According to my DD, she spends the whold day watching TV at her childminders!

Not necessarily, redglow. Most childminders have obtained or are working towards Level 3 qualifications - the equivalent of a room leader in a nursery. Some childminders have foundation degrees, full degrees and I know at least one with a Masters degree in childhood studies.

It's inaccurate to make such a sweeping judgement on the relative qualifications these days.

This babysitter was unregistered to have the child in her own home. Qualifications don't come into it.

She was unqualified to have her in her own home. A trained nursery nurse has a lot more qualifications than a registered childminder. She did not advertise herself as a childminder.

well said nicknaks.. cumbria its not the point whether a parent is bothered or not..its the law now that cms have to be registered... as stated its for everyones protection not least the child....

i do take your points but wonder what job you do?? would you like someone completely unqualified setting themselves up to do your job, calling themselves by your title and then undercutting you financially....

If you are paying someone to look after your child in their own [cm's] home then yes they must be reg'd.

It upsets reg'd cm's (although i realise i only speak for myself) because we strive incredibly hard to try and present a professional image that childcare is career choice to be proud of and not a job we do just for pin money or so we can stay at home with our own DC's and get paid.

We have to jump through dozens of hoops, set not just by OFSTED but many many other agencies also- whilst these unreg'd people do it for cash on the side with no monitoring and usually no tax being paid either.

If something was to happen to your child whilst in their care you would be the first to report it/sue them and they wouldn't be covered by any legislation to help you.

Also the Childminder name, dispite the person not being a childminder in the true sense, would be dragged thorugh the mud as i have seen in the newspapers before.

OK, I appreciate this might be a naive question and please don't give me the horrible flaming you have given to mummyloveslucy but - if, as a parent, you're genuinely not bothered about all the bumph that childminders have to do (following EYFS, observations etc etc) and just want somewhere for your child to go every now and again, does it really matter if they are unregistered? Why does it upset all the registered people so much?

I can see why you chose to go with a family friend and I agree that you've had some less than polite/helpful responses (including critiquing your home-ed-ing) which weren't really called for. However (as a CM) it is frustrating when parents choose to use unregistered carers, then complain about the quality/lack of contract/insurance/clarity over expectations.

Don't let this put you off using a CM though. If you have a children's centre near you, most of them have CM drop-ins, where you can hang out and play with your DD, whilst observing how CMs interact with their charges. Or a lot of CMs near me go to the library drop-in sessions too. Meeting CMs (combined with reading Ofsted reports etc) is the best way to know if they'll care for your child well - I've found with most parents I've met we've all had a gut feeling that we would or wouldn't click. :)

I do wonder if your DD might be a slight odd-ball at a CMs though, not because of her SEN, but because she'd be the only older child there during term-time (will she miss out on not having peers there?). But, some CMs would probably love having an older one around - especially if she likes to help play with/entertain the little ones. Just something to consider, as you'd need to ask what provision they have for older ones (especially if they usually go to toddler groups during the day) and make it clear what activities you'd expect/hope would be provided.

Good luck with whatever you decide, I agree with redglow that you come across as a caring parent with putting your DDs needs first with the home-ed-ing and (now you've cancelled the unregistered childcare) trying to find the best childcare solution for your DD too.

You never come over to me as an uncareing mother either, far from it there is not many mums that would give up their days to home educate your child. Good on you.

I hope it all works out for you mummyloveslucy. I have read your posts since your DD was in pre-school, so am very aware of just how much thought and care you have put into having her in the right setting over the years. I hadn't seen you post that you took her out of school. I know a lot of home schooling families and it's a great option for all those great square pegs out there who will never fit into that round hole no matter how hard people push them! Good luck.

The cheapest option is not always a disaster. Please give the OP a bit of a break. I think some of you have gone over the top. No wonder she is not even prepared to use a registered childminder.

i am a cm and read your post with interest..

i understand that this person.NOT CM AS NOT REGISTERED.. isnt providing the care you want for dd..

bit confused as what you expected the care to be like.. surely you knew that child carers have to be registered by law!!???

am so sorry that you feel that some of the cms on here have been 'nasty peices of work' but it does get us really hopping mad when a parent complains about care.. but obviously hasnt researched or bothered to look around first and chooses the cheapest easiest option.. which is always a disaster..

most cms are, 'kind and caring'.. but that means sticking up for the children.

you dropped a clanger here,,(as we all do from time to time) so expect some flack..

good luck though with your search for a cm.. there are lots of us good ones out there who dont have the tele on all day and dont need you to bring stuff to the setting for children to do..

I think you should try someone else. At least at six your child is old enough to say what she is doing all day. But if you can get your mum I think this is the best option.

OK mummyloveslucy I'm not going to go on about why I think it was a really bad plan to use this 'CM' - I think you get the picture!

When I was picking my CM I read through the details of probably 200 CM via the directgov website. I then emailed 40 who had listed the aspects that I needed (in my case, suitable for shift work but in yours able to look after SEN children). Of that 40, I visited 10 of them and then picked the one I wanted. I googled a list of questions who need to ask your CM and then added on some more pertinent to my child. CMs expect you to do this and won't mind you being honest and saying you are seeing other CM. They should be able to show all their documentation and give you a really clear idea of what will be done during the day.

It's a lot of work but I managed to find two CM that I loved and the one I went with is lovely and makes me feel relaxed about leaving my DS with her while I go to work.

FWIW I don't think people should be commenting that you should be putting her in school, it obviously didn't work and she's thriving with the way things are at the moment.

Mummyloveslucy, Do you not think that prehaps the childminders that have posted on here are only looking out for YOU & YOUR CHILD.

As with every proffession you will always get the good and the bad,

some places that I know off to find registerd childminders
www.childcare.co.uk, there is a fee payable I belive tho, for the service
Family Imformation Service
your Local Childrens Centre..

As I said before please dont tar all childminders with the same brush,

if you really like this girl (apart from the fact she may allow your dd to watch tv all day) then why not have her come to your house for the day - no need to be registered then

Yes i agree people are very quick to jump in. It is hard to trust peoplr who are not family.

OP, I think you should ask the chilldminder what your child is doing all day. She may have got it wrong I think if you know this girl through word of mouth and she is a nurserynurse this is fine.

Pumkincarver Iam with you I have seen some rubbish childminders and nannies it does not make them ok just because they have been checked out. I will hasten to add there is lots of good ones too.

OP, you really need to take steps to remove your child from this unregistered care or for the person you are using to get registered. Your daughter already has a SEN, quite apart from the likelihood that her carer has no qualifications or experience with six year olds with SEN, imagine if she had an accident while being minded, there would be no compensation to help you care for her.

If you still want her to be looked after one day a week, then go onto the Ofsted website and search for a registered childminder there. Then when you draw up a short list, check what rating they have and aim for an outstanding or good one. LAs also check childminders so they may be able to help.

Perhaps it might be worth you considering whether there are some more suitable schools for her, have you thought about consulting an educational psychologist?

Exactly, Nanny, that was what I was trying to get at. The OP's friend may have been checked as a nursery nurse to work in a nursery setting. This is not the same as working from home.

wow a tripple post, the phone is working well today!

Using friends to provide childcare can be a low cost option but can make things difficult if they don't care for your child as expected.

I'm wondering what a registered nursery nurse is... registered with whom? Nursery nurses are not registered with anyone - they may though be known to Ofsted as they may have completed a DC2 form (I think it is) in the past. On the other hand they may be registered with Ofsted as a Home Childcarer, under the current scheme of the voluntary part of the childcare register. Either way they may well be deamed to be suitable to work with children... but those checks would not be done on other people resident at the home.