Vera

Excellent childminder

Vera provides an excellent service; she’s always professional and so patient and kind with the children. My daughter has really loved her time at Vera’s house and looked forward to it all week; she loved all the playing, learning through play, going out and about with her friends and of course eating her wonderful home cooked food! She really cares for them, guiding and teaching the children about socialising as well as basic numeracy and literacy. She’s also goof at keeping in touch and sending photos of the day. My daughter will really miss going to Vera’s and has made some great friends through her. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her for preschool care.

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by Naomi on 27/07/2021

So thankful to have Vera in our kid’s life

Vera is an amazing lady and we were very lucky to find her when our daughter was 15 months old. She is now 4.5, has been going to Vera since and loves every minute of her time there. She absolutely enjoys the time she spends with Vera and her little friends. It really is a home from home for our child.

Vera is totally hands on, the children go to the park, make art and craft, role play, enjoy picnics, trips to local groups, swimming lessons etc. She also home cooks all meals and her food is amazing.

The thing that sets Vera apart for me is her passion and dedication for what she does- caring for children, treating them as one big family, helping them thrive in an inspiring, fun, creative, nurturing and safe environment. She also goes the extra mile to adapt to different needs and interests of the children’s she is caring for.

We truly see Vera as a part of our family and not having any family near by us it is a real blessing. We are so grateful to have her in our life.

Thank you Vera for all you do. We cannot recommend you highly enough!

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by Anna on 23/07/2021

Amazing childminder

Vera has looked after our 4 year old daughter so well. She is kind, warm-hearted and dependable. She creates a lovely environment in her home and all of the children she looks after are well-behaved and have such fun together. Our daughter has been very stimulated by the wide range of activities Vera organises for her. This includes drawing and colouring, basic writing and numeracy, arts and crafts, playdates with her wide network of friends, playgroups, playgrounds, picnics in the park, etc. Our daughter has always loved going to her house from the very first day. We can not recommend Vera strongly enough, she is such a lovely person to have in your child's life.

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by Jerry on 22/07/2021

Fantastic Childminder!

Vera is the best childminder we have used and know. She is very caring, reliable, has a big warm heart, cooks very nice food from fresh ingredients (in particular super yummy Home-made Italian food!), full of creative activities, taking kids to play areas whenever possible so they can explore the outside world, letting kids play with other children so they can learn how to socialise and, most importantly, she can calmly teach and explain to children what is right and what is wrong with a reasonable explanation so kids can learn how to behave and socialise with others.

My daughter comes home with a big smile every day and tells us how much fun she had at Vera’s with arts and crafts. They often tell us very proudly the techniques they have learnt and explain how she enjoyed making it. Really useful for Show and Tell classes when they get older. We were sometimes amazed at the knowledge they got from Vera and really appreciate how much care and effort Vera made for her every day.

Vera is always welcoming and open to talk to if anything happens during the day and I felt we are the part of the big family rather than just talking to a childminder. She even organised my daughter’s online birthday party with friends during lockdown which she loved so much! Vera tells me if she has any concern with my daughter’s behaviour and we discuss together what kind of approach we need to take at home and at Vera’s to improve it.

If you want your child to be with someone who will properly look after them with big love and home-made yummy food and come back home with big smiles with lots of fun stories to tell during the day, Vera is the one I strongly recommend.

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by TW1 Mum on 10/09/2020

Excellent childminder for all ages

My daughter has been with Vera since she was 1 (she is now 4), every school day, and has always been extremely well cared for and happy with her. Vera provides a caring, nurturing and educational environment - along with outstanding home cooking! She is everything we would have wished for in a childminder and our daughter absolutely adores her. Vera has a close network within St Margarets and provides the children she cares for with a wonderful mix of playgroups, park outings, play sessions at her or close friends' houses and quiet days crafting/cooking at home. Through Vera, my daughter is part of a very close group of little friends and their carers - we all feel part of a big family, which is wonderful. Her home is warm and inviting and children have access to lots of different types of play. Vera is innately interested in children's education and development and this shines through in the activities the children take part in. I will never forget the clever mobile she made with my daughter where she taught her to balance the attached weights of sticks and stones, which they had found together on a park walk, by moving their relative positions. She has a deep understanding of what children need - she builds the day's activities around what the child/children need and encourages good behaviour with positive modelling, with kindness to each other at the heart of her approach. On a practical level, Vera is very flexible and will do her best to help out when needed - in the recent lockdown, she was incredible supportive and dropped off activities and ran zoom meetings for us all (even hosting a birthday party!). All in all, Vera is a fantastic childminder and we feel very lucky that she has been such a big part of our daughter's life.

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by StMarg on 03/09/2020

Fantastic childminder, is like part of our family

My son Arthur has been going to Vera since he was six months old, and I had to go back to work. I was very nervous leaving him at that age, but Vera proved to be an ideal carer; exceptionally competent and caring. She is like part of our family now, and Arthur loves going to her house everyday. He is nearly two now, and puts himself in the pushchair ready to go before we are in the morning! The environment at Vera's is very nurturing; lots of different toys, a huge light-filled space to play in, and a strong community with other children and their carers dropping in for arranged play-dates. She takes the kids out almost every day to parks, Kew Gardens and playgroups so they have plenty of stimulation and contact with other children. Arthur has always slept and eaten well at Vera's, and is thriving there. I have also seen the structured play she does with the older children to help them learn, which is fantastic. I can't recommend her enough, and am very happy to give a reference over the phone to any parents considering using her.

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by Parent on 16/11/2016

Vera has cared for my children (aged 4 and 51/2)

I cannot speak highly enough of Vera. My children absolutely adore her. I felt comfortable at her home and around her the moment I met her. I have never looked back or sought alternative childcare arrangements. I work full time and my hours are subject to last minute changes. She has been flexible and understanding. She has never once let me down. She is extremely kind and clever. Her care has, without doubt, benefitted both of my kids. She makes them feel utterly safe and secure in my absence and has taught them things in a way that I would not have had the imagination (or energy) to do.

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by Parent on 15/09/2016