We really wanted our son to go to a childcare setting that felt like home from home. Somewhere safe, stimulating and warm. We were heartened by the reviews of Honey Bunch and as soon as we met Filsane at her home, we knew that she genuinely loved looking after little ones and that it was more than just a job to her.

I thought it would be impossible to return to work and leave my son with anyone other than family but all I could do was go with my gut instinct and my mother's instinct and I felt safe in the knowledge that my son would be in that happy, caring environment. Knowing how anxious I was about having to leave him for the first time, Filsane sent me videos of my son enjoying his time there to reassure me which further showed that, as a mother, she understood the natural anxieties around leaving your child for the first time.

For the first few weeks and months my son was very needy and after attaching himself to Filsane shadowed her around the house and didn't leave her side. She was super patient with this and kept encouraging and reassuring us that it was normal and would improve and eventually over time as his confidence grew he settled in. It filled me with such happiness to hear him talk excitedly about his day and also mention the other carers, particularly Muna, who he has become very fond of and Adrian, Filsane's husband, who is equally warm, kind, positive and incredibly supportive of our son. To be honest I would not have previously thought I would feel so comfortable having a male carer in the mix but Adrian is a real asset to their team. Their bright, kind, sociable daughters are also testament to the love they have in the house for each other and you genuinely feel as if your child is an extended member of their family.

Something I really like about the Honeybunch setting is that Filsane is passionate about structured learning and creative play and follows the EYFS framework. The staples of counting, seasons, days of the week, months, alphabet etc are all instilled and every 6 months you have a developmental review where you sit down and go through the progress of your child. But in addition to this, Filsane goes that extra mile with themed months, fun excursions to the theatre, firestation or farm. At the most simple level, they will have splash time in the paddling pool in their garden during the hotter summer months and fortnightly trips to the local playgroup. During the Olympics Filsane created a mini olympics circuit in her back garden for the children to compete and win medals. They had so much fun. That extra passion and attention to detail is appreciated and their daily activities are captured in a online diary which is so useful to see and helps you reconnect with your child when you have had a long day at work.

It's also reassuring to know that your child is receiving hot cooked meals every day. We are appreciative to Filsane and her team for looking after our son over the past 20 months. He talks about Filsane, her team and his little friends with such fondness and has clearly loved his time there. They have given him the nurtured start we wanted and have also been very open to collaborative approach to caring for our son, taking our points, suggestions, concerns and anxieties on board and being generous, positive and accommodating all the way.

We would have no hesitation in recommending Honeybunch childcarers and feel lucky that we found them.