Sarah O
Childminder in Reading
Usually responds within 30 minutes
Female Member since May 2018 Last Updated Jan 2025 Last Login 25 Jan 2025
My Summary
Spaces Available For All Year Round Care. Tuesday To Friday 7.30Am To 6Pm.
About Me
Tuesday to Friday - 7.30am to 6pm.
Experienced Childminder who was rated good with two areas of outstanding on my last inspection.
I’m a childminder located near Palmer Park who is committed to delivering a high quality service to all the children in my care.
As well as being a mother to my 10 year old son I have also worked in a school for over 6 years and childminding for another 6 year. I have numerous qualifications relating to children and their development and wish to continue developing my skills.
I have a great understanding of SEN and SEMH.
I offer a flexible service to assist parents with their work and I accept all funding and tax free schemes.
Children have full access to my garden and the downstairs of my home which has been adapted for my business. I am a creative person and children will have opportunities to explore their artistic side and use various mediums. Children get the experience of looking after my 3 guinea pigs and learn about keeping them healthy which helps them learn how to keep themselves
healthy.
My home is located on the 17 bus route so is easily accessible to Reading Town Centre. It's also a short walk from two parks, a lake and some woods as well as Alfred Sutton Primary School.
I also believe children need to be around other children to help them gain social skills which are crucial for their social and emotional development. Therefore I will take children to other settings and groups to help them socialise.
My son is attending Alfred Sutton Primary School and I am offering wrap-around care to children who also attend.
I also offer holiday care where I will make these times as fun and varied as possible and will be arranging trips.
My Experience
As well as being a mother to my 10 year old son I have also worked in a school for over 6 years. In total over 12 years working with children. During my time at the school I was the Health and Safety Officer for the site I worked on, therefore I have an extensive knowledge and experiance on this subject. I was also the first aider and have lots of experiance adminstering first aid to both children and adults.
I have qualifications in food and nutrition and am passionate about the importance of children eating a healthy and varied diet. I will give opportunities to grow, cook and eat these foods. I believe this is crucial to combat fussy eaters.
My Qualifications
I have numerous qualifications relating to children and their development and wish to continue developing my skills. These courses include CACHE Level 3 in Homebased Childcare, Schemas, Delivering the Early Years Framework, Expectations of Behaviour, Planning in the Moment and Supporting Emotional Development.
During my time at the school I gained numerous qualifications in Health and Safety as I was the officer there. These include H&S Level 3 for Managers, Fire Warden and Fire Awareness.
I also have qualifications in food and nutrition so will be providing home cooked nutritious meals. As this is a passion of mine, I will be growing food and teaching children to cook as I believe these skills are essential for them to grow up healthy and meet their full potential.
My Availability
I currently have spaces for an Early years, drop off and school collections for Alfred Sutton Primary School and school holidays.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before School | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| Morning | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| Afternoon | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| After School | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| Evening | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Overnight | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Last Updated: 09/01/2025 | |||||||
My Fees
- Childminding from £6.25 per hour
My charges will include any costs associated like food and baby wipes etc. Nappies will need to be supplied by yourselves. I will offer trips and activities with no extra charges, with the exception of any bigger prearranged and agreed trips.
Early Years - £6.25 per hour
School drop off and collections - £6.50 per hour (no retainer fee paid during holidays)
My Local Schools
- I provide drop offs and pick ups at Alfred Sutton Primary School
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
- Ofsted Certificate (added 17/08/2024)
- First Aid Certificate: 1st Aid Certificate (added 03/05/2024)
- DBS Check (added 14/08/2022)
Reviews
5 out of 5
Latest reviews
Below are the latest reviews for Sarah O. 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.
I’m delighted to share my heartfelt appreciation for the exceptional care provided by Sarah, my son's childminder since 2022.
During this time Sarah's dedication, compassion, expertise and supportive approach have created a nurturing environment where my child feels safe, happy, and valued. Her patience, kindness, and encouragement have helped him blossom into a confident and well-adjusted child that eagerly explored new interests and acquired essential skills that laid a solid foundation for his future education.
Sarah's commitment to my son's growth and development extended beyond basic care. She tailored activities and experiences to stimulate his curiosity, encourage his creativity, and promote his cognitive and physical development. Her guidance helped him navigate challenges and develop positive behavior and social skills.
Moreover, Sarah's dedication to preparing my child for preschool was truly commendable. She implemented structured routines and educational activities that ensured a smooth transition for him. Her thoughtful approach, coupled with her unwavering support and encouragement, instilled confidence in my son.
In addition to her exceptional caregiving skills, Sarah's professionalism and reliability were evident in every interaction. She maintained clear and open communication, providing regular updates on my son's progress and milestones.
In summary, Sarah's impact on my child’s life has been immeasurable. She not only provided him with a safe and nurturing environment but also enriched his early years with love, support, and valuable learning experiences.
I cannot speak highly enough of Sarah, and I will be forever grateful to her for all dedication and commitment and positive impact she’s had on my child. I couldn’t be happier with the care she’s provided.
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Dominika
on 14/03/2024
super-professional staff, ongoing communication with the parent, and always being at the forefront of providing the best quality care. I feel so relieved to know that my son is in the best childcare setting.
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Ramya
on 19/11/2022
Our 2 3/4 year old son has thrived under Sarah's care since joining her at 11 months old. Despite the restrictions of Covid-19, he has developed socially, personally and academically under Sarah's care and absolutely loves his time in her setting; he's often very upset to see me when I come to pick him up! He settled really quickly and thoroughly enjoys the excellent range of activities Sarah puts on; she always seems to be able to adapt the activities to focus in on his interests while also using her extensive knowledge of child development to ensure he's making progress while having fun. Her setting is clean and engaging and Sarah is clearly invested in our son as she goes above and beyond to support him, regularly suggesting activities or lending us books in which he has shown interest. She also keeps us up-to-date with regular photos and explanations of the tasks he is doing and how this exemplifies the skills he is working on which is lovely to see. We will definitely be sending number two to her as well!
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Jake
on 27/03/2022
Sarah is a hardworking and patient lady. I met Sarah when my son was around 10 months.
We had a previous childminder before Sarah that told me that my son was too needy and clingy and needed to be independent at his age. So we had to stop using her services.
This was when I met Sarah, I explained my situation and she told me it was normal for a baby at that age to always want to around an adult.
She assured me that my son was going to adjust in time. I decided to go for her and every time I picked up my son, he was happy compared to when he was with the last lady looking after him.
Sarah also have a wonderful son; Toby saw my son as a little brother. Damisi was always happy around Toby. Toby is a also calm, respectful and descent boy.
This lady is a God’s gift to my son and I. And you will not regret having her as a childminder.
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Damilola
on 03/07/2020
Sarah has been looking after my 2 year old son and 5 year old daughter since April 2019. Both children absolutely adore her and her setting. They walk in happy and never want to leave at the end of the day! Both have thrived in her care. Sarah provides a range of fun and exciting experiences for them; she has gotten to know them very well and thinks carefully about their development and needs within the eyfs framework.
Sarah is reliable and flexible and always provides thorough handovers.
We are really happy to have found Sarah and grateful for the exceptional care that she provides.
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emily f
on 06/06/2020
My girls are with Sarah just for wrap around care. She provides a warm, homely setting with good home cooked meals and plenty to keep them busy. My girls have found a new friend in her son and are excited to go to Sarah. If my kids were younger I’d happily leave them with her all day and know they were well cared for
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ldare102
on 30/04/2019
Sarah took over the daytime
Childcare of my son in January when he was 17 months old, his previous childminder had him from 6 weeks old. I had no worries at all about him resettling in as Sarah has made the whole process very easy. Since then I have seen Enzo develop at a faster rate than before. She treats the children like her own, lovely healthy home cooked meals are provided, her home is clean and well equipped with age appropriate toys inside and out, they are taken out regularly to the park and weekly rhyme time in fact fresh air and activities are actively encouraged. Excellent communication regarding child’s progress and support if any issues arise. Enzo looks forward to going and I am confident that Enzo is being cared for to the highest standard whilst I’m at work which gives me peace of mind.
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Emma
on 27/04/2019
Sarah was professional and responsive from the beginning, and she was very easy to message, very easy to understand. I sent my son to her for a single day of emergency childcare, but if I needed full time care I'd certainly look to have him with Sarah again. He couldn't stop talking about her all the way home!
Thanks!
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Bethan
on 07/12/2018
When looking for someone to look after my youngest daughter when I returned to work after maternity, the most important thing for me was that I trusted them. Luckily, I knew Sarah after working with her for a number of years, so I knew that my little girl would be very well looked after. Sarah is passionate about providing those she cares for with a high quality experence and my little girl is really happy there. Sarah provides play experiences for her that are personalised to what my daughters enjoying doing and she is introducing her to other experiences also.
As a working mum it is always difficult leaving my children and that dreaded Mum guilt is lessened slightly knowing that my little one is having great opportunities.
I cant recommend Sarah enough, I believe that she treats the children in her care as if they were her own. If something isn't good enough for her own child, it wont be good enough for ours.
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Rebecca
on 11/10/2018
Our daughter came to Sarah over the summer period, due to myself and my wife both working full time. We chose to use Sarah as she was very professional and had great ideas on things to do with our daughter over the summer period.
Our daughter was four at the time she came to Sarah and was in the process of moving from Pre-School to Reception at her new primary school. Sarah was very happy to help with trying to get her ready for the new school year ahead.
Sarah had great plans on things to make sure that she covered with our daughter which would be useful to her, as well as aid us as parents.
When we first approached Sarah, we informed her that our daughter had ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) this didn’t phase Sarah in the slightest and Sarah saw it as a way of her being able to broaden her understanding of children with special needs should she ever look after a child with these needs again.
Sarah asked lots of questions about things that help and also things that would trigger a meltdown with our daughter, this was a good building block for Sarah and what to do with our daughter over the summer period.
Our daughter always had a well-structured day with Sarah varying between playing and learning, Sarah made sure that she always made learning fun for our daughter. Our daughter always left Sarah’s house with a massive smile on her face and always saying that she had such a good day and that she was happy.
We cannot recommend Sarah enough.
Kind regards,
Mr & Mrs Gunston
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Parent
on 27/09/2018
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