Would it be too late to report this childminder?

[summervibes2023]

Hi,

I posted about this before under a different user name. We have a 2 1/2 year old and a 1 year old.

They've been with a childminder for a long time. The childminder is quite popular, many parents use them.

They are two childminders, two women that are related to each other and work together. The childminding happens in the house of one of the women.

There were some things we didn't like, like one of the childminders bringing her dog over to the house, without informing us before. It is a small dog, but we believe she should have informed us about this.

Another thing that we didn't like is that frequently we weren't informed when our children had injuries. So I noticed them having bruises and I had to WhatsApp the childminder to ask what happened. They were always on the defensive when asked and didn't like us asking. I think they felt we were attacking them, but we weren't. We just wanted to know what happened.
We are convinced that there wasn't any abuse and that these were just the normal day to day small injuries. Our children were happy to to there. They are not malicious people, but they didn't follow the correct procedure of informing us.

Another thing that pissed us off (and this is the reason why we moved the kids to a nursery in March) is that we noticed that sometimes in the afternoon the childminders left our kids and other kids in the care of a family member.

One of the childminders was doing the schoolrun and the other childminder wasn't at home (I know that because I saw her walking in the street leaving the area). The children were left with the elderly mother of one of the childminders.

We were never informed that she was registered as their assistant and there was nothing in our contract.

This woman is probably in her 70s.

I observed this at least three times, when I picked the children up earlier than normal.

This woman looked quite stressed, having all those small children and toddlers following her around.

We are in a brilliant nursery now. It is very expensive, but they inform us about every single accident and we have to sign forms.
I know who the nursery workers involved in my children's care and that they won't be left unattended. Someone is always with them, also they are never left alone when they are eating or sleeping.

Anyway, when we left in March, we decided not to report them. I didn't want to be vengeful, as they were good in other ways. Also, my husband said nothing would come from reporting them, as we don't have proper evidence.

Lately I have been feeling more resentful of them again, as I imagined all the things that could have happened to my kids under their care.

So I asked my husband this morning again whether I should report them, but he shot me down again and said there's no point as we wouldn't be believed. He said to just let it go.

So in your opinion, is it to late to report them? Obviously, my kids are in a safe place now, but I am feeling bitter that they didn't follow correct safeguarding procedures for my children.

Thanks for any advice xx

These seem very minor concerns. You could simply send an email to the childminder telling her that you think she should improve these areas. She has to keep a record of all complaints and her responses to show Ofsted so that will have the effect of making her either improve her practice or provide evidence that eg the person is her assistant with the appropriate safeguarding and first aid training.

Definitely report.

The older lady may well not have been DBS checked and this is a big no no.

It all sounds a bit happy to me.

Our babies and kids deserve better.

Haphazard not happy

Yeah OP.

Report them to the authorities.

You absolutely MUST report people to the authorities. How would the authorities know they have authority unless people report other people to the authorities.

Can you even call yourself an authority if you don't have anyone report anything to you?

So your kid bumped a table and got a bruise, so what!

In the past, used to leave their kids with the neighbours, can you imagine that?

Leaving a child with someone who wasn't licenced by the authorities!

How did the human race ever survive?

Most of them are quite minor but leaving the kids with the mother of one of the childminders is a big no. Is the mother a registered assistant or not? If not, then this is surely not allowed? Who else would they leave them with? Is the mother DBS checked and all the other things childminders have to be?

I'm surprised about your dismissive attitude.

They are a business at the end of the day, that specialises in looking after children, vulnerable people.

They have to follow safeguarding procedures and they didn't.

If she was a registered assistant, we weren't informed about it. There was nothing in our contract and we were never informed verbally.

It sounds like they need to tighten up their procedures and act in a more professional manner. It's probably worth putting together your concerns in a letter to send to whoever regulates the childminder and then put it behind you. If the childminder is acting in an unprofessional manner and taking risks then she may very well continue to do so, but at least you tried to do something.

Ex ofsted registered outstanding CM here….

any injuries should have an accident form accompanying them BUT kids do get lots and lots of bruises and I certainly wouldn’t have done paperwork for every single little mark.

the dog should only be present with your permission

as for leaving with another family member, unless that family member has been DBS checked, current first aid and safe guarding certificates and insured (as a minimum) and with parental permission - they shouldn’t be left alone with the children

Some other posters have suggested this is OTT, but this is a business not a friend/relative looking after kids

would I report ? Probably not now

100% report for leaving the children in the are of someone who you don't know! For that alone I would be really concerned.

It wasn't just minor injuries, like bruises on their knees. My son once came back with a swollen finger and he still cried when I touched it. I can only explain that either his finger must have gotten stuck in the door or something must have fallen on his finger. He must have cried a lot when it happened, so they should definitely have informed us about this.

My daughter once had a bite mark of another child on her leg. When I asked the childminder about it, they denied it happening in their case as they "never leave her out of sight".

I know that it must have happened with them, because my son isn't a biter and the bite mark looked small, like the jaw of a very young child.

I think it'd be worth either phoning or writing with your concerns (not sure who you'd report to these days though!).
Reporting doesn't necessarily mean they'll get in trouble, more that they might receive some pointers on how to improve their practice, how they deal with incidents and how to communicate and record stuff. Most LAs want to help childminders become better practitioners, not close them down, unless they really are dangerous - which it doesn't sound like 🙂

Leaving the children with someone else is a huge NO NO.
You have no idea if she is trained, has done first aid training etc etc…

That I would report Wo a doubt.
The bruises etc…. Is more tricky Imo. They might genuinely not have seen it or didn’t think it could end up as a bruise. And esp with toddlers you can’t keep a log of every single knock.

Sorry just saw your last post.
These are incidents that should have been reported.

I would t have trusted my children in their care either @summervibes2023

The unregistered assistant is the main red flag here. The dog may have always come (since before you came) and whilst they should report every bruise, I think interacting with the children is more important than paperwork for minor injuries.

Are you sure the older lady isn't registered?

In our contract it doesn't say that they are working with an assistant and we've never been informed after signing the contract that they now have an assistant.

Yes all those injuries should have been documented and also advised you at collection.