How would you feel about not having seen CMs house

[Truckdriver]

I return to work soon :( and months ago met a number of CMs. We whittled it down to two and after much uming and arring chose one.

At the time she had put her house up for sale with the plan to move to local area. Like I said this was months ago so I (stupidly) assumed that it would all be sorted by the time my LO was to start.

However she has only just found somewhere (bless her it sounds like it has been V stressful) and will probably be moving around the time my LO will start her settling in period.

We really like her but I have serious reservations as I will not have seen where my LO is going. It apparently is smaller and as a result the CM said that she will be going out more.

I just feel really uneasy about not having seen the house, I don't know what changing/sleeping/eating arrangements are.

I am pretty certain that the other CM still has places and sorely tempted to go to her. But would feel really bad about leaving the other one so last minute. Also we gave her a retainer.

Any views? Is it really not that important? As I am confident that she is a good (hopefully great) CM.

I would say the person is more important than the accomadation - assume it was all fine at her old place so she will set it up well at her new one - I can understand you want to see where your LO will be through

I am a cm. I moved house while I cared for a number of children. All the parents were told and given the chance to choose another cm (moved out of village into neighbouring town), see the house before they made up their minds if they wanted to. I was lucky and all parents stayed with me and none I'd them were bothered about seeing the house. As a parent, I would probably have felt a bit like you and personally would have asked to see the house before deciding. Could you ask this? Unless the house is a lot smaller and would significantly impact on the space the children have, I would say the person is more important than the property.
Go with your gut instinct though!

Thanks, lots to think about. Hmmmm

I am a CM and I moved about 3 years ago. Parents didnt see my house until i moved. I wrote to them all well in advance and gave them description of house/garden etc and they all stayed with me.
Your CM will have to satisfy ofsted that she will still meet all safety criteria etc when she moves. She will have to put this in writing to them.

Sorry didnt mean that to sound so abrupt.
When i wrote to parents i described the house but also explained where the children would be playing, sleeping, eating etc and where toys would be stored etc and where car would be for getting them in and out and also garden layout and how secure it was etc. Could you ask your CM to do something similar for you?

The main thing is that your DD is happy with the CM, and that you are happy that SHE is the right person for your DD.

Ofsted may come out to see the house and the CM will have to satisfy them that the arrangements that she has made re sleeping and safety are to their satisfaction. As she is already a CM then she will know what will need to be done. If you trust her to look after your DD in her current home, you should be happy that she can look after your DD in her new home too :)

Can she send you some photos? If not, just ring and ask what the arrangements will be. I'm sure she wont mind.

I would be unhappy if I hadn't seen the current house iyswim. As the others have said ask her to describe how it will be set up & perhaps you could have a trial to make sure you are happy? I would say that if you trust the childminder (and I guess you do as you are planning to leave dd with her) then you should trust her judgement that she can set up the new house in a safe & acceptable way.

Thanks for responses.

I guess what I am also irritated at is that I do not feel she has really considered any of the issues I have raised, I note the other CMs above thought about how to communicate with parents about their possible concerns and she has not done this at all. This gives me a feeling of foreboding as if she is going to be like this about something big what is she going to be like with day to day communication. I also feel like the whole thing has been a bit last minute and disorganised.

There a lots of positives about her but I feel like I do not trust her as much, which makes me really upset considering we have not even started our working relationship yet.

There is the possibility that her house purchase is delayed further or that when she moves in some changes required by OFSTED delay her registration. This might mean that she won't be able to take on childminding work straight away which could disrupt your plans. Just something to consider given the timing. If you need to return to work by a certain date I would probably consider the other childminder again but give your preferred childminder the opportunity to give you a fuller description of the house and allay some of your fears (if she can).

Have you contacted her?

do you know where she is moving to? can you look at it on rightmove (tick sold subject to contracts etc)
I think you have every right to want to know where your child is being looked after, i dont think thats unreasonable at all, but you clearly like this CM so it would be a shame to cancel your "1st choice" person just because you dont know what the new house is like.

Have you spoken to her about it? Has she described it to you etc?

I dont think you need to swap CM's just yet

I wouldn't cancel your first choice cm without first asking for more information. It may be that other parents are quite laid back, knowing her well they trust her judgement and ability in this area and she may assume you feel the same.

If you would like a longer settling in /trial period, or photos, a floor plan or anything else just ask her. Her attitude in responding to your requests may help you decide what to do.

The home/garden is important but less so than the qualities of the carer - a competent childminder will ensure your child has a stimulating and safe day regardless of the size of their home.

I agree with MGM I move alot (Forces wife) and it can take up to 6 weeks for Ofsted to re-register a new house :(

I had this when I was gazumped a couple of years ago... and had to (in a huge hurry) find alternate rented accommodation from which to run my CM business. None of the parents saw this house obviously.

I sent through floor plans (drawn by me) and risk assessments to OFSTED asap, so they could reissue a certificate for the new address and there would be no break in care for the kids. They sent me a new certificate in 2 days, knowing it was urgent for continuity of care for my current mindees.

One parent was a new parent and was away at the time, and I emailed her and told her what had happened, explained the layout and facilities of the new place etc. She said I was the childminder she wanted, and, having seen my previous home, she knew I'd have high standards in my next home.. which of course was correct. She loved the new place even more than the first (as did I).

As always, go with your gut. The CM is far more important than the setting.