Childminder didn't like my notice so brought my child into my work but won't give me the money back I had already paid for the month

[Lollipopsss]

So this month i handed in my 4 week notice to my childminder, I was very honest with the letter i gave her and said that i was removing my child because i wasn't happy with the care she was providing, example leaving him alone in the garden in reach of bark which he was found eating when my husband went to pick him up- My child's still under one he could've easily chocked.
Other times she has left him strapped in a push chair also alone in her easy to access garden.
So all in all i had enough of finding my child looking so vacant and left alone i found a new childminder.
Having handed my notice in this wasn't taken well and the childminder phoned my husband saying she wanted us to leave work and go get our child, which was out of the question as we both work in places that we can't just up and leave.
So about an hour and 45 minutes after dropping our child of there was a knock on the door at my work place where the childminder handed over my child like he was nothing to her, i turned to her and said i'm guessing you'll be giving back our money then if you won't be providing the service we have paid you for, which she replied "i'll have to speak to my legal team" which i then said i would be speaking to ofsted which she then said she'd get in touch with social services because of what i feed my child (he has some animal chocolate biscuits sometimes, he's not obese or anything) I did see red when she mentioned social service and did swear at her.
Since all this i have emailed her and asked for the money we've paid her to be returned but she has now made a claim that she terminated the contract due to aggressive and rude behavior which is untrue. No aggression or rudeness was shown to her prior to me handing in my notice.
Does anyone know where i stand on this matter? Surely she can't play the card of terminating a contract after i have already handed in my notice to end it?
I've paid for a service i haven't received and it's money i really could do with having back.

Fuck that! Report her to Ofsted explaining all the problems you've encountered
She breached the contract first by dropping your child to your work place,so can't claim your swearing broke the contract.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs why would you even think of send your child to a care situation you have assessed as unsafe during any “ notice period”?
This is a case for emergency cadets leave and straight to new minder.

Umm wtf? Sounds like you’re both well rid of each other.

File a claim for your money back, if she ant prove that you behaved aggressively she won't have a leg to stand on and report her to ofsted.

So you told the CM that you thought her care was substandard and dangerous but wanted your child to go there anyway for the rest of the month? That seems like a really strange decision.

I don't think either of you have behaved very well

Small claims court?

Gosh you both sound as bad as each other.

I'm feeling most sorry for your child if he witnessed all if that.
Your CM is being unreasonable as she is refusing care (which she can do as your working relationship has broken down) she should refund your unused fees.
You are being unreasonable to have given her a notice letter clearly criticising her care but whilst still expecting to continue receive care for your child from her.
You both will be better off without each other.

No, the OP DOESN'T sound as bad as the CM, ffs! The CM is completely out of order and I hope OFSTED shuts her down.

As a childminder I'm asking you to inform Ofsted. As for the money, you have notice, paid till the end, she has terminated early. You should be entitled to it back

I'm not sure why you wanted your child to go there for 4 weeks if it was this dangerous? I would be taking unpaid emergency leave finances tough or not a child's life is more important.

When you found lo eating bark did you do a formal complaint? Did you actually see your child alone in the garden or is it a guess that Lo had not picked it up un noticed even trodden in by another child? I don't think there is any child on the planet who hasn't found something to chew and had a lucky escape home, nursery or childminder so its possible if you didn't see her actually wondering the garden alone that she wasn't alone. Ofsted will have expected you to do so if the situation merited it as a first step.
Have you agreed or discussed sleeping arrangements? If your child fell asleep walking back from somewhere would you have liked her moved and woken or left in the buggy? By alone was she in view and being watched or not being watched.

You should get your money back but I’m astounded you would take him back there if you think she isn’t caring for him!

If he picked up bark in a split second before she could stop him, it might be a one off. He might be sleeping in sight of a window she could see him from in the garden. Only you know if this is the case or not. I quite understand if you don't feel your child is safe and gave notice, but in that case I would be taking them out of her care immediately. The CM bringing your child to work, even if she was upset by your letter, was extremely unprofessional.

If you are worried children are not safe in her care, then you should report her. If you think this might just be a normal 'grab a piece of bark' incident, then bear in mind that her business could be shut down either temporarily, or permanently after a safeguarding inspection.

I would not do what your CM did. I would make a note of each complaint and my risk assessment and then either try to reassure you, or offer to reduce the notice period if you found somewhere else before the end of it.

Good luck with future childcare ❤️

Sorry got interrupted earlier the gist of what I'm asking is
did you bring up issues with her as they arose and give her the chance to explain and discuss things or did you store them up and basically spring notice and accusations without giving her any warning? Could there be any explanation for what you say has happened and do you definitely know the circumstances or just guessing?
If she was unaware and you delivered child as normal handing over a letter accusing her of things without any warning she could have been so upset and emotional and not want to risk further accusations once she opened the letter.

OP didn't mention the word "unsafe" in the OP: she states she was not happy with the standard of care, so giving 4 weeks notice.

The worry about choking and being alone in an easy access garden suggested she might feel he wasn't safe in the CMs care. Only the OP knows her feelings.

You've described unsafe situations... I'm amazed you were prepared to leave him in her care for another month!

I suspect you're due the money back but honestly what were you expecting after being so "honest" in your letter?!

I think your letter was great 👍

Also report her to Ofsted

Taking the OP's account at face value, The CM has no grounds to keep the money, and social services won't be interested in the odd biscuit.

There are usually two sides to a story, so it would be best to take legal advice. You may get some legal help through your home insurance policy. The CM will certainly have full legal support through her insurer/professional organisation.

I wouldn't think you'd get far with Ofsted. They conduct balanced investigations, not 'trial by message board' and will take account of the CM's side and all circumstances alongside the details of your complaint. In all probability, they will ask you to follow the CM's written complaints procedure and await her response in the first instance.

They will consider facts such as whether you thought it important to raise any quality of care issues previously and, if you did, the CM's responses to your complaints. They will also note that you were happy enough with the care to leave him with the CM for however long it was throughout, and wanted her to see out the full four week notice period.

The incident with the bark is very typical of what small children get up to. I can't see Ofsted making a big thing of it. If that puts a child 'at risk' in any official sense then there can be few CMs or parents who'd escape trouble from Ofsted/social services at some time or another.

Similarly, Ofsted are generally happy for a child to be secured in a pushchair sometimes, so long as the CM is always within sight and/or hearing.

Send her a letter before action then if money not returned issue a money claim using money claim online. She is clearly in breach of contract, and OP should have received a refund along with her child when the child minder dropped off the child at her workplace. Whether the Cms actions were a repudiatory breach of contract is up to a court to decide but on the facts as given the CM doesn't stand a cat in hells chance of successfully defending a money claim.

Joe66 ....As we only know one side you cant say she's clearly in breach. If her contract has grounds for immediate termination of which one is usually a breakdown of relationship (certainly on pacey) an accusation of failure to keep a child safe and the instances mentioned by the op would be deemed a breakdown and loss of trust as its the p[aren't who has lost trust it could be argued that she forfeits money paid unless she followed the complaints procedure as the op hasn't come back with more information we wont know. The post dosent say what complaints were made until she handed in an honest notice letter. As many complaints to OFSTED are only made once a parent has no further use for a service and often when they are looking for a refund everything needs looking into before a decision would be made in court.
As a general rule most people in any action complain as the probems come up not after the event, as you have to give the opportunity to put things right. If this were an employment contract for example you could not dismiss someone with a list of complaints unless during their employment you had followed procedure and brought the complaint up giving a reasonable chance to put it right....we don't know if the op has specifically said that this was not to happen and the op has not provided any information when asked making it very hard to give an opinion.

jannier I would say that turning up at Ops workplace with her child is very persuasive that the cm breached the contract. There is no fair contract that would contain a clause allowing that, and if it were in the contract a court would not be happy with that as a clause and would probably consider it an unfair contract clause. Frankly I wouldnt bother with complaining to Ofsted. LBA then issue the claim. It's dreadful behaviour by the child minder.

Joe66 ..... Turning up is not good behaviour I'm not disputing that but we also don't know what was said and done before that. I am saying if the letter was breakdown of contract and there was a reasonable request to pick up the child because of that it maybe deemed fair for the cm to keep the monies and the only people who can give good advice is a legal team not someone who is only relying on what the op chooses to post. There have been cases of children being dropped off ill for example and parents refusing to come back and collect the cm in question took the child to place of work and served immediate termination and won. If the op is saying I'm handing in my notice because you do not care for my child adequately that is breakdown of a relationship. If you went into work and were given s letter by your boss who then was not available to talk to saying you don't do your job satisfactorily (and even are putting lives at risk) but we want you to work a month while we sort out someone new how would you react. I'm guessing most of us would not be in a fit frame of mind to be loving and kind to our work so probably asking for the child to go home was the best thing for the child. We all have a duty to act in the interest of the child. Most childminders I know would be so distraught at the implication that they had put a child at risk that they would be handing the child back at the door and terminating all customers with immediate effect. How the op can say she endangered my child either physically or emotionally but I want her to go there for a month is beyond me.