Helaina's Happy Hedgehogs Childminding

03/08/2026

A huge thank you to all of my Happy Hedgehogs family who came to our Adventure & Mini Sports Day on Saturday to celebrate another fabulous academic year. 🎉🦔

One of the things I love most about our little 🦔 community is that we're like one big family. Parents don't just celebrate their own children's achievements and efforts, they cheer on every child too, and that is so special to see! ❤️🥹

The children certainly made our superb work experience student and cheerleading coach proud with the fantastic cheer dance they had learnt together. ✨

A big thank you too to one of our wonderful mummies for leading our sports day games! 🏃‍♀️🏅

Thank you all for your support, kindness and for making the day so memorable. ❤️❤️❤️

25/07/2026

A comment from an observer on my last post got me thinking… 💭 I thought I'd share my thoughts here, along with two brilliant articles.

As parents, carers and educators, we all want children to be safe. ❤️ Where we sometimes differ is how we help them achieve that safety.

In my setting, I aim to teach children how to keep themselves safe. Through collaborative risk assessment and carefully managed risky play, children develop strength, confidence, problem-solving skills and, most importantly, the ability to assess and manage risk for themselves.

So, one of my Happy 🦔s climbed up a slide on Thursday's adventure. To some, that may look unsafe. To me, knowing that child's capabilities and supervising closely, it was a valuable learning opportunity. 🤩

Managed risky play isn't about encouraging danger. It's about providing appropriate challenge within a safe, supportive environment. It's an approach recognised as a strength during my last Ofsted inspection, and one I'm passionate about because I understand its benefits.

If you'd like to read more about the research behind this approach, here are two fascinating articles:

🔗 https://www.habausa.com/blogs/blog-inspiration/benefits-of-climbing-up-the-slide

🔗 https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/tyc/spring2023/risk-taking-outdoor-play

A question to leave you with... 💭

Are we raising children to avoid all risk, or are we raising them to recognise, assess and manage it? 🌱

23/07/2026

The one photo that caused me to pause and reflect… 🦔🫶🏻

Reflecting on those children who became 'Holiday 🦔s' when they started school, and those 🦔s who have left the nest but will forever be a part of Helaina’s Happy Hedgehogs. 🌱

The summer holidays have only just begun, yet I have already witnessed so many moments that fill me with pride. My older Holiday 🦔s have naturally stepped in to support the younger children, showing patience, kindness and care without ever being asked. 🥹 They notice when someone needs help, return a hat, offer reassurance and make sure the little 🦔s feel safe, included and happy. 🥰

Reading end of year reports, certificates and messages from parents has brought me so much joy. ✨ Of course, I am thrilled to hear about their academic achievements, but what makes me smile even more are the comments about their character: their kindness, respect, manners, resilience, determination and the wonderful examples they are becoming for others. 🌟

Those tiny hands that once reached for mine thankfully still reach for mine today ❤️🤝, only now they feel huge in comparison 😳, and those same hands are reaching out to comfort, care for and help others too.
What a privilege it is to watch these little 🦔s grow into such beautiful young people.

Parents, grandparents and carers, I share your pride. 🫶🏻🥹🤩

22/07/2026

🦋 We've kicked off our summer holidays with a butterfly release! Thank you to our lovely mummies for joining us! 💗

The children loved creating a butterfly observation area before eagerly awaiting our caterpillars' arrival. They've been fascinated by watching the incredible life cycle, learning new facts through books and the internet, and even practising saying 'proboscis' (a butterfly's tongue!).

We've also enjoyed a visit to Butterfly World and are looking forward to another butterfly spotting outing tomorrow.

Sadly, we believe one of our butterflies died before it could emerge from its chrysalis 😔. We've left it on a leaf just in case it's simply a late emerger. I chose to be honest with the children, as learning about death is a natural part of understanding the world around us. 🦋

14/07/2026

I hear so many childminders say "we need more support"... and I'd love to help bridge that gap. 💚

I'm incredibly grateful to have been chosen as an Early Years Stronger Practice Adviser (EYSPA) for Childminders for Northern Lights Early Years Stronger Practice Hub : North East and Northern Lights Little Stars Early Years Stronger Practice Hub NE. (The photos are from my EYSPA training 🙋🏻‍♀️)

As a childminder, I know how valuable it is to have someone alongside you who understands the job. This isn't about being judged. It's about having someone to bounce ideas around with, celebrate what's already working and help you achieve the goals that matter to you.

I'd love to be that spring board, and I'd love to learn from you too.

The programme offers a full term of free, personalised support, tailored to your setting and fitted around you.

You may be eligible if:
🍃 Your latest Ofsted judgement is Needs Attention, Urgent Improvement, Requires Improvement or Inadequate (depending on the inspection framework), or
🍃 You have children accessing Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP), the Early Learning for 2 Year Olds Offer, or children with SEND who qualify for support.

If that's you, I'd really encourage you to apply. It would be a privilege to work alongside you and help you build on the fantastic work you're already doing.

👉 Apply here: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=1cuWC8QEPk-CbQJx3QLWMT87_cI9tgJLgfkI2RXF6rBUMDlTWVRKRjcyQzhRNjU4RFI4NkxTN1RETy4u&route=shorturl

13/07/2026

So proud of this little gang today. ❤️🤩

What a privilege it was to welcome Sue Gifford and Andrea Lancaster to spend the afternoon with us as the Department for Education filmed a typical session with my Happy 🦔s. Receiving such lovely feedback from two highly respected early years and early maths experts means so much to me. 🫶🏻

Of course, it wasn't all textbook perfect. A few seconds of waiting for children to reply felt like a lifetime whilst being filmed 😅 and at one point I realised one of my little ones was happily exploring the garden in bright white socks... but no shoes! 🤦🏻‍♀️😂 That's real life, and I hope we've done childminders proud by showing authentic, joyful early years practice that can help support the learning of others.

A huge thank you to Gareth (husband) for taking time off work to support me and the children, and to all of my wonderful families for making today possible, especially the family who stayed on standby just in case illness meant we needed a last minute change.

11/07/2026

I honestly couldn't have asked for a better work experience student this week. She has completely blown me away! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

She has shown kindness, confidence, initiative and a genuine passion for working with young children. She embraced every opportunity, from leading activities and supporting children's learning to helping with the everyday routines of the setting, and quickly became a valued member of our little setting.

The children took to her so naturally that they soon referred to her as their "teacher", which says it all. 🥰

A glowing report has been sent to her school, and I have no doubt she has a wonderful future ahead of her working with children and their families. 💗

A huge THANK YOU for my gorgeous flowers and card too! 😍😍😍

08/07/2026

If you're a local childminder, I can't recommend this enough! 💛

Tiny Tweeties is hands down our favourite group to attend 🎵🎤🎸. My Happy 🦔s absolutely love the music, props, puppets and dancing, and I always come away with ideas that I can use in my own setting. 🫶🏻

I'm so grateful that these fully funded sessions are hosted through the Northern Lights Little Stars Early Years Stronger Practice Hub NE 🌟

Booking is now open, and if you're interested I'd definitely get booked in as soon as you can. These sessions fill up quickly! Hope to see some familiar and new faces there. 😃

Calling all childminders!!

Coming to a place near you from September!!

🎵 Join Rachael & Chris for a LIVE Tiny Tweeties Interactive Music Session! 🎵

Come along with your little ones for a FULLY FUNDED, fun-filled session of singing, dancing, musical instruments, puppets, props and plenty of smiles!

📚Our sessions are rooted in evidence-informed strategies that support children's early language, communication, movement and emotional wellbeing.

🌈 Through joyful, interactive music-making, you'll discover simple, practical ways to nurture safe, secure relationships while encouraging co-regulation, self-regulation and confident communication!

✨ Expect a mix of favourite songs and exciting new ones, with ideas you can easily continue at home to support your child's development through everyday play.

🫶🏻 After the music session, children will have time to play while we share the theory behind the approaches and explain how you can use this in your home settings!

We'd love to welcome you and your little stars one for a morning of connection, learning and musical fun! ⭐️

📅 Book your Autumn Term dates below – we can't wait to see you there!

27/06/2026

I join my fellow childminders in celebrating surviving this week's heatwave! We did it! 🎉☀️🥵

What a scorcher! There were endless suncream applications, countless changes in and out of swimsuits, and the wees 😳... sooooo many wees were had!!! 😂🥴

Despite the heat, my Happy 🦔 s have remained happy, learnt lots, and we've still enjoyed our early morning adventures before the temperature soared.
Afternoons were mostly spent indoors with stories, games, and visits to the freezer to cool down while waiting for our homemade lollies to freeze. 🍦❄️