Hi everyone,
We’re looking for a childminder for our daughter, who will be around 9 months old when we’re looking to start childcare. We live in Bosham (village on South Coast), so ideally we’re looking for someone in Bosham or the surrounding Chichester area.
We’ve visited a few nurseries and childminders, but we’re finding it hard to know whether to go ahead with the childminders we’ve seen. We don’t know anyone locally who can recommend them personally, so it’s difficult to get a feel for whether they’re the right people to trust with our baby.
Our main priorities are that she is safe, well cared for and with people we really trust, and that she gets lots of time outside and exploring, rather than being indoors all day.
So we’d really love to hear from anyone who has used a childminder around Bosham/Chichester and would be happy to recommend them (or share experiences of ones to avoid!).
We’d also really appreciate any tips on how you actually assess whether a childminder is trustworthy. Obviously we look at Ofsted reports and qualifications, but we know that an inspection can’t necessarily tell you everything.
For anyone who has been through the same process:
- How did you decide who you felt comfortable leaving your baby with?
- Were there particular questions you asked or things you looked out for?
- How did you get beyond the Ofsted report to work out whether someone was genuinely safe, caring and trustworthy?
- And what made you realise that a particular childminder was the one?
Any recommendations, tips or shared experiences would be hugely appreciated. Thank you so much in advance! x