Do we need a contract for school holiday childminder

[Ilovechocolate87]

We have a childminder who we use solely in the holidays/out of school care for our 1yo and 6yo, and was just wondering about whether there should be any sort of contract/other paperwork I should be signing for this.It's not for so much the financial side as she does invoices for that, and obviously alot of the contract contents wouldn't be applicable for ad-hoc care, but it's more the contract of care...covering our backs for if there were any issues etc as proof of a formal childcare arrangement between us and her?

Yes, not actually law but it’s definitely good practice to have a contract in place, although prob more benefit to the cm than to you. In theory you could walk away with out paying and she wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. More importantly does she hold child info records about any allergies/ medical conditions, does an have all your emergency contacts and does she ask you to sign any accident or medication forms if needed? Actually whatever is in a standard contract should still apply to as hoc hours, eg re sickness, payment, notice periods etc. Does she share her policies with you? Do you know her ‘rules’? Is she with in her ratios?

Thanks for your reply- no we don't have anything in place at all currently.She looked after my oldest child last summer several times and I did mention about whether there was any paperwork for us to fill in, and she said she would sort something out but it didn't happen.

She did ask if our children have any allergies, medical needs etc, but I've never signed anything about agreeing to particular policies etc, and I've given her my husbands number as a back up for a emergency contact, but this wasn't on a form or anything.

She always comes across a nice stable sort of person, and is a mum at the kids school so i know her fairly well, I think she is just quite laid back maybe with that sort of thing, but I guess I just like having the security of things in writing! I saw her certificate of registration when we visited once, don't think I saw anything else.I think she is adhering to ratios...she often talks asif she is.Most of her children are in the preschool age range so she doesn't have lots of babies together or anything.

So you used her in the summer but don't use her every holiday?
You have an ad-hoc arrangement....normally a non refundable payment is made on booking ...often the whole fee for the period you book. You are not guaranteed a space for any future bookings as it will depend if she has already sold the space.
Her insurance etc. Will work as normal should your child get hurt. You can prove payment with your bank statements....although I'm not sure why you need this unless you're claiming financial support.
Ideally she should have got you to complete paperwork....child details allergies etc. She may have recorded this herself but it doesn't safeguard her should you claim your child has an allergic reaction etc...but if she has completed it with all the info you have it doesn't make a difference to you.
You should have signed giving permission for things like outings, to store your contact info etc.
A contract can be implied by payment and work done.....if you're paying on booking you should have a receipt ideally as it proves what you paid for.
Policy wise you should see policy for GDPR, safeguarding and complaints as a minimum as they are mandatory.

Is she registered as a childminder with Ofsted? If she is then yes she should definitely have all this paperwork in place. If she is not registered then she is breaking the law if you are paying her to look after your children in her home. Does she have insurance? Either way she doesn't sound very professional.

Ofsted have no interest in contracts it's just good practice.

Yes, sorry I was meaning other paperwork ie medical info, contact details, accident forms etc. These would be required by Ofsted