Childminders (educate me if my worries are misplaced!)

[Iz91]

Hi, so I’m a FT mom with bad PP anxiety and OCD, and already in therapy getting support for this. I feel the need to preface this because I struggle to reign in where the line of my anxiety crosses over too far into reality and messes up my perception/judgment.

But if you care to visit a fraction of thoughts that keep me up at night here we go; say you leave your child with a childminder, what kind of security / assurances do you get that no one else will have access to your child who is not supposed to (or isn’t DBS checked etc). I’ve got the same concerns with nursery and schools but this feels largely mitigated with there being strict process involved with who is on the premise and for what reason and multiple staff around. Like a family friend can’t just come over and have a cup a tea unexpectedly, or a partner / teenage/young adult son isn’t just home from school / work during the day and therefore around the children.

I know for safeguarding purposes any adults in the house needs to be reported and accounted for but are they checked and do childminders still take the necessary precautions to keep the children separate and monitored away from household members? Am I being daft or silly to question this and yes my anxiety and OCD is on a rampage with the possibilities of things that could go wrong but I struggle a lot with concerns around this. Like how do childminders go about making sure any child is solely left in their care when they still need to have bathroom breaks, or prepare meals, change one child’s diaper? How does this work?

I strongly believe there are some lovely and passionate childminders out there who want nothing but the best care for any child in their care, and I might need to be educated on the subject, so enlightening me in whatever way you can 😅

Well, it's not the case that people can't be around the child - childminders do have family and friends visit, plumbers coming in to fix a leak, postman delivering a parcel. But the childminder would be there! It's the kind of thing you can ask about when you visit.

Childminders are like a home from home, like being looked after by family. If they need the loo, they would do the same as you would when you need the loo! There are strict rules, the same as nurseries have, and most childminders would stick to them as you could report them to OFSTED for not doing.

We had three different childminders over the years and they were all brilliant in different ways. It's always worth going to see some and getting a feel for how they operate. Our first childminder was always out and about at toddler groups, the library, doing the school run for the older children, and the little ones got so much socialisation.

I was a childminder for 15 years. Obviously you have an enhanced DBS and any adults living in your house or working with you are also DBS checked.

Every 3 years you have to complete safeguarding training and you ar inspected by Ofsted like schools/nursery's.

I would have risk assessments for any trips we did and there are ratios for the number of children you have at any one time.

I would get permission for day trips and make parents aware of our typical routine day to day.

If i met with a friend who had kids it would be my responsibility to ensure the kids in my care are not left alone with that person . I mostly met with other childminders who are fully checked like me. I wouldn't invite people to my house while I was working, it would be at parks or play groups.

But ultimately the parent needs to trust the childminder , it's better to go with someone recommended or that you know.

In terms of the formal checks that are carried out - when a childminder is registered with Ofsted, they have a DBS check, social services checks, health checks. Any other adults who live on the premises or are regularly present, like an assistant, with also have DBS and social services checks. The childminder will effectively be "interviewed" as part of registration, to discuss their knowledge and understanding of the requirements, to look at the safety of the premises. Once a childminder is judged suitable and registered, the responsibility is then on them.

There are rules around things like how many children they can have at once, but it's on them to follow those rules and to behave appropriately. Ofsted can't really supervise what is going on, they can only investigate and respond to things like complaints from parents or a school or whatever who see something and have concerns. Do some childminders behave inappropriately? Yes. But hopefully most go into the job to provide safe, good care to young children.

In terms of an unchecked unknown adult having access to your child - a friend may stop by for a cup of tea, but the childminder shouldn't leave them unsupervised with the children. So children should be at no more risk than if a friend stopped by for a cup of tea at your house, when you were also there. If the childminder is looking after 3 under 5yo and needs to change a nappy, they're probably doing it somewhere within sight and hearing of the other children, and shouldn't be doing that while leaving rando friend/boiler repair man in a room with kids unsupervised.

You either trust the person caring for your child or you don’t. I used a nursery personally as the childminders I saw out and about didn’t fill me with confidence but I know some people have been really happy with theirs.

They have to have advanced DBS checks for anyone 18+ regularly in the home while the children are there. They should not leave anyone 18+ without a DBS check with the children without another adult present. Family members e.g. husband/wife, son/daughter should not have access to the children without the childminder present if they have not been DBS checked. The same would go for friends/neighbours/workmen. If they have been DBS checked, they should not have much access to the children unsupervised, but if they walked through the room while the childminder had taken a child to the loo say, that is ok. If the childminder meets other adults e.g. at a toddler group, I would again expect them to stay with the children while other adults were in the room, unless another DBS checked childminder was supervising. Childminders who work alone should have everything like nappy changing set up in the room where children are playing.

You would expect the childminder's own family to never be alone with the kids, but the over 18s should not be regularly in the home if they are not DBS checked.

Just say it is 16 years old that the enhanced DBS checks are carried out for childminder's children /family.

My children come into contact with many people - my friends, strangers out and about, tradesmen in my house, who may or may not be DBS checked - when they’re in my care. I supervise them to make sure they are safe.

When they are in the childminders care, she supervises them to make sure they are safe, including with unknown adults.

I have used two childminders (one for age 1-4, and one now for wraparound) and they are honestly like my kids’ aunties, and their kids are like my kids’ extended family. I trust the childminders as individuals and I trust their judgement to keep my kids safe like I would my husband or my mum. It’s a very different ‘feel’ from using a nursery which might have more ‘safeguarding policies’ if that makes you feel more comfortable.

You just have to trust your childminder that they will keep your child safe.
I'm a childminder and my husband and teenage son are around the children.
A friend of mine popped in today.
I had a tradesman round recently to do some work on the bathroom.
Sometimes I take the children to visit my parents.

It's just the same as you would do at home really.

Your worries are valid- you are a parent who wants the best fortheir child.I became a childminder 25 years ago because I didn't want anyone else looking after my children.
My setting is home from home. However, the safety of the children is paramount. Parents trust us with their most treasured possessions and that is an honour and a privilege. Most of my families have been with me for years- at the moment I am caring for the 4th child of one family- and trust me 100%. It's more than my life is worth to let them down.
And a vast majority of childminders are the same. Unfortunately, as with everything, there are good and bad.
I worked in a nursery for 3 years and a lot of their practices were questionable!

Definitely go and meet with several childminders. Some you with gel with, others not so much. They are all very individual. None are the same. Meeting with childminders will alleviate a lot of your fears. The same applies to nurseries.

Childminding is a home from home environment so agree with PP that they would go to the toilet, change nappies and prepare food in the same way you would with a child in tow. The children need to be within sight and/or hearing at all times.

If the childminder has a partner or children they will be around the minded children as it is their home. However, anyone in the house over 16 is DBS checked and they are never alone with the children.