CMs, what do you think of this - it isn't an issue, is it?

[ohbugrit]

My CM has told me she's had a complaint made against her for having too many children.

Her children are grown up and between them have 11 children so her house is busy if they visit! Her daughter is also a CM and sometimes minds children at my CM's house, and on busy days she will do nursery runs in the car (my CM doesn't drive) thereby saving all of the DC having to traipse up and down the road all day.

While the house is often quite hectic there's a happy, laid back atmosphere and my only grumble with her is that I think there's more TV and biscuits than I would allow at home - however, as mine only go twice a week I haven't brought this up. It would be something to discuss if they went more frequently.

She has agreed the arrangements involving her daughter verbally, and I have no problem with them - the way nursery sessions fall, DS would have to walk a 40 minute round trip, have lunch in 10 minutes, then walk another 20 minutes to go back to the nursery if there were children for morning and afternoon sessions in one day. At 13 months DD would be in a pushchair half of the day if her daughter didn't help!

She's asked me to sign an updated permissions form giving written permission for them to be cared for by her daughter too. There aren't going to be any problems with this, are there?

As her DD is a CM and therefore registered with Ofsted, and you give permission then I don't think that there should be an issue.

The only thing to check is that they will then be within their numbers with any GC and minded children present - any children under 8 the DD has of her own will count towards her overall number as well as minded children.

I work with another CM (my DH) and we have specific mention on our certificates about how many children we can have alone and how many we can have when working together. If we are in different places, then we have to not in the diary (attendance register) which children are with each adult.

We are always individually and jointly within our minded numbers with children we are contracted to care for. As long as they are never (individually) over their minded numbers, they should be OK, but your situation is not quite as straightforward as mine, because all the children are contracted to both of us.

From what you say it sounds more like the cm and her daughter are co-minding as they in essence work from the same address and care for the same children jointly. Also if cm's daughter is collecting mindees from nursery it sounds as though your cm looks after all mindees on her own at these times. Sounds like your cm is in breach of her reg, she needs to look at re-regestering to include her dd.

Thanks very much for your responses :)

But doesn't the size of the house also limit the numbers?! If Ofsted haven't assessed the premises as being capable of holding that many children all at the same time, then it is irrelevant how many adults there are to care for them!