Burgess Childminding

16/02/2026

Plenty on at Teignmouth Pavilions during Half Term. X x

02/02/2026

Another blow for childminders. Soon there will be no choice for your children. 🥲

There’s something happening quietly in the UK that should be making every single person stop and pay attention.

We are losing childminders.

Not slowly. Not “a few here and there”.

In England, registered childminders have dropped to around 25,000.
That’s 1,000 fewer in the last year alone.
And the long-term picture is even worse - we’ve gone from around 60,000 childminders in 2009 to under 25,000 today.

That isn’t a “shift in childcare trends.”
That’s a collapse of a whole part of the sector.

And what makes it heartbreaking is this:

Childminders aren’t leaving because they don’t care.
They’re leaving because they’ve been pushed to the edge.

These are the people who:
* provide a genuine home-from-home experience
* offer the flexibility families rely on
* know children inside out (their interests, their triggers, their routines, their confidence levels)
* build bonds that aren’t just “professional” - they’re secure and life-shaping
* support families through the hardest moments, not just the easy ones
* teach, nurture, guide, comfort, protect… and somehow still manage paperwork, admin, learning journeys, safeguarding, training, risk assessments and inspections on top

Childminders don’t do this job for the money.
They do it because they believe in giving children the best start.

So why are they disappearing?

Because the sector is being stretched to breaking point by:
constant change,
more demands,
more accountability,
more financial pressure,
…and honestly? not enough respect.

And while this is happening, it genuinely feels like the direction of travel is: children being “placed” into childcare that looks more like school, from as young as 9 months.

I’m sorry but… 9 months old.

That should make us all pause.

Because childcare isn’t just about getting parents back to work (as important as that is).
It’s about babies and toddlers being cared for in ways that are developmentally appropriate, nurturing, responsive, and safe.

And homebased childcare has always offered something incredibly special - yet it still isn’t valued the way it should be.

Parents choose childminders because they want:
✅ a smaller setting
✅ familiar routines
✅ stability
✅ flexible care
✅ a caregiver who knows their child deeply
✅ an environment that feels like home - not a production line

And yet… the people providing this essential care are being forced out.

Not because they don’t love the job.
But because loving the job is no longer enough to survive it.

If we lose childminders, families lose choice.
Communities lose support.
Children lose a beautiful, nurturing early experience.

And the early years sector, already on its knees loses even more of its foundation.

This matters.
More than most people realise.

17/12/2025

Next up we have Dan Hayward sponsored by Nicky & Paul Burgess, thank you both for all your continuing support of the club.

⬛️⬜️🟥

12/12/2025

FREE CHILDCARE AT CHRISTMAS

Spaces available for both morning and afternoon sessions

Our Christmas Holiday club (HAF) offers a wide range of enrichment activities , based around a Christmas theme for the children to have fun, relax and try a range of activities.

This will include Christmas Crafts, creative arts, and play-based challenges. Our experienced staff adapt sessions to meet all children's needs, ensuring inclusiveness and engagement.

Each day of the Christmas Holiday Club will include a nutritious early evening meal (so parents don't have to cook for the children after they pick them up from our setting) , healthy snacks and plenty of opportunities for fun and learning. We know that children love their time with us , making new friends, having fun, lots of fresh air, and taking part in festive activities

To book please use this link

https://eequ.org/book/burgess-childcare-christmas-holiday-club-with-burgess-childcare-holiday-clubs-haf-14691

NB: you must be in receipt of free school meals and have an FSM number

For more information please call or text Nicky Burgess 07962 254746

We also subject to funding hope to provide a Christmas food hamper



Hazeldown Primary School
Friends of OLSP Primary School Teignmouth
Bishopsteignton Primary School and Preschool
Shaldon Primary School

Fun in the Christmas holiday!

18/11/2025

FREE CHILDCARE AT CHRISTMAS

Our Christmas Holiday club (HAF) offers a wide range of enrichment activities , based around a Christmas theme for the children to have fun, relax and try a range of activities.

This will include Christmas Crafts, creative arts, and play-based challenges. Our experienced staff adapt sessions to meet all children's needs, ensuring inclusiveness and engagement.

Each day of the Christmas Holiday Club will include a nutritious early evening meal (so parents don't have to cook for the children after they pick them up from our setting) , healthy snacks and plenty of opportunities for fun and learning. We know that children love their time with us , making new friends, having fun, lots of fresh air, and taking part in festive activities

To book please use this link

https://eequ.org/book/burgess-childcare-christmas-holiday-club-with-burgess-childcare-holiday-clubs-haf-14691

NB: you must be in receipt of free school meals and have an FSM number

For more information please call or text Nicky Burgess 07962 254746

We also subject to funding hope to provide a Christmas food hamper



Hazeldown Primary School
Friends of OLSP Primary School Teignmouth
Bishopsteignton Primary School and Preschool
Shaldon Primary School

Fun in the Christmas holiday!

10/11/2025

We are HAF registered holiday club and have Free spaces over Christmas

We are now building the Winter programme we will go live on 03/11/2025 @ 12.00 noon.

07/11/2025

FREE CHILDCARE AT CHRISTMAS

Our Christmas Holiday club (HAF) offers a wide range of enrichment activities , based around a Christmas theme for the children to have fun, relax and try a range of activities.

This will include Christmas Crafts, creative arts, and play-based challenges. Our experienced staff adapt sessions to meet all children's needs, ensuring inclusiveness and engagement.

Each day of the Christmas Holiday Club will include a nutritious early evening meal (so parents don't have to cook for the children after they pick them up from our setting) , healthy snacks and plenty of opportunities for fun and learning. We know that children love their time with us , making new friends, having fun, lots of fresh air, and taking part in festive activities

To book please use this link

https://eequ.org/book/burgess-childcare-christmas-holiday-club-with-burgess-childcare-holiday-clubs-haf-14691

NB: you must be in receipt of free school meals and have an FSM number

For more information please call or text Nicky Burgess 07962 254746

We also subject to funding hope to provide a Christmas food hamper



Spotted Teignmouth Original
Teignmouth Community

Fun in the Christmas holiday!

01/10/2025

As summer draws to a close, hedgehogs will begin to turn their attention to hibernation. During autumn, hedgehogs build hibernation nests and feed up to store energy. Here are a few ways to help them along before the cold weather really sets in.

Leave the leaves

As the trees shed their leaves, create piles around your garden. This will encourage creepy crawlies for hedgehogs to eat, and provide nesting materials for hibernation. Win win!

Fine dining

Food is vital at this time of year. The best way to help is by making your garden insect-friendly, with simple features like log and leaf piles providing a natural buffet of bugs. You can also give hedgehogs an extra boost with supplementary food - a dish of meaty cat or dog food works perfectly, and always water for wildlife in clean dishes.

Make a house a home

Putting a hog house in the garden now, in advance of hibernation, should give any hedgehogs a chance to get used to it and (hopefully) move in!

Wild patches in the garden are a great way to help hedgehogs and many other species. Now that autumn has arrived, you have two options for maximising your space long term.

1) Leave your patch completely uncut, just giving it a tidy up in early spring before new growth starts. OR

2) Check the area very carefully before cutting it back, now that any flowers have seeded. Add the clippings to a compost heap. Leave some areas long to provide hedgehogs with nesting materials.

If you have any bare soil in your wild patch or wider garden, you can plant wildflower seeds or bulbs now in preparation for spring. Native wildflower mixes will make for a colourful display that also benefits garden wildlife.

If you find a sick, injured or orphaned hedgehog and don't know of a local rescue, please call The British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) on 01584 890 801 or if non urgent email [email protected] - there is also a Frequently Asked Questions page on their website for more advice as there is on the Hedgehog Bottom website.

Content courtesy of Hedgehog Street, a joint campaign by People's Trust for Endangered Species and The British Hedgehog Preservation Society

17/09/2025

September is always a month of mixed emotions for anyone working in childcare. Children that have been with us for many years move onto full time education making room for new children to arrive.
This year five of our children started at Hazeldown School, one at OLSP and one at a primary school in Torquay.

Paul and I wish all the children the very best and we know they will succeed in everything they do.

If anyone is looking for childcare, please do not hesitate to contact us on 07962 254746. 🥰🥰🥰
Limited spaces available

03/09/2025

A MASSIVE THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SPONSORS!

The Brass, Teignmouth The National Lottery Community Fund Tozers LLP Kameleon Signs Teign Wash & Waste Ltd. Teignmouth Town Council Teignbridge District Council Assured Moves The Lynton, Teignmouth Lady's Mile Holiday Park Burgess Childminding Tesco Binfield Insurance Brokers Ltd Teignmouth Brewery PPL PRS Ltd

01/08/2025

We hope that you all pop down to Teignmouth Carnival tonight for the ABBA Forever tribute sponsored by Burgess Childminding on The Den tonight.

TeignmouthPride will be selling official
Teignmouth Pride merchandise and much more from 7pm, of which 100% of all monies goes back to Teignmouth Pridehelp keep the event running and free for all to enjoy.

Please support the fantastic carnival committee … even by donating your £1 cup fee helps the carnival

Have fun, dress up and enjoy the party!

Spotted Teignmouth Original
Teignmouth Community

01/04/2025

Paul and I are pleased to be working with Devon County Council again this year to provide Activities and Food over the School Holidays. X x

The HAF booking system is now open for bookings.

There have been a few bugs in the system so please stick with us whilst we are using this new system.

Thanks for your patience.

Thanks HAF Team