childminder issue

[Elfrescue]

Have name changed as this would out me, but could really do with others perspectives please.

I use a childminder to pick up my 3 youngest DC (5, 6 and 8) from school and keep them until I finish work 3-4 times a week.

DC have told me that the childminder collected them from school, had her own two children with her and then picked up another two from another school after getting mine. This meant that they sat on each other's laps in the car going back to CM's house (no car seats.)

We have had a few issues with CM picking the children up late for example (not just a few mins) but this has really concerned me and I feel that I no longer want her to look after them as she is putting their safety at risk. Am I over reacting? I am a LP so have no one to discuss this with really.

The contract states 8 weeks notice is needed to finish but I don't think I want them to go back, and could not afford to pay off the 8 weeks and am not sure what to do about that either.

Wow! That's hugely irresponsible. You'd surely have cause to say she'd broken her side of the contract and therefore early termination without penalty was OK.

What she has done is illegal and has breached your contract therefore you need to report the incident to ofsted and remove your children. You should not have to pay anything due to the breach of contract. She may argue you have made up the incident I order to avoid paying so it's important that you inform ofsted so they can investigate.

Blimey! I'd be cancelling the contract, telling her why and telling her that you've no intention of paying any notice period.
And yes, you should inform Ofsted.

Ring ofsted. That's disgraceful.

Thank you, it is a relief to know others feel the same about how bad it is, it has been in my head all day and I was worried I was making it into something worse than it was if you know what I mean.

All 3 DC have separately said the same about it, after DD2 told me I casually chatted about it with the other two without actually asking them and all said the same, they think it was quite an adventure.

Does anyone know what the process is if I ring Ofsted? Will they just take the info and then contact her to investigate or will they want to speak to my children etc? I would like to be prepared.

My God, that's completely irresponsible - and greedy! - of her. I'm a childminder and I have to turn down work all the time because I have limited car space. I wouldn't dream of risking the lives of my mindees by squashing more children in the car unsafely in order to make more money! Absolutely report and refuse to pay - she must surely be in breach of contract by behaving this way.

I'm in Wales so I'm not sure how Ofsted work but I'm sure when you speak to them they can tell you about the process.