I’ve been trying to write a review for Andrea for months now. But every time I began to write, I kept having the same problem: I just couldn’t write something that was good enough to *really* explain that Andrea is the best childminder we could have hoped for.

Like lots of parents, it was really hard for me to find someone I would feel confident leaving my daughter with. I originally started a search for a childminder months earlier - and then I gave up, because I just wasn’t in the right place to leave my child with someone I didn’t know well. But my daughter needed more varied activities than I was able to provide for her, so I resumed my search - and then, when I met Andrea, I knew within a few minutes that she was The One. She has a beautifully calm and engaging manner, and clearly loves her work. Early years care and education aren’t just “work” for Andrea, they’re her *profession*. She has an enormous amount of skill and expertise in early years child development, and she combines that with an incredible talent and aptitude for understanding very young children and their families.

She’s highly intuitive, and works out what the child and parents need to make them feel comfortable and supported during the transition into childcare.

Andrea and her partner Rui work brilliantly as a team for the children. They build proper rapport with each individual child in their care. They get to know each child’s personalities and preferences, and each child’s individual ways of communicating. They help build the children’s confidence in the group, teaching them how to play together as well as independently. Andrea is flexible in her approaches, and there’s no unnecessary rigidity; any rules are necessary, clear and consistent, and they’re maintained with kindness and patience. The children’s emotional and social development is given just as much importance as learning letters, numbers, practical skills, and all those things. The most important thing is that learning is a really happy pastime for Andrea’s children.

The range of activities the children get to do is terrific. There’s so much learning through play! … messy and creative play, interactive and educational toys, sand, science, and more. They do lots of music, dance and song too. The children spend lots of outdoor time in the lovely garden, which is packed with activities including a water table with fountain, easels, wendy house, ride-on vehicles, and much more - including seasonal plant growing from seed. They get to bake cakes for birthdays, and Andrea throws the loveliest parties for the children. And she even teaches the children Spanish!

Show-and-tell gives each child the opportunity to bring something from home to show the other children, which is a lovely way to not only boost their confidence, but also help them learn to share their favourite items with others.

Rui oversees the children’s dedicated time for exercise, like physical activity (and little age-appropriate obstacle courses!), stretching, and relaxation. This has been especially brilliant for my daughter - she’s developed great motor skills, strength and balance. And the physical education aspect has helped her develop some helpful insight into how to be in tune with her body and how it feels.

Andrea and Rui also get to know each family and find out what the parents’ needs are too. The communication from them is excellent, and they provide parents with guidance and advice on things specific to their child if they think it’s useful/needed. At the end of each day, we’re sent a written activity log along with lovely photos of our children participating in the daily activities.

What Andrea does for her children, in the time they have with her, is to provide them with some solid foundations for the rest of their lives. I’m just a mum, not an expert in early childhood: I would simply never have been able to support my daughter’s early development the way Andrea has done. I would have done my best, don’t get me wrong - but I don’t have the in-depth knowledge and understanding about early childhood learning - never mind the incredible skill and talent! - to give my daughter what Andrea has given her. She’s truly amazing.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve had to deal with a lot of stuff, and during this time, the *only* thing I haven’t had to worry about is my daughter being happy and well cared for.

As I prepare for my daughter to start at a school nursery class in September, I’ve been reflecting - a lot - on how incredibly lucky we’ve been, that she was able to have this time with Andrea. I wish that every child could have access to early years care of such a brilliantly high standard - and provided with such love and warmth - as Andrea gives her children. It’s its own sort of magic, and will stay with us forever.

I’ve tried my best in this review, but I still don’t feel like I’ve managed to explain *exactly* how great our experience has been … and I’m not sure I ever really could. But, if your child is lucky enough to have Andrea as childminder, then I think one day you’ll understand.

We will miss her so much.

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