Lisa Marie Matthews's Reviews

Exceptional childminder and lovely person

Lisa has been looking after our son on a part time basis since January 2012 when I had to return back to work following maternity leave. I was extremely nervous about leaving him but I can honestly say that Lisa made the whole process of going back to work much easier that I thought it would be. We instantly liked Lisa when we met her and she stood out amongst the other childminders that we had been to see. After a few introductory sessions and a short time of him going to her house we felt totally relaxed about leaving him with her. Not only is she very professional, but you can also see that she has a genuine love of children and really cares about the children she looks after.

Lisa creates a warm and relaxed homely setting and you can see the evidence of all of the fun that the children have painting and drawing etc all around the house. Our son is always so happy when he is with her and quite often runs through the door without looking back to say goodbye as he’s so excited! Each day he comes home with a daily diary summarising what he has done, which is always a pleasure to read. His activities range from playing in the garden, messy play, singing, drawing, painting, baking, going to the library and so much more. We always receive handmade birthday/Christmas/mother’s/father’s day cards from him that he has made with Lisa and other drawings and paintings to put up on the fridge, which we absolutely love. He has also made great friends with the other children, including Lisa’s girls, which has been fantastic for his social development.

The food that Lisa provides is homemade and includes plenty of fruit and veg and snacks are also always healthy. Lisa is easy to talk to and listens to how you would like things to be done and follows your routines as much as possible. She has never let us down or had a day off (apart from pre-arranged holiday, which you are given plenty of notice about) and is always extremely flexible and willing to change plans to help if she can, sometimes at very short notice. When our son’s grandmother became very ill and couldn’t look after him on her weekly day for 3 months, Lisa went above and beyond the call of duty and rearranged things with the help of her assistant so she could look after him for us during this time.

Quite simply Lisa is a genuinely lovely person and an exceptional childminder. We regard Lisa and her family as a very important part of our son’s early years and she has undoubtedly played an invaluable part in his happiness and development. We can’t recommend her enough and are delighted that we found her!

• Overall

by Parent about Lisa Marie Matthews on 09/07/2013

Fantastic childminder

I met with a few childminders before Lisa, she was the only one who went through the formal paperwork (ie Health & Safety etc) and she gave me a pack with information about her policies.

I had originally been hesitant due to the fact they have a dog, however, you wouldn't really know they did. She keeps him away from the children and there are no toys or anything around the house.

Our son is very happy, he loves going there and most days doesn't want to come home!! Which we take as a very good sign :) She does a variety of activities with the children like baking, painting and singing. She has a nice garden with plenty of toys, and live very close to some fields which she takes them to to play and look at snails (which my son now loves!) and bugs.
There is a notice board up which shows what activities they are doing that week. She regularly meets up with other childminders, which is nice as they get to interact with other children. I like the fact that she has a folder with pictures of all the different toys (which she has a wide variety) she has and lets the children choose what they would like to play with.

Lisa has been very flexible as my dad was originally looking after my son 2 days a week but had to have hip replacement so whilst he was recovering she has had him full time, now that he is better dad is back to having him for 1 day a week. She has also been great on the odd occasion i have had to stay a bit late at work and given him dinner if necessary. We have been trying to potty train and Lisa has been great at helping with that.

We would highly recommend Lisa, she is very professional and friendly and has a lovely family. My son gets on very well with her two girls and all the other chlidren she looks after. She keeps a diary of what he has done during the day including when he had his nap and how much of his food he has eaten. She also keeps a learning folder, which shows how he is progressing.

• Overall

by Parent about Lisa Marie Matthews on 15/03/2013