Little Ferns's Reviews

outstanding in every way!

Michelle has been a God send during the pandemic for our little boy. He was a very anxious 18 month old when we first took him to little ferns (and we were too) but she settled us all in perfectly with such a gentle and understanding manner.
I really can’t recommend her enough for what she has done for our boy. He has become so experienced and now shows such confidence in himself. He has learnt so many new skills thanks to her making him feel like part of the family, with her equally accommodating and gentle older boys -who he adores!
We love the daily photos of the wonderful nature trips and activities she provides, it is well worth the money twice over.

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by Sam about Little Ferns on 04/08/2021

Fantastic childminder, loves working with children

Michelle has been childminding my son Bodhi since September 2018 when he was 14 months old. In this time Michelle has built a brilliant relationship with Bodhi and has helped improve his confidence. Before this Bodhi was very clingy to me and his dad and would sob if he was left with others however he has been happy to be left with Michelle from the beginning and he’s now more confident with family and friends in general. Being with Michelle has also helped Bodhi interact more effectively with other children, previously he was nervous and didn’t interact or play with other children where as now he loves being around other children and quite happily plays with them rather than alongside them.

Michelle is very patient with Bodhi while encouraging him to try more foods as he typically likes to eat the same foods. During this time Bodhi has rejected a lot of foods in the first instance but Michelle has persisted, and he now eats a wide variety of foods.

Whilst Bodhi is in Michelle’s care they do a variety of indoor and outdoor activities, they go to nature reserves, parks, woodland areas, local museums and on days where the weather is to hot or to cold they do indoor activities such as yoga, reading books, bingo, drawing etc.

Michelle is very good at keeping me updated with Bodhi progress, she updates the Baby Days app daily with his toilet movements and sleep times as well as photo’s and learning and development, new skills etc. Each day when I collect Bodhi she lets me know what they’ve been up to, new words Bodhi has said, how he has eaten and his overall mood.

I have been very lucky to find Michelle as she has such a great bond with Bodhi, he genuinely looks forward to being dropped off in the mornings.

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by Toni about Little Ferns on 13/06/2019

Outstanding Care

I have been incredibly fortunate to find a childminder as capable, dedicated and selfless as Michelle. She exudes energy and evidently loves working with children. My youngest daughter has benefited from daily interaction with Michelle since she was just 6 months old - but has now started school. Obviously returning to work after maternity leave was something I dreaded, yet Michelle made the transition as pain-free as possible. Her home is a friendly, warm and welcoming environment, and Michelle is meticulous in her organisation and management, ensuring cleanliness, healthiness and indeed safety. It is a wonderful privilege to know that my baby has been in such a caring and loving environment that is conducive to her development and socialisation.

There are never any tears at morning drop-off; to the contrary my daughter runs straight towards the toys and dressing-up items, immediately interacting with the other children and forgetting to kiss me goodbye! This is reflective of how comfortable she feels in Michelle's home, and I am delighted that my baby is enchanted by her surroundings. How could she not be? There is a wide variety of toys and books, a beautiful garden outside (weather permitting!), and Michelle always plans fun activities that encourage growth, both educationally and socially.

The social aspect has been crucial to my daughter's development - it has been brilliant to see her mix with other children, and Michelle has taught her how to share properly, how to adopt the fundamentals of etiquette such as table manners, and also how to function happily in group settings. She is a particular fan of the more creative activities (especially if she can make a mess!), and Michelle is always switched on to special dates in the family calendar, regularly sending my daughter home with lovely cards and art work for the fridge.
Michelle also provides a daily summary of my daughter's nappy changes, meals, sleep patterns, and general activities. This allows me to plan our evenings more succinctly, and I always find it very helpful that Michelle works in tandem so naturally with parents.

Michelle is an absolute delight to work with, and I can genuinely surmise that there is no one else I would rather have had looking after my child.

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by Parent about Little Ferns on 12/04/2014