AIBU to pull child of books

[Aprilmaymum]

Will keep this short. Due back to work next month and had planned to use my usual childminder. Never any problems though she does have a habit on taking children at short notice so not sure on her numbers. Went round last week to discuss a few hours twice a week and she had approx 10 children there ( she has one assistant. ) she said she has a few more starting next month too. Didn’t think anything of it but talkIng to a school
mum she has got planning permission for only 10 children max. . I called her
last night to say I wasn’t aware she had planning for only 10 children( as On ofsted it says she can have 12.) she didn’t really answer my concern just it was fine as ofsted said she can have 12. Surely if planning have said only 10 that is the rule. I am worrying about her insurance now and thinking of pulling DS out. Anyone any knowledge if Ofsted rules are the rules they go by. ?

where does this school mum get her info from? Ultimately up to you and whether you’re ok with it. I would assume 12 is the number if it says that on the ofsted site.

Is it possible the other mum has her wires crossed about the planning permission?

Ofsted wouldn't approve her for 12 children if they didn't think she has sufficient space and staff for 12 children.

Why would you listen to a random school Mum rather than the childminder you have previously trusted and Ofsted? It seems an odd way to go about securing the information need.

But YANBU. Use whatever childcare you're comfortable with.

She knows her neighbours. I have checked on the planning site and it does say only 10 children allowed

No I checked on the planning site and it does say only 10 children allowed

so the mum knows a neighbour of hers and she had to apply for planning . she did apply and they said only 10 children are allowed. I don’t know if this outweighs the Ofsted or not. This was only done in the last few 6 months so not when I was previously there

She has always had 12 children. The application was applied for 6 months ago and now the council planning say only ten children are allowed.

Is that 12 children at one time or 12 on her books but spread across different days?

How on earth can 2 people look after 10 children properly?
Never mind planning or ofsted!

The ratio for pre-schoolers in a nursery is 1:8, so two people can look after 16 children.

I would call Ofsted and ask.

I assume Ofsted concern themselves with the welfare of the children. Planning Permission would only consider the impact of this on the neighbours. So, parking, noise etc. so if Ofsted are happy with it I assume the childcare provision is adequate but they run the risk of neighbours complaining about noise, parking etc.

I do believe it is 12 at anyone time with Ofsted. But only 10 at any one time with planning. As I say I have used her in the past and she is lovely but is a bit lax with numbers and is happy to accept another child if the parent needs cover. I would have thought ofsted would update their site but not sure what takes precedence. My DS will be attending when there will be 12 children and my worry is they will not be covered. I think I will look elsewhere.

That seems an awful lot of children to look after . Do you feel confident that they're being looked after properly? Even with one helper it would surely just be warehousing so many . Can't imagine there would be much individual care .

That would be a firm no from me. It obviously depends on ages of the children but my daughter is nearly 2 and would need much more supervision than they could offer. That seems mad to me.

How much supervision do you think they receive in nursery? The government say it's a ratio of 1:8 and that's what you get!

Wow. We’ve not had to use nursery so I’ve never really given it much thought. That has really surprised me though.

I agree it seems a lot of children. But the ratio is what is allowed. I am going to look around and see what other options I have.

What age is your child and what ages is she looking after? Presumably she has more older after school kids because it is 3 children under 5yo per adult

its a house it’s not like they’re going to be wandering off any where

The ratio in nurseries is 1:8 for 3 to 5 year olds but 1:3 for under 2. A childminder will have a mix of ages. I think this mix of ages means the older ones are sometimes left the their own devices. In a nursery with children of the same age, the activity can be more suitable for the age.

Not a great start, you don’t trust her at all.

So yes…. No point progressing

If she's in breach of planning conditions and someone reports her to the enforcement team then there's potential for her to be served with a stop notice and then she wouldn't be able to look after any children at all. If the number of children results in a nuisance to the neighbours with noise or parking problems then someone reporting her gets more likely

Neither take precedence as such, but one of the Ofsted requirements is that you follow all local authority rules and requirements.

If someone reported her to the council for breaching her numbers, they could issue and enforcement notice or even close her down. If they then reported it to Ofsted as part of their enforcement or someone else made an Ofsted complaint, Ofsted may revoke her registration.