Can I ask you ladies for some advice?

[DamnYouAutocorrect]

I have a babysitter who's an ex-childminder. I don't use her often - about once a month, usually to look after my DSs (8 and 6) for a few hours between the end of school and the time I get home from a meeting/working late.

I know her reasonably well because she also cleans for me, and she's always seemed reliable and trustworthy - plus she's the only person I've found that my DSs are happy to be left with, other than family members.

Recently, a good friend of mine told me that this lady had actually been struck off as a childminder because she'd refused to go along with a police check on her live-in lodger (a single man in his fifties).

Now, my DSs never go to her house, and her lodger never comes to mine - I'm sure my DSs would mention it if he had. And of course I have no good reason to think there's anything dodgy about her lodger anyway. but I'm beginning to wonder whether I should tackle her about this - or would that be unnecessary given the circumstances?

Would be grateful to hear what people think.

unnecessary, and could well be tittle tattle; unless a big news story there is no reason for anyone to know why a CM stopped minding

her home life is nowt to do with you, you are happy with her cleaning and up to now with her babysitting

nothing has changed apart from someone gossiping about her

Thank you, that's helpful.

What on earth does refusing to "go along with" a CRB check actually mean? If she initiated a CRB check and it did turn up something unacceptable about her lodger or proposed lodger, she will have had to choose between her two sources of income, and will have had to give up her CM registration if she wanted to take on the lodger, but surely that shouldn't affect what she may do outside her home. Similarly, she may have had to give up her registration if she did not feel she could even ask potential lodgers to undergo CRB checks. It does sound like a tale that has been rather sensationalised in the retelling. I would ask your friend how she knows this stuff.

Thanks minderjinx. My friend got her info from another local childminder, but I take your point that this might all have got confused/inflated in the retelling.

I really like this woman and she does great work for me so I reckon I'll just carry on as normal and not worry about it!