Would you send your child to an unregistered "childminder"?

No, I would not.

I think that what would happen in an emergency isn't the most important thing.after all we most of us might have already or might in the future have to deal wth an emergency situation involving our children or a family member. I think not being registered doesn't realy make much difference as to how she would cope. The fact that no one is regulating who comes into contact with the children is a much much bigger concern. A registered childminder has to have everyone living in their house over the age of 16 DSB checked. Any one who comes to stay regularly has to be checked as well. If they were having lots of visitors during the day the chances are that it would be noticed.

Hey cruikshank yes why I asked them to be my emergency back up, they are all qualified child carers, and we socialise with them 2/3 times a week.

ACM, do the people you would leave your charges with in an emergency situation know them? I mean, really know them? Have they spent time with them in their houses, do they know where the toilets are, have the parents met them? Are they DBS checked? Because if not, I don't see how what you are offering in an emergency situation is so very different to the childminder in question here.

ACM I was just trying to explain why I feel very differently :) As I said, very happy just to agree to disagree

Ask her bluntly why she's no longer registered then see if what she says tallies up with her closing Ofsted report, assuming it's still available to view.

But personally, I'd take the 'risk'. Small village, everyone knows eachother's business inside out from my experience. If there were issues with her, you'd hear about it quick enough at the school gates.

Woah took some effort to pick apart my posts and disagree with everything I wrote, to say you don't want to argue!

Yes I see things very differently, in essence I know no more about this woman than you.

It doesn't really matter what we think as long as OP is happy with her choice of childcare

ACM88 -

Hey latte it was me who said about childcare being so much more than just being lovely

Yes, I know. I was deliberately not name checking and making it personal, because although I used your wording, it's a general thing - it's not personal.

Meaning that if you are registered, you have to do so much more

Yes, fully understood what you meant.

We have to risk asses

Yes, we all do - all day every day. Parent, childminder, gardener, footballer.

and show that we are able to deal with emergency situations. We have to have policies and procedures which are regularly reviewed

The rest of us manage with common sense.

and we have ratios we have to stick to

The rest of us manage that ourselves.

All these things mean that (in theory) when emergency scenarios crop up, we are better equipped to deal with them

Even if you believe that - in theory is the point.

Fully appreciate that this lady may be a wonderful woman with many years experience as mother and grandmother

I don't think you do actually, I think you are quite dismissive of her experience.

but it's very different when you are looking after a child, who isn't yours, or related to you, and they need to go to A&E

Not really it's not. No. Other than letting the parents know.

and you have 8 other children to deal with

You are still going to have those children, registered or not.

It may only be for 2hrs a day, but that's enough for something bad to happen. Accidents can happen at any time with anyone

At anytime, with anyone Exactly.

not meaning to suggest she is a clueless teenager, as it's just as likely that something can happen with registered CM. But at least with registered CM there are systems in place to deal effectively with the problem, because they have to be

She has managed to look after half the kids in the village for many years, I'd say she is able to manage.

I feel quite confident that if one of the children in my care needed to go to hospital, I have an assistant, a lady next door who is a nanny for our neighbours, and another CM on call, all who have agreed to look after my children if needed

and the assumption you are making is that she doesn't have a system in place.

If she was registered, she would be expected to think about all of these things

She is a mother and a grandmother - an 'aunty' to half the village, it is ridiculous of you to suggest she would not have thought about those things.

More importantly she wouldn't be allowed to have that many children in her care

You don't know how many children she has in her care at any one time.

There are some good childminders and there are some bad childminders - being registered doesn't guarantee you get a good one. I would much sooner trust the people in my community than Ofsted when I decide who to leave a child with. That's my bottom line really.

I don't want to argue with you over this - I am quite happy to agree to disagree :)

Hey latte it was me who said about childcare being so much more than just being lovely. Meaning that if you are registered, you have to do so much more. We have to risk asses and show that we are able to deal with emergency situations. We have to have policies and procedures which are regularly reviewed, and we have ratios we have to stick to. All these things mean that (in theory) when emergency scenarios crop up, we are better equipped to deal with them.

Fully appreciate that this lady may be a wonderful woman with many years experience as mother and grandmother, but it's very different when you are looking after a child, who isn't yours, or related to you, and they need to go to A&E and you have 8 other children to deal with. It may only be for 2hrs a day, but that's enough for something bad to happen. Accidents can happen at any time with anyone, not meaning to suggest she is a clueless teenager, as it's just as likely that something can happen with registered CM. But at least with registered CM there are systems in place to deal effectively with the problem, because they have to be.

I feel quite confident that if one of the children in my care needed to go to hospital, I have an assistant, a lady next door who is a nanny for our neighbours, and another CM on call, all who have agreed to look after my children if needed. If she was registered, she would be expected to think about all of these things. More importantly she wouldn't be allowed to have that many children in her care.

It just annoys me when the arguments used against someone doing something are so illogical

Oh and just for clarity - I didn't mean YOU Doubtfire :)

I'm sorry, I lost your thread!

I am pleased you have come to a conclusion you are happy with :)

Just a question though (not in any way an attempt to change your mind!)

If an emergency happened - how do you think things would be any different if she was registered?

and someone else said

For me, childcare is so much more than just being lovely, and doing nice things. It's about knowing about behaviours/disciplines/development. Would this lady know what to do if a child was suddenly taken ill? If she isn't registered, who is to say she took a first aid course recently?

People have been raising children for a good long while now, it is only in the past few years they have turned 'minding a child' into something that needs a great deal of analysing & reporting.

Even if you did think that was A Good Thing - we are talking about 2 x 2hr afternoon slots here. 4 hours a week after school.

This woman is a mother and a grandmother, she has been minding other people's children whilst registered and unregistered for many years. She is more likely to have a First Aid certificate than any of the parents or Grandparents/Aunties/Friends that end up looking after the OP's child. She's not a clueless 14 year old.

DoutbfireDear as I said, I have no wish to change your mind :) It just annoys me when the arguments used against someone doing something are so illogical.

Ahhhhhh of course that first line should have said NOT going to use her!

I'm very glad to hear that your going to use her. I have been an ofsted registered childminder for 21 years. I was graded outstanding in my last 2 inspections in Feb'09 and July'14, and Good in the goodness knows how many inspections I had prior to that. I have to work very, very hard to achieve and maintain this grade. My whole life revolves around keeping ofsted happy (and of course my minded children and their families!)
I can totally understand why your tempted to use this unregistered childminder, especially as there doesn't seem to be any alternitive care available for your son. It's true that she can have children for upto 2 hours a day for reward while keeping with in the law. I'm sure she does her best to keep all the children in her care safe and happy,and chances are nothing will happen to them while in her care.
However no one will be regulating how she cares for them, whether she has enough room and suitable toys for them to play with etc. Any one could be in the house at the same time as the children, no one will be checking if they are suitable to be around children. If there was an accident would she know how to deal with it? If she noticed unexplaned injuries on a child or a child confided in her about being abused would she know what to do and who to talk to?
None of these things might happen-but they might.
Please, please everyone use ofsted registered childcare for your children.its not that people who are ofsted registered don't want other people trying to earn a living, it's for the safety and well being of children

Oops that should of said hope it works out ok for you.

Well it's your choice and as a professional I wouldn't go there. Hope it

Superram - the 3 hours was talked about as a possible change but in fact it has remained at 2 hours. Perhaps you should become properly registered again so that you can keep properly up to date.
An unregistered childcare provider will have had no checks on them and will have no rules re child numbers, first aid, things they do etc. I wouldn't want that for my children.

I suppose when you think about it, many families are happy to use Au Pairs, teenage babysitters, and untrained nannies. So if you were to find an ex-childminder looking after children for three hrs a day, it's not a bad option...all of the time. You do hear of some awful stories about unregistered childminders!!

I do think in rural areas unregistered childminders are much more common. I am from Northern Ireland and everyone I know who uses a childminder uses someone who is unregistered. My family though I was a bit strange that I insisted on a registered childminder for DS when I first moved back here. Then when I told them how expensive the registered childminder was, they thought I was downright crazy.
There really aren't that many registered childminders or nurseries in the area where I am from. I'm unsure whether that is because there is not the demand for them because people are happy using unregistered care or whether people use unregistered care because there is not enough registered.

superram do you have to have first aid? How many children can you have...is it an unlimited amount?

I have been an ofsted registered childminder and am now not as I couldn't be doing with the paperwork. I am DBS checked and from 1st September 2014 can look after a child for 3 hours a day, and be paid, legally. If you are not comfortable then don't do it, what else will you do though?

Your welcome!!

A&E scenario is an extreme case, and fingers crossed it never happens, but it's worth thinking about, especially if she doesn't follow Ofsted ratios, that's a lot of children to organise!!

Having years of experience is invaluable, but especially when it comes to first aid, which changes so frequently, it pays to have up to date information, which being in a registered setting, nursery/crèche/CM guarantees.

Good luck in your decision, ask lots of questions, it sounds like your childcare options are very limited, but have a look around, and don't just settle.

I don't think I can offer you the perspective you are after...I am an outstanding graded childminder which I worked very hard to achieve and maintain. I love my job, I have been in childcare for 8yrs, and despite the annoyance Ofsted regulary brings me, if you find a CM that has been consistently graded good or above, then yes they are worth it.

For me, childcare is so much more than just being lovely, and doing nice things. It's about knowing about behaviours/disciplines/development. Would this lady know what to do if a child was suddenly taken ill? If she isn't registered, who is to say she took a first aid course recently?

You absolutely have to be 100% certain with whoever you leave your child with. This is such a personal decision, and everyone has different feelings on it. What I would say, if anything were to happen, responsibility falls to you. If she does happen to have 10 under 8s and 2 get into a fight and end up with trips to A&E what would happen to her other kids? The fact that she could have any number of children petrifies me. That's very wrong. Actually despite what others may think, I believe the Ofsted rules on ratios are very clear.

I wouldn't do it. But that may be because I'm qualified, and I am proud of that, and consequent achievements.