Childminder breaching safeguarding

[Lis96]

I’d like to know if our childminder has breached the terms of the contract by withholding information and for breaking safeguarding rules.

my son has been going since October and has been happy there but sometimes I’ve not been happy with her communication. For example one time she posted a picture on social media of my son at a pet shop, and I didn’t even know she was taking him out (we expressed to her when he was settling in that we don’t like the idea of him travelling but we wanted to be informed).

anyway I have found out from someone that she has her adult daughter living upstairs in the house she uses for childminding. The daughter has bipolar disorder and has been sectioned before. So obviously we’re now petrified at the fact that she would not by law have to inform us about her living there, nevermind the concerns that my 3 year old son being in the same house as someone with diagnosed mental illness.

we would have never sent him there if we knew about this, and now we are withdrawing him immediately. I’m upset at the fact that I now need to find him a nursery and hope he can get started there straight away. But I also know how money oriented she is and she will probably say we need to pay her for next month as part of the contract.

Is the fact that she did not disclose this information, the safeguarding concerns, and also I doubt the daughter is DBS checked, will this be enough to say the contract terms have been broken, so we don’t have to pay.

In a final note, the person who told us this knew for sure that this was happening also.

There are 3 of them that are approved for childminding at the house and they have up to 10 kids a day. But unbeknown to us the main childminder and her husband leave at 3pm everyday, even though the pick up time for children is 5pm. I think some kids only do mornings so it may not be 10 kids that she’s left with, but it’s definitely over 5 kids and I think she only has a level 2 qualification

This is what I was thinking.

You clearly have a very prescriptive idea of what you want so I'd find childcare to match

It's very stressful and hard to concentrate at work if you aren't confident in your childcare.

Ex childminder here .
agree with this post completely

You are being very unreasonable. There could well be some nursery assistants with bipolar or other mental health issues do you expect them to tell you about all their health issues. It doesn't sound as though the daughter is caring for the children she is just living in her home.
Also you can't expect a childminder to keep the children in all the time. Surely outings are good.
I can't comment on the ratios are you don't sound very sure about the details.
Yes you will have to pay the notice period.

Good luck finding a nursery that will tell you every employees mental health history 😂😂😂😂 you are being massively unreasonable!

I have worked in several nurseries, have bipolar and been sectioned.
You have zero understanding of mental health issues. This is why people keep their mental health issues secret.

And recently passed my DBS to work in a school. So do not let your children go to school if you do not want them near anywhere with scary mental illnesses.

Do you know every nursery worker who may look after your child ?Do you know their medical history and are aware every time someone is sick and they have to call in an agency worker. And do you know their qualifications and experience?
Also do you know every time the nursery take the children out. If they don't take the children out anywhere I think that is a shame and a totally unnatural environment for a young child to be in all day.
Also are you aware of the Ofsted framework that childminders are assessed against? And the training they have go go on and pay for before they can register. If you have seen it I don't know how you can say it is an inadequate setup.
It's perfectly understandable to say you prefer nursery for your child but it's unfair and incorrect to infer it's an inferior type of childcare.

Are you assuming your child wil never be in the care of someone with MH challenges? You certainly won't be told the medical history of every teacher, sports coach etc that your child is entrusted you.

By all means move to a nursery but you need to pay what you owe.

Please withdraw your kid from the poor childminder.

You sound utterly ridiculous. 😂

I doubt she money orienrated she's probably just had parents not pay on time or at all before and she's trying to run a business to earn a living! Of course you need to pay. Your reasons for leaving aren't very solid really. Have you asked her about leaving at 3 everyday? Sounds like a school pick up!

Your ignorance and lack of understanding about mental health issues is depressing. I hope that it is because you are stupid rather than prejudiced.

Please pay the money you owe and leave her family alone.

😂😂 you are so ignorant of mental health. When I ran my own nursery I was taking antidepressant medication, I still am now and I'm a safeguarding officer.
Somebody's mental health has nothing to do with you unless they are endangering your child.

You will need to get a nanny. There will probably be staff in nursery with mental health diagnosis. I know of someone with a personality disorder who works in a nursery

You're being so unreasonable.

And insulting to people with diagnosed mental illness.

And yes you have to pay her. She's a professional.

Someone in this scenario is definitely money orientated but I'd say it's the person quoting hearsay and exhibiting their ignorance in an poorly disguised attempt to justify non payment of contracted fees rather than the actual childminder.

No the mental health of her daughter is not your business nor is it a legitimate cause for concern. You know there are people with mental health issues in all walks of life, teachers, doctors etc
You cannot dictate that a childminder stays home because you want them to, they are self employed in order to be able to do their own thing. They are not the same as a nursery and often have to go out to do school pick up and drop off. Your child being in a pet shop seeing fish/animals should be a plus not a concern.
Please do come back and let us know whether you have taken any of the unanimous views here on board.

OP, you sound awful... pay the notice period and give the childminder the gift of taking your custom elsewhere

Wow - poor childminder. Yes, I am appalled but not by the childminder.
However, your child so your choice but adhere to the contract.
I really hope you do not need to find out the true nature of your prejudice by having to support a family member through mental health struggles, remember 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem of some kind each year in England.

Wow

u don’t want ur child in a house with someone with a mental health condition … just wow. Many many ppl have a range of mental health conditions and can function and are not dangerous like u seem to be assuming. Sounds like u would rather we went back in time to where ppl with any slight issues were condemned to an asylum.

have a bloody word with urself. Pay ur notice and leave. Childminder will prob be glad of it. God help whoever takes ur child on next !

I'm in Scotland so might be different (we have PVG here instead of DBS but essentially the same thing). My mum is a registered childminder and when I (and my siblings) turned 16, we all had to be checked because we were living in the house where she ran her childminding business. If the English regulator (Ofsted?) are aware that she has an adult living there, surely they would carry out a DBS check. If they aren't aware, could she potentially be in breach of her registration? Although like I say, it might be different in England. And apologies if I'm echoing what others have said - haven't had time to read all the comments! :)

'So we're obviously now petrified'

I genuinely mean this, perhaps it's you that has the mental health issue(s) here.

You are being completely unreasonable, entitled, and quite frankly, disgusting.

Another vote for poor childminder. And her poor family.

Pull your kid out and homeschool them if you think the world's out to harm your perfect little cherub.

But I also know how money oriented she is and she will probably say we need to pay her for next month as part of the contract.

If she was money oriented she wouldn't be childminding!! I wouldn't do that job for that money.

Oh and plllleeeeeaaaasse educate yourself on mental health. It's not that difficult in this day and age x

Everything seems to be based on what 'You think?' Now while I can see that's a new experience for you, one that clearly needs to be practiced, I feel the need to point out that hearsay is inadmissible in court. If you refuse to pay, that is where you will end up and in court you can only present cold hard facts to support your case. You would need to prove that the contract has been breached.

So can you say in absolute certainty that there is anything in your contract stating that the children cannot be taken out of the house without your permission?

Is there anything in the contract stating that there will be 3 members of staff at all times regardless of the amount of children there?

Anything saying that you have any right to know the medical history of family members who do not participate in the care of your child?

Do you have any evidence that the daughter is not DBS checked? Because you're going to look a right bloody prawn turning up at court with 'I doubt' and 'I think' as your only argument.

All adults in the house will have relevant suitability checks ....dbs the most common now but others like CRB or police checks are also acceptable....if anyone living in the house has police involvement the address is flagged as a childminder address and Ofsted notified.
Mental illness is not an offense or an automatic exclusion for being around children....luckily for many or you and every other parent would live in fear of having your children removed from you as we can all become ill....Ofsted will be aware and have assessed but just like I'm nursery and school the parents have no right to know and the childminder, nursery manager or school head would be breaking the regulations if they told you is just as private as your health.....and if a setting has multiple staff it is increasingly likely that some will have mental health conditions so your not fucking it by going to a nursery.
The regulations say that assistants can not be left for more than 2 hours a day.asduming they have first aid...co minders can be left all day....
Your not wanting the cm to go on outings....totally unreasonable CMS go out nursery rarely do that's an advantage of CMS
Photos....did you give permission in your enrolment forms ....check and complain if you didn't....follow the complaints procedure. Most nursery settings also post photos of children so moving may not mean your child is never on social media.
Basically sounds like you're looking to avoid notice ....unfair on the cm pay up.

The people living in the house is on the registration and the op didn't say she didn't know the daughter was a resident just that she wasn't told about her mental health.....for some reason she thinks people with MH issues are a danger and should go around with a badge or something....it is not her right to know....Ofsted know in the same way they are informed about every medication a cm is on....unlike a nursery worker....about husband's having strokes children being diagnosed with ASD or ADHD and virtually everything up to the death of a dog. ....you have to tell them you no longer have one. You have a bias based on one experience I'm sure you have never had a teacher issue and kept a child in a school or refused all schooling in the future?