Taxi school pick up

[SkyeB]

Hi, I am new to childminding and this is my first message on mumsnet so ~hello~

Do you think the Care Commission would allow children to be collected from school and brought to my home in an arranged taxi. My reasoning is that I do not have a car, look after a young baby and am not sure I will manage when the weather gets really bad (in scotland so BAD)I could get written permission from parents.

Thanks,

Skye xxx

not sure you'd get parents agreeing to this, sorry. I wouldn't.

my step brother and sister were. the taxi ( a lady) collected them outside the school and brought them to the childminder. some days the taxi would pick me up as well then i'd look after them until parents got home! this as 15 yers ago mind!

Is it really rural where you live?

The 2 sets of parents have agreed as I asked them when they signed contracts. But I am now wondering if the CC would be ok with it.

Can I ask why you wouldn't agree Hana? your concerns could be useful for a risk assessment.

Thanks,

Skye xxx

I'm a teacher and a fair number of our students are brought to school/taken home by taxi - it's a special school. The attitude of 'some' of the drivers is awful, they don't treat the students very kindly at all. Also, it's not always the same driver and I think children need that continuity - as a parent I would want guarentees that it's the same driver and not different drivers all the time.

What would the plan for car seats be? That would be one of my concerns, as a parent. In England, mini cabs are allowed to take children w/o them, but I wouldn't want this to be the case on anything like a regular basis. However, if it's a small town, and they could hop over to yours to collect the seats and you could ensure that they were fitted properly...maybe? However, is the driver CRB checked, etc. On balance, I have to agree, I wouldn't go for it.

I think you should seriously consider whether or not parents signed off on this if you would be liable/held responsible somehow if something went wrong when they were with the cab driver.I think in your shoes this would worry me but maybe you've already worked through all this!

Thankyou for the replies,

Fadge I live on the edge of a small town in countryside.

Harriet, one taxi company does school pickups, their drivers are disclosure checked (same as CRB) and they go into the school and collect the kids from reception. My daughter is 9 and will be collected with the 2 mindees so they are not on their own. Only one needs a booster seat so could look into that. Would you be happier with this Senario?

Thanks for your reply hana,

Skye xxx

Oh, if there is a company which has made a market in this, so to speak, and has the required checks, it's very likely I would agree to it for a child of the ages you mention. For my under four...hmmm... Sorry, but the devil is in the detail here. I would need to be local to assess totally. But the scenario you are outlining is not unreasonable in my view.

However again I would urge you to check your liability just in case.

Thanks Harriet I will look into this.

Is this unusual? Do any other CM have this set up?

Im thinking about the baby and how cold it gets also for when its icy/snowy.

So what do you think the CC or Ofsted would say about it?

Skye xxx

Unless they are all very tall - all of them would need booster seats/cushion (incl your 9yo surely?)

sorry but the baby can be well wrapped up, everyone else copes why can't you? Don't mean to be rude but I really can't see why you need to do this?

How far are we talking?

Do you mean regularly or only when the weather is bad?