Lee Baker Childminding Service

I am a registered childminder having started my business following the birth of my second son, Jonah. My sons and I live together in Broad Oak Way with my partner of 16 years Dean and our cat Harry.
Ollie (a caring, chatty, inquisitive little boy, currently obsessed with vehicles of any kind!) is three and Jonah (energetic, a real thinker who seems to think he doesn’t need to sleep!), is one. Dean works as a driver for Lakes Bathrooms.
We’ve lived in Cheltenham for 8 years following a move from our home town in Cornwall. We moved because I had found a teaching job here but soon fell in love with Cheltenham; it didn’t take long for it to feel like home so we bought our house in Broad Oak Way in July 2010 and haven’t looked back since.
I am passionate about providing children with a homely environment; I believe children spend so much of their childhoods in classrooms and want to provide the children in my care, whether they are babies, toddlers or ‘after-schoolers’ with a home-from-home experience. I pride myself on having a safe, clean and smoke-free home. Our three bedroom house is crammed with an ever-growing collection of books, toys, technology and equipment to engage and inspire! We have an enclosed back garden with a wooden playhouse, sandpit and various outside toys; each summer the children plant and care for their own flowers and vegetables.
I feel it is incredibly important for children to spend time playing outside every day whatever the weather. We are lucky enough to live a stone’s throw from Caernarvon Park and walking distance from the Hatherley, Warden Hill and Greatfield Parks. We walk back from school and often stop in the park on our way through. I also plan regular physical activities and games to help keep the children healthy such as mini-athletics, football, nature walks, stuck in the mud, hide and seek…

Prior to having Jonah, I spent eight years working as an English teacher at Churchdown School Academy, a profession I loved yet felt was no longer compatible with my young family. Over my years as a classroom teacher, I have developed many skills transferable to childminding including communicating with young people, understanding and working with learning and behavioural difficulties and most importantly focusing on the development of children as individuals with their own unique strengths and weaknesses. As such, I plan to provide a home environment where your child can enjoy learning and will develop a wide range of skills for their future.
As an English teacher, I have a real passion for reading and feel that opening a book opens a doorway into another world beyond that of the child’s everyday experiences. I encourage children to take part in reading activities such as the Summer Reading Challenge, the Kate Greenaway Medal and visit the local library on occasion. Children can be inspired by films too and although the TV is rarely on in our house, we do have the occasional movie afternoon with fun, age-appropriate films.

Equally important to me is fostering creativity. Children in my setting will be encouraged to get their hands dirty with paint, glue, clay, sand, play dough, tissue paper, glitter…through frequently planned (and sometimes spontaneous!) crafting activities. Pretend, make-believe, roleplay, dressing up are all a daily, if not hourly, occurrence in our house too!