Childminder wants to close at 1pm for the rest of the week

[SweatySpider321]

Woke to a text from my childminder, announcing due to the weather we need to try to collect our children at 1pm for the rest of the week -530pm is the usual finish time. I’m not even a week into a new job and my husband has no leave left (mainly due to covering her annual leave). It’s not in our contract and it’s funded hours we use with her

Can you clarify what you mean by "Parents mostly don't pay anything anymore" because if that's true I am flummoxed by the invoice for just over £1000 I have received today from my children's childcare setting.

Yeah, it makes me chuckle when people talk about “free childcare” as we get also invoices?! Subsidised childcare is a more accurate description

I'm a childminder and on a bunch of the Facebook childminding groups. Everyone is in a panic about this hot weather largely because of the new safer sleep rules. We're supposed to have the room temperature between 16 and 20C for sleep times. Obviously that's impossible for a lot of us at the moment so some people are closing or doing half days so the children don't have to nap with them. If Ofsted were to show up and take issue with the temperature then we could be suspended (unpaid) under safeguarding regulations. It's not fair or reasonable.

I live in London and my children’s’ schools are staying open (one primary, one secondary), both have said (quite rightly) that due to climate change, these extremely hot periods are going to happen every year and so they are implementing measures to keep the children as cool as possible but not closing.

They are right; we need to learn to live with this as it will happen every year most likely.

Edited to add that my nephew’s nursery have invested in portable air conditioning units so the children can at least nap in reasonable temperatures, they also are staying open.

We are in amber with the attached forecast, no school closures.

All our chaps are still working in black uniform with steel toe cap boots, but we are postponing anything that involves manual digging etc

It’s really not that difficult to keep children cool on hot days. I’d completely understand not wanting to do school runs but it’s very unreasonable of her to close and it sounds as though she’s not really that into her job. As others have said, I’d just tell her you have tried and failed to find a solution so will be picking up at the time originally agreed and paid for. What does she do on ‘unannounced’ hot days? Surely she just has to get on with it like the rest of us?

But the BBC says this, red with lower temperatures 🤷

One of our children goes to school in September and l have had mg eye open for a nursery place. But they are also over subscribed and way more expensive. Last time l looked into it 1 nursery nearby, they wouldn't even give me a quote per month

Do you have legal cover? You might have it through your home insurance / contents or bank account. They often have a free legal helpline with agents who can answer a lot of common questions like yours.

Don't think you'll get a lot of legal advice on here, and someone needs to read through your contract. Unusual circumstances might be allowed.

Well worth asking the childminder too. Ask how you're impacted / what it means for the funding. Did you try that already and what did they say?

We're supposed to have the room temperature between 16 and 20C for sleep times

There are many easy ways to achieve this though aren’t there? Beside which, Ofsted really don’t have the resources to be randomly checking this stuff. Has common sense completely gone out of the window?

Exactly this. Curious if UK businesses / governments are making plans to adapt buildings to future proof them.

Are there? Can you tell me these easy ways? Would be great to know for bedtime.

Just because Ofsted aren’t going to turn up today doesn’t make it safe, ridiculous comment.

No, you just use common sense and don’t leave them unsupervised.
A paddling pool is very different to a swimming pool!

I'm also a SAHM with little kids in zone 2 London (one of the red alert areas, unlike where OP is based). My baby has been in his vest and I've kept all windows and curtains shut. It's actually fine right now. I dont see why youd have to shut down? Also....it's her business. She needs to buy a portable air con if she cant cope in 32c.

I’m not going to lie, myself and every other cm I know, (and I know a lot!) briefly considered taking advantage of the extreme weather conditions and closing.
None of us have, because the inconvenience to our parents would be huge.
Most of my mums work in the NHS, one is in A and E, others work in the police force etc.
Yes it would be fab to not have to work, yes I am having to take extra precautions so my 11 month old baby that I care for doesn’t overheat, but I honestly couldn’t relax and enjoy the time off because I know how stressful being a working parent is.
Your cm is on the lam, if she tries to insist you pick up, definitely ask when she will offer back the hours.
I would love to know who her LA is, mine are really strict about the funding being properly applied, what does your parental provider agreement say about time off?
( She has to provide you with one as part of her funding process)

Are there? Can you tell me these easy ways? Would be great to know for bedtime.
Just because Ofsted aren’t going to turn up today doesn’t make it safe, ridiculous comment.

@Jellybunny98 This is exactly the kind of thinking I’m referring to when I mention lack of common sense. It should go without saying that a woman posting on a childcare forum isn’t going to want children to be unsafe. What I am saying is sensible measures taken to cool the room and keep the children well hydrated will be enough to keep them comfortable and safe. The ‘threat’ of Ofsted randomly coming round (they won’t) is a ridiculous excuse for sending children home - to a potentially hotter house because it’s unlikely to be a child-centred space. Surely childcare professionals are able to deal with these situations? If you have kids and don’t know how to keep them cool it’s time to do a bit of research!

Yeah it's the equivalent of calling in sick and chilling in the garden with booze, isn't it?

Shame she doesn't seem to care about the kids. I'd sack her tbh.

...oh! guess what! My childminder has just messaged saying she will be closing at 1 over the next couple of days. Because this is a NORMAL response and in line with the advice they're being given, particularly in terms of keeping the sleep environment cool. She says they are going to take steps to being able to mitigate this in future hot spells but that isn't any use to them now.

The thing is, I know she's committed and passionate and very well trained, and I trust her to make safe choices. Therefore I have not started to take legal advice or kicked off on Mumsnet accusing her of shirking. I've just rearranged my plans a bit. As is everyone else I know with small children right now.

This site is so out of step with what I'm seeing everywhere else in the country, it blows my mind.

But what if you couldn't? If you had to be at work?

We have just had the following in from school:

It must be all those threads on Mumsnet clamouring for everything to shut down in the “extreme heat”; I think some people are longing for lockdown again.

But the point is if the childminder has done a risk assessment and they cannot keep children safe, they have to close. Just like many other childminders, nurseries and schools have made the same decision.

You stated that there were lots of easy ways to keep the sleep space between 16-20, I’m genuinelt asking what those ways are? We have done everything you are supposed to do to keep the house cool, windows open early doors for a cross breeze, blinds/windows/curtains closed after that to try and keep the heat out, haven’t used the oven, kept internal doors closed etc- the kids rooms are still sitting currently at 25 degrees. They are my children, so we’ll do what we can to keep them cool, but I certainly wouldn’t want to be responsible for other people’s children in these temps.

Childcare professionals are not magicians.

They are being sent home to their parents who can provide much closer care, and can accept their own risks for their own children. That’s exactly what we should want- not childcare settings staying open when they KNOW they cannot meet the guidelines on keeping our children safe because there would be countless threads if a child ended up seriously unwell or worse if a childminder stayed open against their better judgement.

There are plenty of fuckwits who can't write a decent risk assessment because it relies on common sense and not being dim.

Even in education and childcare.

I wouldn't accept this from a cm - she's been hired to provide a service, there are contracts. I'd expect her to do what she's been paid to do! The reason you hire a cm is because you have a job - if she's not covering the time you're at work, what's the point in hiring her?
I used to be a cm It's not a hobby that one dips in and out of, it's a proper job where you make a commitment to care for children during specified hours. This is unprofessional imo.

We don't know that .
She might have school age children whose school has closed and she doesn't want to have too many children in the house in the heat, she might be someone not able to cope in the heat and so thanks the children will be better I their own homes.
Ultimately she works for herself and can choose when she works
If OP isn't satisfied with the service the childminder provides she can take her business elsewhere

Just to play devils advocate here…are you aware of the new sleep regulations that have recently been implemented?