‘Outstanding’ childminders proud to offer ‘home from home’ environment for two-and-a-half decades

MP Childcare, located in Holcot, was established by Michael and Miranda Parry back in January 2000.

Michael stood down to become an assistant when his daughter Bethany Bennett trained and registered as a childminder in 2017 – and she stepped up to lead the business with her mother Miranda from then.

MP Childcare launched at a time when Michael and Miranda had two young children and they had recently moved to a new area. This enabled them to be at home with their children and extend their care to others with a new home from home environment.

Having grown up with her parents running a business as successful childminders, Bethany says the children felt like “extended siblings” and this inspired her to take up the career for herself.

Bethany was registered as an assistant to the business to begin with, and her parents knew more responsibility was the natural next step with “fresh enthusiasm” following the completion of her early years degree.

Miranda told the Chronicle & Echo: “We have a village location in a rural area, with nature reserves and parks nearby. We love to explore and provide a nurturing family setting.

“My mother-in-law and other daughter are also registered as assistants and we have kept the business in the family.”

Bethany added that they pride themselves on consistency and no matter what children are experiencing in their home lives, families know they will be met with a supportive network to provide “the best start in life”.

“A lot of families describe us as extended family,” said Miranda. “Transitions are good because children enjoy coming here. We receive feedback from schools that children are caring and have built strong relationships with each other.”

MP Childcare offers services from birth to 12 years of age, and Miranda emphasised that they can offer support until young people begin secondary school education.

Miranda and Bethany recently received outstanding ratings following a joint Ofsted inspection.

With 25 years of experience in the industry, this is Miranda’s third consecutive outstanding rating and she has now maintained this level for a decade. This is Bethany’s second outstanding rating since she registered as a childminder in 2017.

The pair both have degrees in early years, with other relevant qualifications including speech and language and level three SENCO.

“It’s amazing but a lot of pressure,” said Miranda. “I’ve strived to try and maintain the outstanding rating which is so hard.

“The inspector was very complimentary. She spoke of how the children are so confident and how they have built relationships with each other.”

The young people were also praised for being well spoken and their maths skills – and the fact they felt happy and comfortable to talk to the inspector as a result of the environment that MP Childcare has created.

As a final point, Miranda wanted to emphasise that childminders often feel unrecognised for the level of care and education they provide.

“There’s a lot in the press and on social media about nurseries, and childminders don’t often get recognised,” she said. “We’re just as important in providing a nurturing family environment and a high level of education.”