Lisa has been a registered childminder for 17 years and over that time has always sought to provide the best care and education for the children attending her setting.  To help ensure this, Lisa enrolled on her Bristol Standard journey and continued this for many years.  Lisa took a break from the Bristol Standard for a while, however, recognising what a useful tool it was decided to restart her Bristol Standard journey last year.  She’s really pleased that she did, especially with all the improvements that have been made to the process and the digitalisation.  Lisa loves the flexibility and accessibility that digitalisation has brought “I have done the whole of my submission, just using my phone and uploading pictures has been so easy”.

Being reflective is part of the ethos of Lisa’s setting and is now completely embedded in her practice.   Lisa loves the positivity of the Bristol Standard and how it provides her with a platform to reflect upon and showcase her strengths whilst providing her with strategies to consider areas for improvement and to set targets to work on.  Lisa and her assistant are continually reflecting and evaluating their practice, ensuring that the children are at the heart of all that “we’re making sure that the children are happy and thriving and I believe I’m giving them the best opportunities while they’re with me”.

Lisa has recently had her submission validated and was thrilled by the positive feedback that she received from the validators “I loved the letter, to have a third party’s opinion of my practice, recognising my commitment to children’s learning and being appreciative of my commitment to improvement.  It was such a buzz; it gave me a real boost and made me feel valued”.

It is clear that Lisa’s Bristol Standard experience has been beneficial to her and the children that she cares for.  Lisa is a keen advocate of the Bristol Standard and would recommend the process to others “it constantly helps you to think about your setting and what you offer, always with the children’s interests at heart”.