Hello

My name is Charlotte. I am the proud owner of Little Legs Childminding. I am a qualified primary school teacher and a compassionate educator with considerable experience creating a classroom atmosphere which promotes inclusion, inspiration and captures children's imagination. Before my teaching career I qualified as a midwife and worked in a local NHS trust for a number of years.

I am now a mummy to my one year old daughter Autumn. She has been my driving force to embark on this exciting adventure of becoming a childminder. I want to welcome children to our loving family home and give them the best possible start in life.

I am dedicated to ensuring that the children in my care are in a safe and nurturing environment. I hold the following qualifications and training:  qualified teacher status, an enhanced DBS, paediatric first aid, safeguarding level 3, EYFS training, autism inclusion training and food hygiene.

“To assist a child we must provide him with an environment which will enable him to develop freely.” This quote fosters the philosophy behind my setting. My setting offers a home from home environment where the children are given opportunities to develop their independence, pick activities that revolve around their own interests and have the space to be creative and learn through play.

I utilise a Montessori approach here a Little Legs. During our day we enjoy open ended play where each child’s natural curiosity is sparked through practical life activities. Practical life activities include food preparation, gardening and caring for our environment. This allows children to lead their own learning and develop at their own pace. We enjoy lots of arts and crafts, baking, storytelling, and singing.

The children will be given lots of opportunities to explore our local community whether that be to the local park / woods, visiting the local fire station, museums, toddler playgroups and train / bus rides.

Outdoor exercise and activities feature in our daily routine and the children are encouraged to learn through risk taking play. The children have the opportunity to visit and take part in our local forest school as this provides an excellent opportunity to bring learning to life, allowing children to explore, investigate and learn in a constructive way. This type of education is known to increase self-confidence, self-esteem and improve individuals’ ability to work co-operatively. It gives children opportunities to take risks, make choices and initiate learning for themselves whilst discovering more about the natural environment.

The children will be encouraged to take part in daily phonics, literacy and mathematics to ensure that they are well prepared and ready for the time that they leave our setting to start school.

M setting has the children at the heart of everything we do, so I work with families to incorporate their home routines to ensure that the children have a smooth transition over to Little Legs.