What should / shouldnt a childminder do when the have mindees with them

I wouldn't personally go for a haircut whilst working, or do anything unavoidable in the way of significant personal errands, but I would certainly take minded children to a toyshop to choose toys, or to an art shop to help choose craft bits for their own benefit. If I had to I would for example stop off at the cashpoint on the way to playgroup, or pick up some fresh milk or fruit on the way home from the park, or pick up a prescription for one of my own children on the way to the library, or small incidental chores of that sort. But then I do work all week, so I think that does make a difference.

I was expecting you to say its been at least a month, but first week? Find somebody else, if this is how she starts I dread to think how she'll continue!

Travelling, even if the other relative were out of the house all day they should still have been DBS/CRB checked if he lives there. They don't need to be around the children all the time or left in sole charge to require a check.

Even my oldest son will need a check when he turns 16 (be good for keeping him on his toes!)

I think the walking is great btw and I sometimes take my mindees into town to pay in cheques or post a parcel as, especially during holidays, it can be tricky to find the time to do it and it isn't a huge imposition for a child to have to tag along for half an hour. CMing is supposed to be a home-like setting and you wouldn't hesitate to take your own child to the bank, so it is perfectly reasonable.

Haircut I wouldn't do, but it may be that she had to rearrange at short notice or something and had to take whichever appointment was available. Unless it becomes a regular thing I wouldn't be bothered about it. There are plenty of learning opportunities throughout the day and if your CM wants to get a good OFSTED rating she will need to show evidence of providing the EYFS learning that little ones need. She should also be able to show you a book or folder where she records things that relate to that, so it would be a good opportunity to find out if that is being done. It may be that she is just finding her feet and it may take a while for her to get into her stride.

I dont have issues at all with my CM doing the following(for example)
Light cleaning/laundry
Paperwork
Bank/shop/etc
Allotment
as these are all just part of normal home life.

I wouldnt be happy with
Ironing
Hair cuts/Salon appts
Heavy spring cleaning
Tv frequently (ours doesnt have one)

Judgement call really.

Me either!
Can't think of anything worse. Would not take my own.

Of course they don't have to take their mindees to their smear test! All they have to do is give the parents enough notice and say they are having the day off. It is up to parents to make alternative arrangements. Smear test in the morning, hair cut in the afternoon perhaps?
When I was teaching I never had any problems arranging a cervical smear in the school holidays. I guess if the parents don't mind their kids tagging along to that sort of thing it is up to them really. I don't think its appropriate though.

Sorry OP, it was me that mentioned ironing as an example of personal stuff I didn't think a CM should be doing, but I seem to have confused the issue!

I know CM who've had to take their mindees with them whilst they have their Smear tests!!! Due to not being able to have it done at any other time working fulltime with some of their parent being teachers and being unable to just take time off!
Not something that I'd want to be forced to do. And it makes taking them with you for a quick trim not sound so bad!

Yes, confused, I couldn't remember whether my CM's husband had been CRB checked as he was also down as her back-up and so we could authorise him to look after the children for a certain length of time if we were happy with that, or whether he just had to be CRB checked.

OP that would be my only concern about the relative in the house, that Ofsted don't know he lives there.

purple Everybody needs one as long as Ofsted know, the thing that flags up this bloke with OPs CM to me is that she said he'd be out of the house, which makes me wonder if Ofsted are aware of him.

kat That's probably it. It does happen occasionally after all. My DP had one of those CMs for most of his childhood, he's still got issues about it :( I grew up with both Mum and Nan CMing and they were both more along the lines of mixing errands and normal family life with childcare activities, so I can see how well it works if it's what you want in a childcare provider. I'd love something like that when I had my own kids, but then seeing as it's likely CMing is what I'd end up going into (currently a nanny) I don't think I'd get away with packing my kids off to another CMer

I wouldn't worry about the male relative as anyone living in the house has to have a CRB check. Even my dh is a police officer had to have another when I started.
Fresh air and dog walking is good, we get outside every day unless its pouring rain. We either play in the garden (trampoline, swing slide etc) or we go for a forest walk or to the beach. We look for shells and stones and dig holes and splash in puddles. It's not really educational but its great fun!
During the day apart from nap times we do games, play with toys, read books, sing songs, colouring/art/craft and once a week we always go somewhere special so a soft play or meet up with a load of other kids at the park or go to a farm park etc.
I also agree that letting them just pls by themselves is good too as they enjoy the company of the other kids and have some fun games by themselves.

Op there are also years and years for your kids to learn at pre school and at school itself. Every day doesn't need to be structured - a dog walk, park, some tea and a bit of telly sounds fine to me - haircut is a no no tho. I wouldn't schedule doc, dentist, hair when I was working.
I would go to the shops or the bank tho - that kind of thing is good for them. I also like going on a bus or a train for no reason, just as an experience.
I think sometimes people want their kids to be educated far too early and far too much. There is nothing wrong in letting kids this age just be kids and dig in the mud.

I take children to the supermarket, but not for the big weekly shop. I took 2 children to the hairdresser once when they came for an extra day and they had a great time, but I'd rather relax when I'm having my hair done. My dentist positively welcomes them and talks to them about keeping their teeth clean. All these things are learning environments, but most learning is done at home and in the forests and parks near where I live. If you are happy with the dog, then I think walking it every day is a fantastic example of responsibility towards living things whatever the weather.

In my opinion it sounds like she sees child minding as a way to get money while doing all her own stuff at the same time. I would prefer a childminder who took childcare seriously as a job. The non crb checked relative is a big issue too. She just doesn't sound very professional.

Thurlow: It used to be that people who lived in the house over the age of 16 needed to be checked I think, or it could have related to the likelyhood of them being in during the day, I can't remember exactly, but I remember the kerfuffle my Nan went through when she was CMing and the CRB checks for her adult son and husband who both worked out of the house 12 hours a day, and, later when she was fostering, her 16yo grandson.

Does she have the other days off though? I would assume that if she has yours for three days then she would have other children on the other days if not coinciding with yours seeing as she's a childminder?

Definitely ask what EYFS stuff she's doing, didn't even think about that but she does need to abide by that.

kat Being at somebody elses house would be an opportunity for autonomous play, not child-led play, assuming that the house had toys and/or other ways for the kids to occupy themselves. A good CM who did this very occasionally wouldn't bother me. As I said, if they were having their hair done every few weeks or if it was a time consuming process, it'd grate on me, but occasionally having a quick haircut, no more than an hour of the day maybe? Not really an issue. I wasn't referring to the haircut anyway, I was referring to "I mean they should give some thought to the days activities and what the kids will be doing, and how they will be involved in things" You can only do so much planning. If my charges are busy in their tent playing and have been all morning, I'm not going to change their play to fit the plans for play I made for them.

However, in relation to everything else, for the OP it is part of a wider issue, which needs to be discussed as it sounds as though the balance is completely lacking in her situation.

OP the ale relative is a huge issue. If he's supposed to be out of the house during her working hours, this indicates to me that Ofsted may not know he is there.

How long have the children been going OP? It doesn't sound like very long?

Hmm... Yes, if she has other days off then I think I would expect that most errands would be done when the children aren't with her. Are they her only mindees? A trip into town is an activity in and of itself, but not one I'd expect to be done all the time.

The relative - do you think it is important that he is male? Part of choosing a CM is knowing that other people will be in their house. My CM had her mum living with her for several months at one point and we never formally met her. How much is this relative around? Is that he is popping in and out, or is he involved at all with the children? I can't remember off the top of my head but I have a vague idea that other adults who will be around the house regularly have to be CRB checked too? (Though I could be completely making that one up!)

I wouldn't be happy if she'd told me the other person was going to be out f the house and then they are there regularly. Not sure ofsted would be? Not sure.

I wouldn't be happy with the haircut stuff. She's working - I can't get my haircut when working and I don't take my toddler to mine as she'll be bored.

A walk would be fine.

I would tackle your issues sooner rather than later as I'd rather deal with them before they became 'the ways things are done'.

dizzy In my previous job I spent nearly all of my time trying to find errands to run. My charge loved walking and loved being in the town centre. There is so much to do in town. Going into shops, browsing (teaching them how to behave in shops), paying the staff (money and numeracy), people watching (learning about the world, behaviours), crossing roads (personal safety), going to the library, watching the swans from the bridge, eating lunch on the bench, going to the pet shop to see the small animals, getting to know the community, etc.

By 18 months my charge would be able to direct you home from anywhere along the main road in town. By 2 she could be anywhere within a 2 mile radius of her house and would know her way back and would lead you there if asked. The amount of times I'd try to 'trick' her by taking her to places we hadn't been to before or often and she'd know exactly where she was was astounding.

Its a bit hard for them to do child led play while they have to sit in someone else's house (which might not have been childproofed) watching her get her hair done! I am all for childminders letting kids play by themselves some of the time, I just think getting your hair done in your working day is taking the piss. I imagine Ofsted would agree.

The walk is absolutely fine, even in the cold - at least you know it will happen so you can wrap your kids up warm.

I have no problem with my CM doing housework while the kids are around, especially once they are a little older and can happily amuse themselves for fifteen minutes while she loads the dishwasher etc. I also don't have a problem with them going to the shops, and even the bank - if they really need to go, they really need to go, and it's not like they can nip out on their lunch break, is it? Occasionally my DD will end up being the only mindee at the CM's on a day during school holidays. CM also has three older children herself, so DD basically just gets treated as 4th child and has ended up at the dentists when the whole family needed check ups.

Hairdressers... That I don't know, I think I would be less happy about that as it's not so much of an emergency in my books as dentist, doctor or bank could easily be. Most people work f/t and have to juggle a hair appt at the weekends, I don't really see how it should be that different from someone doing a job like CM'ing.

One thing that struck me is that your younger DC starts at 11.30. Mine does that occasionally but it does mean that the CM has probably missed out on the chance to take her to a playgroup, as most seem to be in the morning. That can't help too much with a routine that involves doing fun things. If your DC is anything like mine, she turns up about 12, eats some lunch, has a story or a bit of telly to calm down, sleeps until at least 2 if not later, and then it's time for the school run. If it is similar, there's not much opportunity there for your CM to fit in anything much else.