References for my childminder

[Lola10]

I had to terminate a contract with my childminder, because my redundancy. I gave her a letter saying that if she need I can give her a references. So yesterday she asked me if I could give her written one.

The problem is I have never written any references for anyone. Could you please suggest something?

Many thanks

Just write a nice letter about her

"X looked after my 2 kids from June - Oct. During that time

• She was always kind, caring and loving towards the kids....

• She looked after them very well

• Always punctual....

• Showed initiative.....

"I was very pleased with X and can highly recommend her as a childminder for your child."

That kind of thing.

Just one page that would make you feel OK about hiring her.....

Thank you for that

Mention things that impressed you which are a bit different to the usual. Perhaps they went on a trip somewhere, perhaps they helped you out in some way.

Consider what sort of questions a new parent might be having about leaving a child in the care of someone else for the first time ... what can you say to help reassure them this person is great with children?

This is the one I wrote for my childminder recently - it was adapted for the letter I wrote for her for her ofsted so may be a bit more formal than you are looking for

My son, has been with x since he was 6 months old and my younger son since he was 9 months ? nearly 5 years in total. In my opinion she is an excellent childminder. This is both in terms of how happy my children are and how well he has developed and also in comparison with other child care ? other childminders, nurseries etc I am aware of.
She is very experienced, has a natural talent and empathy with children and has put a great deal of effort into developing her skills with a wide range of training courses.
She is very good at noticing which toys and activities he enjoys and lets me know
She is very observant about his development and good at keeping me informed.
We have a similar approach to discipline and discuss any issues that have arisen.
She also provided a very healthy environment
Examples are:
? The high standard of cooking and range of foods ? especially fruit and veg
? The amount of outdoor exercise he gets both outside her house and walking to school etc.

We are very sad to be leaving due to re-location else where in the country.

Thank you for that, massive help.
It looks like you really liked your childminder.

My references are on my website if it helps to get an idea of what they said. Here's a link

Didn't work, try THIS link

Looneytune - i love your website! You have inspired me to do one of my own...or even better I might have another baby and give it to you...absolutely fantastic!! xx

LOL, thanks, pleased you like it :) x