Kitz
Childminder in Edinburgh (also available for babysitting)
Usually responds within 2 days
Female Member since Jan 2011 Last Updated Mar 2024 Last Login 03 Nov 2024
My Summary
About Me
I am a Social Care Social Work Improvement Scotland registered Childminder living in the Leith Links area of Edinburgh with my Husband, Daughter Ailsa and cocker spaniel called Elvis. Our eldest daughter Freya is 19 and studies up in Dundee though is often home for holidays. Last inspection 2016 Graded 5 - very Good with no recommendations to be carried out. Recently awarded The Certificate of Excellence by Childcare.co.uk. Both myself George and Freya have upto date pvg disclosure checks. I have been childminding now for over 13 years and my husband George has been working with me as an assistant since 2013. We enjoy an honest and open relationship with parents and work together with them nurturing and bringing out the best in their children through encouragement, enthusiasm and dedication. We provide a nurturing, happy and safe environment for all children under our care. It is an environment geared to learning through fun and giving children the opportunity to express themselves freely. Our care setting provides a Home from Home that is welcoming and a place that children feel happy coming to and where Parents/Carers are happy and confident in the knowledge that their child's welfare and happiness is paramount. To include parents in their child's day and let them know what they are doing we send whatsapp messages and pictures. Arts and crafts with paint, lentils, pasta shapes, salt dough decorations, seasonal pictures and home baking are often taken home by the children in our care.
All PVG disclosures and First Aid requirements are up to date as well as the care setting passing all fire safety regulations and having a carbon monoxide detector.
My Experience
I have been child minding for over 13 years
and have two Daughters aged nineteen and fourteen. I truly believe that there is no better experience than bringing up your own children to be happy and confident individuals. Parenting is a daily learning experience and we bring all we have learnt and what we are constantly learning to the children in our care. However it is also important to be continually looking at improving the service and keeping up to date with current practices and legislation. Please see courses completed below. We encourage creativity in all forms and arts and crafts plays an important part as does exercise, be it in the park or dance time in the house. Baking, reading and learning through fun also features in our day. We have a large variety of educational and fun toys which the children can choose each day as well as a large variety of books. We visit a wonderful Toddlers group on Tuesday at South Leith parish church and another wonderful toddler group on Wednesday and Thursday mornings at St Marys Star of the Sea. We believe that interaction with the other children is imperative as it helps to form valuable social skills and provides lots of fun. We visit the Links play Park, New Street play Park and the beach in Musselburgh, Victoria Park at Trinity, Lochend Park, and the Parks and Beach at Portobello.
I did volunteer work for a year under the auspices of the Church of Scotland when I was 19 years old in Nazareth, Israel and worked in the nursery there. Please feel free to get in touch if you would like to meet me and chat about the service I provide.
My Qualifications
Scottish Childminding Association Induction Course June 2010
Paediatric First Aid Course November 2010
Child Protection Course December 2010
North Edinburgh Mini Childcare taster course August 2010
Enhanced Disclosure September 2010
Childcare Diploma Level 3 - Passed with Distinction 2011
Social Care Social Work Improvement Scotland Grading 2011 - Very Good
Level 2 Award in Food Safety for catering and registered with Edinburgh Council Food Hygiene and Safety
Growing Awareness - Positive Parenting Course attended May/June 2012
Social Care Social Work Improvement Scotland Grading 2012 - Excellent/Excellent/Very Good
SCMA E learning courses Child Led Planning,Getting it right for every child, Child protection and Infection control and planning Completed June 2013
3 year refresher paediatric first aid course attended 22/09/13.
SCMA E learning course Developing children's self esteem completed February 2014
Food Standards Agency Online Allergen quiz completed October 2014
Promoting Positive Behaviour course October 2015
Data Protection Course October 2015
Child Neglect Course December 2015
Equality and Diversity course January 2016
Food Standards Agency Level 2 - Completed to refresh and up date knowledge if necessary - April 2016
Edinburgh council Food hygiene and safety inspection April 2016
Effective 1st Aid course November 2016
Essential 1st Aid course November 2016
Partnership with parents course November 2016
Understanding children's Rights November 2016
Observing children course January 2017
Outdoor Play course February 2017
Course on ADHD and the autism spectrum June 2017
Refresher paediatric first aid course attended by myself and George 18/03/18
Child protection Level 2 course Completed February 2019
Child development A childminders role course completed February 2019
Speech, Language and communication course completed February 2020
Supporting Early Language Development course completed February 2020
Promoting positive behaviour course completed February 2020
Child Protection refresher course completed February 2020
Understanding children's rights course completed February 2020
Understanding Anaphylaxis April 2021
Infection/Prevention control June 2021
Learning through play June 2021
Understanding and Addressing behaviour in Early Years Course completed April 2022
Autism awareness course completed May 2022
Paediatric First Aid course completed May 2022
Effective Transition and Emotional wellbeing course completed December 2022
My Availability
We are available Monday to Thursday 08.00am until 17.00pm
Registered for 4 children under 5 and 2 children over 5.
Please feel free to get in touch and query availability if you are interested in meeting up.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before School | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| Morning | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| Afternoon | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | 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: 27/03/2024 | |||||||
My Fees
- Childminding from £6.50 per hour
- Babysitting from £10.00 per hour
£6.50 an hour which includes all healthy snacks,drinks and admission to toddler groups and play areas.
My Local Schools
- I provide drop offs at St Mary's RC Primary School (Edinburgh)
My Documents
- PVG Check (added 06/07/2021)
- Care Inspectorate Certificate (added 27/02/2017)
Reviews
Below are the latest reviews for Kitz. 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.
Kristen and George have been taking care of my 13 month old son for a few weeks now. They are incredibly patient and friendly. They are more than just childminders , they provide a family atmosphere. My son always comes home smiling, never bored, learning new skills. There are constant updates about the activities during the day with photos. When I met them it was clear Kristen And George loves being around children and they love being around them too. If you are looking for responsible people who love their job and put their whole heart into it, Kristen and George are just that! Highly recommended!
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Our little girl is 19 months and she has been with Kirsten and George for over 6 months now. They provide a welcoming and homely environment to the kids they care for and we couldn't be happier to have found them. Our daughter gets to go to parks, great toddler groups where she made friends, do baking and arts & crafts with Kirsten, listen to music and stories when they stay in. On occasion Kirsten & George's daughters also sing, play and read together with kids.
We get regular WhatsApp messages throughout the day about their routine and what they are up to and it greatly cheers me up while at work.
Kirsten and George have got lots of experience plus they have a lovely manner with kids and we were won over from the first visit. Their home is a safe and cosy place for kids to be, and our little girl loves going there and her wee pals.
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I am very glad we chose them, they have been extremely patient with my son that has problems with sleep. They are really sweet and caring, my son was not used to other adults aside from my husband and I, and now completely forgets about us the minute the door opens.
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Our wee one was with Kirsten & George for nearly two years, and I couldn't speak highly enough of them and their genuine care for our child. We had been keen to find a 'home from home' setting for him and it absolutely felt like that for us. It felt reassuring that while we were at work, our wee one was going to the park, doing crafts, going to play groups, having a fun day too, as if he was with family. We got lots of updates throughout the day and communication was always great. Our wee one misses them - we miss them!
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Since the first day I contacted Kirsten and George I knew they were the ones for us. They put so much time and effort settling our little girl into their home (she did not make it easy on them) but as the week went on she got to know and love them to a point of closing the door on me in the morning so she could start her day without delay. We get updates during the day so we are still very much so involved in our daughters life even when we have to be at work. We haven’t availed of the babysitting service as of yet, but we plan to in the coming weeks. This just takes additional pressure off of us, trying to research other people for our daughter to get to know and that we feel comfortable enough leaving her with.
Kirsten and George had my nephew before they had my daughter, and I hope that they have my son when he’s ready to go.
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