Childminder terminating contract with no notice

[ElusiveNinja]

Hi, I have had a tricky situation with a childminder where she terminated the contract to immediate effect leaving me in a sticky situation with no childcare. My daughter has been going to for the past 10 weeks and settling in took ages but was settled. She started to be less settled in the past couple of weeks and was called last week to pick her up as she was inconsolable but seemed to get better as the week progressed. Today I got a call again asking me to pick her up and told that she does not want her back as the setting is not right for her. I understand her point on one hand, on the other I feel dropped without really trying to navigate what is a period of increased separation anxiety. I cannot shake the feeling that this may be somewhat convenient for her (she talked about having new starters and my daughter upsetting the setting) without trying to find solutions. She is in breach of contract doing this but seems to think it is an act of kindness towards my daughter. Of course I don't want her to be distressed but I feel that it can be part of the separation process and something to manage. Am I being unreasonable or is she? Has this every happened to others? How can I handle this?

What do you want the outcome to be? Your daughter to be allowed to attend for 1 more month?

If she’s distressed and inconsolable, it isn’t “something to manage”, and it’s quite an extreme reaction to separation from you. Most children who get upset at drop off will be bad when immediately before and after drop off, but settle afterwards; and are distractable. It doesn’t sound like that’s the case for your daughter, so it’s quite possible the childminder is right, and the sttting isn’t correct for her. The childminder does also have a duty to look after the other children in her care, including any new starters, so she does need to balance the impact that your daughter being so upset has on them.

I’m not sure there are solutions, if you’ve had to resort to picking her up because she’s so upset.

Have you explored nurseries in the local area? Perhaps a busier place with more children and staff would help her to be distracted and settle better?

How old is your daughter?

Thanks for your responses. My daughter is 2.5. we picked a childminder as we feel that she would do better in a smaller setting with fewer children where she can form a stronger attachment to one person which she needs to feel safe. She can struggle in busy playgroups hence our choice.

When I talk about finding a solution I was thinking about compromising and doing something like mornings only which she was doing well with during the settling in period. I get that I need to pick my daughter up if distressed but would have expected something like if this doesn't change within two weeks I will need to terminate the contact and be given a warning so that we could start planning for alternatives. Not having childcare from one day to another with no family support can be tricky. If the setting is not right for her that's fine and I want the best for her too, it's how abruptly that has been communicated that I am having an issue with.

You say she's only been there 10 weeks, took ages to settle in and then has been unsettled for the last two weeks, so the CM is right that this isn't the right setting for her and better to find somewhere else. You say playgroups are a struggle too so I guess nursery wouldn't suit. Can you stretch to a nanny or a nanny share? Are there any SEN that anyone's flagged that might be helpful in finding the right setting for her next?

That aside, your CM should have followed the contract stipulations for notice, and if you really have to, you could push back for her to at least give you another week to set something else up. But then if she's been needing you to come and collect her anyway, it would just end up being disruptive and upsetting for you, your DD and her and the other DC, so it's probably for the best. Very short-term, you could perhaps use Sitters or similar ad hoc care in your own home. I can't recall the name, but when mine were little there was an ad hoc home childcare agency where you could book random hours at short notice, but this was in London so might not be similar if you're elsewhere.

Is she in breech? Have you looked to see if there is a settling in period on the contract that allows either party to terminate immediately in a certain time period? If there is and it's coming to an end that maybe the reason.

The contract states 4 week settling in period that finished beginning of February and yes during the settling in period it is possible to terminate with no notice. I am assuming notice is required now.

Helpful to know about possibilities for alternative childcare, we are looking into options. On a more positive note I have been able to speak to the CM again and agree to try mornings only to see whether that makes a difference, which feels like a good compromise. Hoping for the best and getting ready for the worst!

Hi, is there a behavioural section to your contract as well? Mine had no notice during the 4 weeks settling in period, then in behaviour section mine was 0 days notice in a childs behaviour had a negative impact on the setting , but I did usually try working with family first before just stopping Care. When I first started childminding it had been 4 weeks in this section too but after 1 particularly difficult family who's child cried non Stop all day long (10 hours ) for the whole 5 days they were with me and they informed I had to put up with it as it was my job and shut up. I gave notice and changed all contracts for future families to no notice.