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

You sound awful.

Speculating and gossiping about her daughter's health. All adults in a childminders house are DBS checked and Ofsted are informed who lives there.

Childminders regularly go out on outings. It's great for the children. I've never known parents be informed of every trip. It's just not how it works.

If you don't think she's the right childcare for you then look elsewhere. Perhaps a nanny would be better for you.

As you are removing the child anyway, My points probably won't have much point. If you're concerned ther is an un DBS checked adult in the home, then confirming that is reasonable, I would. Making assumptions that because she has MH concerns your child is at risk and needs immediately pulled.....all I can say is I really hope,for,your sake that if your child ever develops MH concerns, that the people they meet aren't as immediately judgmental as you are. Childminders do not (at least decent ones don't) just sit around the house. They take out the kids to stimulate them and let them get into different environments. I'd be more disappointed if a child minder sat in the house all day as I see that as poor care. As you're pulling your child for no real reason, just personal preference, then yes, you will be liable for, and should pay, whatever the notice period is.

Going out and about is one of the benefits of using a childminder over a nursery. It means your DC sees everyday life, can stop at the bus stop and watch the buses go past and talk about them. My DD even went to the dentist with the CM's daughter and they had a morning of dentist / teetch cleaning related activities around that. Your DC is supposed to be going about life with your CM, visiting markets, parks etc.

Strange do you always assume a nursery isn't registered when someone comes on saying things that are perfectly within regulations?

@jannier i assumed she meant they might not be registered with ofsted as they don’t have to be, making a complaint to ofsted inappropriate.