Questions about childminders

[MamaJoon]

I'm worried about a childminder that lives near me and questioning if she's operating correctly.

Childminders can you advise??

Firstly she has 8 children for the school run, 6 primary aged and 2 preschool. Is this too much??

Secondly she had stopped to talk to someone and 4 of the children were not with her, I passed them 2 minutes later climbing on someone's fence by a busy road.

Thirdly I have seen the children run straight into a road in front of a (thankfully) slow car and she was no where in sight.

Now I understand children run off but has she taken on too much?? I'm worried one of these children are going to get hurt.

Thanks

I don’t know about ratios of children they are allowed but the other things are seriously alarming. I would be flagging that with ofsted or care inspectorate (Scotland) depending on where you are.

She can have 6 under 8 at any onetime and this is a very strict rule so yes it's worth looking into if the children are all under 8 (some may be over 8 in primary though). Yes the other points are valid too as they need to be within sight and/or hearing at all times apart from the actual safety dangers so prob worth a mention to. Do u feel able to have a chat with herdirectly? Or better write a letter and she'll need to respond properly. Or you could have a chat with ofsted if you know her name perhaps

My son said at least 3 of the children are in year 4 so 8/9 year olds. He was the one who commented on them being so far from the minder today. I just make mental notes.

I know her name to report to ofsted but as I've never used a childminder before I wanted to get some opinions on this. She lives near me and takes children to the same school as mine attend.

Would reporting to school be an option?

It sounds like she is within her ratios, but not keeping the children under close supervision. I would suspect there is not a lot the school will do about it, but they might be able to let the childrens' parents know what you have seen.

Number of children are fine if she has 5 under 8s and 3 over 8s.

They should be in her sight or hearing at all times though.

School can't do anything about it, she is self-employed. If you report her to Ofsted they will probably contact her about it though.