Sarah's House Stebbing

10/03/2026

28/12/2025

🫶🏻

I’ve been thinking lately about the quiet sacrifices that don’t always get spoken about…💗

My own children have grown up with our home as a place of care — not just for them, but for many little hearts. They’ve never known what it’s like to have the house to themselves every day, or to keep every toy just for their own hands. They’ve shared their spaces, their books, their garden… and, perhaps the biggest share of all, they’ve shared me. Even on days when they were tired, or under the weather, they’ve understood that other children still needed my care. 🫶🏻

It’s just been life for them — a life full of laughter, noise, muddy boots, creativity, and extra chairs at the table. But it’s also meant giving up a kind of “ordinary” that other families might take for granted.

So today, I want to say a heartfelt thank you — to my own family, and to every family behind a childminder or early years educator who works from home. You give so much of yourselves so that we can give so much to others. Your patience, your understanding, and your love make this work possible… and I see you, always. 🌈🫶🏻❤️

16/12/2025

Those who know me — or who’ve followed me for a while — will know that my heart will always belong to children. Their wellbeing, their development, their right to be seen, heard, and supported gently and respectfully.

But something else matters deeply to me: the people who care for them. 💗

This week has brought yet another hard hit for childminders.
HMRC have announced the removal of the ability for childminders to use a percentage allowance for wear and tear. And while that might sound like a small technical change on paper, the reality is anything but small.

We work from our homes.
Our homes are our settings.
They hold muddy boots, paint-stained tables, climbing frames, constant movement, noise, learning, care, and beautifully chaotic days that go far beyond “normal” family wear and tear.

Many childminders are already carrying everything alone — the educator, the carer, the administrator, the cleaner, the planner, the emotional anchor. Margins are tight. Pressure is high. And this decision lands on a sector that is already struggling to stay afloat.

HMRC have even compared childminders to plumbers — suggesting they don’t receive allowances for wear and tear either. But plumbers don’t run their business from their living rooms. They don’t open their homes daily to children’s learning, care, mess, and magic. The comparison shows just how little our role is understood. 😔

This decision doesn’t just affect numbers on a spreadsheet.
It affects sustainability.
It affects morale.
It affects whether childminders can continue at all.

Childminders are not a “nice extra” — we are a vital part of the childcare and early years infrastructure. When we are squeezed, families feel it. Communities feel it. Children feel it.

I truly hope HMRC listen.
I hope they reconsider the impact of this decision and engage with those living this reality every day.
Because this sector cannot keep absorbing blow after blow and still be expected to survive. 😳

We care deeply.
We give endlessly.
And we deserve to be understood — and supported — not pushed further to the edge. 🥺🫶🏻❤️

28/04/2025

🐇🐖🐄🐑🐴🐐🐓🦃🫏🚜☀️
Today we have had such a wonderful day.
We explored a new farm - for most children.
Gilly & I are so proud of all 5 of you amazing children…
We challenged ourselves
We worked together to achieve
We persevered when things got tough
We over come potential fears
We connected with nature
We connected with eachother
“We had so fun!!”

03/04/2025

👏

💚 Dear Parents 💚

Over the past few months, the private Early Years sector has been floored by new funding restrictions brought out by the Department for Education. For years, we have been chronically underfunded, but regardless, existing EY settings have pushed on to offer outstanding care and education for your children, despite crippling financial difficulties. Thousands were forced to close their doors for good.

Today, Keir Starmer and the DfE announced that 300 nurseries are opening in schools as an initial stage of a mass rollout. It is beyond frustrating; had they funded the PVI’s honestly, there would already be enough spaces for children without them needing to attend school at the age of 2 or 3.

There is something more today though that has really angered me; the marketing campaign that rolled out alongside it - the one where the DfE and our Prime Minister claim that these settings are a higher level of service and education than existing nurseries and childminders.

Let me make it clear, every private childcare setting is offering exceptional early education and care for your children. This Government are not ‘saving the day’ or creating better opportunities for your children. They are pushing them into school and deflecting from the funding scandal that is currently taking place. They want both parents back to work as early as possible to boost the economy and they want state-run nurseries.

Hear me when I shout it loud; your child does not need to be in school at 2 or 3. These nurseries are not offering anything above and beyond that of a private setting. They too will be underfunded, and they too will struggle to recruit enough staff. They will follow the EYFS just like the rest of us. The social media posts that I have read from MPs today are shameful, misleading and dishonest.

Your existing workforce are highly skilled in educating and caring for children in the first 5 years of their life. This is what we do, and we do it well. Your child will be more than school ready in a private setting and they do not need to attend a pre-school before starting in Reception.

Parents, I implore you to look further than the propaganda that has been rolled out today. Trust in your PVI settings, the passionate and skilled practitioners who care for your children each day - please support them at a time when they need you most.

Signed,

A very frustrated and disappointed childcare professional.

😔

23/03/2025

13/10/2024

11.10.24

We are… The Cunningham’s.

Thank you for all your kind gifts & cards, so sweet of you all.

See you w/c 28th October. 🥰