thanks for everyone's help on this,i love nappyvalleynet!just to say i had an amazing babysitter from Like Minders on sat, she arrived 10mins early and made me feel at ease right away,she asked loads of questions and was really lovely,the agency had told her I was really nervous and so she even texted me on the hour so that I knew Archie was ok-amazing! ill def be using them again x ps just looked at Sitters website and in questions part they say only half have CRBs which is not great - LM say all of theirs do.

Sitters definitely advertises all the sitters are CRB checked. If yoru sister knows something different it would be good to share because I thought they were and would probably ring the company if you know different.
I would not let someone without one in my home and we have used sitters lots.

Thanks for this, my sister in law says that all the girls they have used from Sitters haven't been great and don't install confidence in her, also I don't think they have CRBs. I'm trying out LM tomorrow , the girl who i booked with sounded really lovely on the phone so I'm hoping the babysitter will be the same! will let you know how i get on x L

We use Sitters and have had no problems, the ladies who have sat have all been pleasant, reliable and punctual. Can't say more as my son is usually fast asleep and stays that way so not much skill involved and those whose children are still up may have different feedback. But they are all nannies / childminders / nursery assistants / mothers and CRB checked.

Like Minders offer exactly the same service as far as I can tell. They have even used some of the same text as Sitters do on their website so clearly trying to replicate them. Also LM charge £10 a month membership and Sitters charge £13-odd for 3 months.

hope this helps!

Hiya
Not sure I can help but we use sitters!! What have you heard?

I recently moved to SW11 and I am looking for babysitters or an agency which I can trust.I've heard of Sitters but heard really bad things about the quality of the babysitters!does anyone know a local agency called Like Minders? I read about them in Families magazine and thought about joining, any advice would be much appreciated as I'm a nervous mum! thanks lexi x