setting up a home based child care service.
. I have completed a EYFS training for childminders course.
. I have completed a Basic safeguarding awareness course.
. I have completed a First aid for child care practitioners training
. I have business car insurance for transporting minded children.
. I am registered with the ico. Data protection
. I am a member of Pacey and have Childcare public liability insurance.
I have numerous policies in place.
. All my qualification certificates are available for you to view.
.
My Availability
I offer places from birth upwards, I am open from 8am to 5.30pm as a guide to hours but would look to accommodate the required hours of the parent/carer. Spaces are minimum 7 hour days.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before School | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Morning | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Afternoon | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| After School | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Evening | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Overnight | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Last Updated: 21/01/2025 | |||||||
My Fees
- Childminding from £7.00 per hour
Per hour.
My Local Schools
This childminder has not yet informed us whether or not they provide any drop off or pick up services at local schools.
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 (added 02/05/2023)
- Ofsted Certificate (added 31/01/2023)
- Inspection Report: Ofsted Inspection report (added 17/08/2017)
Reviews
5 out of 5
Latest reviews
Below are the latest reviews for Popsicle. 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.
Diane looked after our daughter for 3 years from the age of 1 and we still feel so lucky to have found her! We were initially nervous about using a childminder but she immediately put us at ease as we saw how well our daughter adapted to her setting. She is genuinely a brilliant childminder with a great mixture of indoor and outdoor spaces that the children enjoy, along with a huge range of activities and outings to keep the children busy. We were kept updated with our daughter’s progress through daily communication and formal reports.
Our daughter really loved going to Diane’s and we felt happy knowing that she was so settled and happy there for so many years.
Diane is an experienced and inclusive childminder who was able to adapt to the needs of the different children in her setting with ease. We honestly cannot recommend Diane highly enough to others; in fact we are keeping our fingers crossed that she has a space for our son soon too!
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by
raewx2
on 27/10/2024
Response by
Popsicle
on 28/10/2024:
Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a lovely review ,it makes me so happy to hear. My fingers are crossed too !.
What can I say about Diane...the perfect childminder in every way!
Diane looked after both my children from 11 months to 4 years. My children loved every day they spent at the setting and I felt so at ease leaving them in her care. It's a perfect home from home environment with areas for play, rest, education, reading, and outside activities. The children also experienced trips out to the woods, soft play, beach and more.
Each child's needs and interests are fulfilled and Diane creates a warm, caring and fun environment. Both my children were upset to leave as was I. Thank you Diane for all you do!
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by
Laura
on 10/10/2024
Response by
Popsicle
on 10/10/2024:
Thank you so so much for your kinds words, it really means so much.
Diane looked after our son from age 1 to until we'll over age 3. After having a negative experience with a local nursery Diane was a refreshing and welcome change. We had never used a childminder before so when meeting a couple in the local area we didn't really know what to expect, but knowing what I know now we would chose Diane over and over again. Dropping our son to her felt like dropping him to family. We felt fully updated with everything he was doing and eating that day via photos, videos and handover book, which was really helpful with his allergies and nutrition not to mention lovely to get an insight you wouldn't at home or in other setting.
More importantly, our son adored Arthur, even sometimes calling Diane "Nanny". Our son also loved Diane's husband, although he didn't often see him, when he did he came home very excited telling us about his day.
Diane's inside and outside spaces are perfect and the kids get outside everyday, rain or shine. She also takes them to local places such as wood etc regularly (sometimes in the summer everyday).
Our son developed astronomically in Diane's care and has grown up to be a loving and social little boy. I honestly can't than Diane enough for everything she did for our family.
If we had any other children I wouldn't hesitate to get them onto Diane's waiting list.
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by
Natasha
on 05/01/2024
Response by
Popsicle
on 05/01/2024:
Thank you so so much, I am overwhelmed by your kind words. Chris has a smile on his face too. Arthur made it all easy, he is such a delightful little boy, a true credit to his lovely family. x
Diane looked after our son from 18 months old to 4 years old. Diane has been a fundamental part to our sons growing up and we are so grateful for her. Diane's setting is beautiful, she clearly takes a lot of pride in her role and creates a fun relaxed environment for children to develop and grow. In the summer the children play in the garden with lots of soft play and water, they cook, dress up, sing and dance. I would have hourly updates on how my son was doing. If you are looking for a genuine home from home environment for your child, look no further as Diane's setting has it all. Diane is also a very relaxed person, something we really valued as parents in the upbringing of our son (and for when we had our stressful moments as parents) Our son adores Diane and we were genuinely really sad when he moved onto pre-school. Diane will always remain a family friend! Thank you Diane for everything!
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by
Carly87
on 17/10/2022
Response by
Popsicle
on 17/10/2022:
Thank you so much, lovely words that I appreciate and value immensely.
Diane looked after our son from 12 months to 3 years. She is a warm and friendly, fun and loving childminder who has a fantastic setting for the children in her beautiful, immaculate home. She does super activities, from arts and crafts, to baking, lots of dancing, reading and loads of outdoor play. She takes the children out regularly to the woods and other exciting places giving the children lots of variety whilst in her care. Meals are great and Diane is very accommodating to needs. We would highly recommend Diane!
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by
LJT
on 12/10/2022
Response by
Popsicle
on 12/10/2022:
Thank you so much for your kind words, and taking the time to leave your review. Thank you for choosing Popsicles as it was such a joy caring for your son. I wish you and your family well.
Kind regards
Diane.
Diane looked after our six year old son recently for us and she was wonderful. Diane is well set up in her setting, she provided me with daily updates, photos and videos. My son loved playing there and was always well occupied with activities or trips out. He was fed amazing healthy dinners with lots of fresh veggies, which was a big plus for my son. I would highly recommend Diane to anyone wanting a quality childminding setting.
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by
Rayb
on 19/08/2021
Response by
Popsicle
on 19/08/2021:
Thank you so much for your lovely review. It was my pleasure to care for your son, and I do hope to see you all in the wider community in the future.
Diane looked after my little girl for 2 years. Even though she only went one day a week, my little girl settled in extremely quickly and absolutely loved going there. Diane always has lots of activities planned, keeping the day fun and varied and educational too. My little girl especially loved the regular trips out to the park and the woods and would talk about her time at Diane's with enthusiasm. She finished here 2 weeks ago and is already missing Diane and asking when we can see her again!
I felt absolutely confident leaving my little one with Diane from the very beginning and would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a childcare provider, who will provide a loving, fun, educational setting for their little one(s).
Thank you Diane for being a part of my little girls learning journey.
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by
Cheryl
on 25/06/2019
Response by
Popsicle
on 10/12/2019:
Awww , i have just seen this Cheryl. Thank you so so much. It was al my pleasure and she is missed very much from the setting along with my chats with you and Craig.
Diane looked after my daughter for two years. She has created such a warm and friendly setting in which my daughter thrived. Diane takes great care to provide children with stimulating activities such as cooking and garden play. She continually updates her toy collection and invests lots of time and money into taking children on outings. I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending her as a childcare provider.
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by
Parent
on 11/10/2018
Response by
Popsicle
on 14/10/2018:
Thank you so much Lauren for such kind words.
Diane has looked after both my daughter and son over the last 3 years. Diane is such kind lady and always makes the children feel comfortable at her home. Diane always ensures that she does fun things with the kids such as trips to the park, woods, animal farms, soft play etc and also educational activities at home. I have received beautiful art work and hand made gifts over the years. I would recommend Diane to anyone. The children and I miss her dearly.
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by
Nikki
on 23/08/2018
Response by
Popsicle
on 23/08/2018:
So privileged that you entrusted your beautiful children into my care and home. How lovely that we shared such fun times together. Thank you for taking the time to write such kind things. I certainly miss you all.
Diane have been looking after my 3 y.o. daughter Ariana for more than 2 months now and I am very please with the service she provides. My daughter loves coming to Diane's and sometimes she even doesn't want to go home because she enjoys time spent with Diane's so much. Diane is very friendly, caring and reliable childminder where I know my daughter is safe is having lots of fun. Activities which Diane offers to children are not only entertaining but also educating. Her premises are always spotless clean and there is lots of toys and things to do for children, including a massive garden with outdoor toys. I would definitely recommend Diane as a childminder.
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by
Parent
on 19/07/2016
Response by
Popsicle
on 20/07/2016:
Thank you so much Julia, what a lovely review i am very touched xx
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