Childminder says she can't provide hot dinner as needs hygiene inspection

[blithedance]

Or something like that? She used to do dinners but has been told she can't any more because kitchen isn't catering standard 2 sinks etc.

It's becoming a pain trying to make dinners to send along with DS to be heated up (he's getting bored of pasta!)

Is this really likely to be the case, I thought most CM's are happy to provide hot meals and usually do lovely ones?

didnt you predict that heppening with lots of people KatyM?

Yes - but it doesn't mean it's safe, for anyone

Yeah, someone reported her and she got a visit. But she had by then become a good friend so that's fine and they said was ok.

What could the potential consequence be anyway for me, if she wasn't a "friend"?

I just been googling and apparantly she can't look after my dd even if she is a friend. DD only 7. Only a relative or a registered childminder could. So not sure how she managed to avoid trouble when she was reported. Oh well, dd's nearly 8!

If Social Services have any concerns & were to investigate - they could decide to consider leaving your child with unregistered care as 'neglect'

It's not particularly likely unless they have other concerns but it is possible

Accepting money (or reward in kind) for minding children under 8 for more than 2 hours a day is illegal. Paying money (or reward in kind) for your child under 8 to be cared for in someone else's home for more than 2 hours is illegal.

Well unfortunatly there are no registered childminders with any vacancies in a 6 mile radius. So if I want to work then I have no choice. Threads like this make you realise why there are so few childminders.

"So not sure how she managed to avoid trouble when she was reported." - umm I guess she lied

This annoys me to death. I have a good friend of 20 years' standing, a fantastic mum herself, practically an auntie to my DC's, who I would love to look after DS, and she could do with the money, but she can't get registered as a CM because she's in rented house with no business clause (and probably a hundred other reasons too). Instead I am stuck with a stranger who, while kind, safe and Ofsted registered, will not cook him a sausage.

Katymac, I know the rules but I do wonder what has made us so suspicious of our fellow human beings.

(now that's my rant over!)

I was surprised to hear that you could be prosecuted for using an unregistered child minder- luckily mine is. Where does that leave people who use au pairs, babysitters and unregistered nannies? Is that ok as it is in the children's own home? If so, that seems a bit hypocritical

I know this sounds daft - but I follow the rules - I don't always agree with them

I drive within the speed limit (well most of the time) - I don't just decide the road is safe & drive faster anyway

The rules (both driving & childminding) were created because somewhere, sometime somebody was hurt or killed or neglected or damaged because it wasn't safe.......

Say I cooked chicken nuggets & they weren't totally cooked through (not going to happen - I used to cook for a living before I childminded plus I have a probe & I cut the biggest one in half before I serve) and a child I serve it too gets salmonella

What happens then?

A non registered childminder could be sued by the parent - & lose her home/livelihood

A registered childminder could be sued & her insurance would cover her

A Registered childminder with a food hygiene cert, registered with her local EH Office can prove that she did everything she possibly could to prevent it and has documented records to show that she took reasonable care. So the guilt she would feel for the rest of her life should be (marginally) less

StripeyKnickersSpottySocks if your cm has deregistered and still cming she is breaking the law, she has no insurance and you will have no come back when something happens to your child.
i think its careless and wreckless to leave a child with someone who has so little regard for the law and your child. i only hope for your child that they are not left in her care for much longer before some thing happens.
i would also be reporting her to ofsted because yet again its people like her and you for using her which give all good cms a bad name. no wonder cms are struggling to be seen as the highly trained professionals we are when there are people like you and her around.

Hypocritical & two-faced

But this is the government we are talking about

Applause for cmx2

cmx2 - did you read where I said there are no other childminders? Beieve me I have rung everyone in the village - no vacancies.

She used to be registered when I first used her and only had to un-register because she had to leave her home due to a martal breakdown. She's a very good childminder but has moved into a rented house which to pass an inspection would need stuff doing to it. She can't have alterations done to a rented house.

So I'm sticking with her, I don't think thats careless or reckless at all. I think dd would be devastated if she went somewhere else, even if somewhere was available which it isn't. How am I giving CMs a bad name?

If you say you are a
Lawyer
Doctor
Nurse
Vet
Teacher
??
And you aren't

You get prosecuted

Why should Childminders be any different

At the very least neither you nor she should refer to what she does as childminding at the most it is babysitting at the worst criminal, illegal and risky

but a teacher who was known and trusted by a family but not currently in work would be a good choice for a bit of emergency tuition, no?

cmx2 I find your post a bit bewildering - are you saying that because this cm is currently deregistered due to her change in marital circumstances, something WILL happen to stripey's child while in her care? Sorry, but you don't come across as a "highly trained professional" in your posts, and I would postulate that it isn't stripey who is giving cms a bad name here

i dont care about ANY excuses, there are non if you leave your child with someone who has no insurance etc you are breaking the law and should be prosecuted for neglect. she should also be reported. if she cared that much she would have found a way to continue working. does her landlord know she is running a business from the property? many landlords state in their contracts that it is not allowed. so what if there are no cms with vacancies locally you should have looked further a field. your child is not safe and is at risk.

but hey who cares about the law and the safety of your child. she blatantly flouts the law in this way what else is she doing that you dont know about committing benefit fraud??

there are many excellent cms who are working incredibly hard to meet all requirements and someone like this gives all us hard working cms a very bad name. i would ask would you leave a young child with someone who cares so little but hey you do so you are just as bad if not worse than she is.

Childminding only applies between 2am and 6pm... so anyone can care for a child between 6pm and 2am totally legally. If the care is provided at the child's own home, again it is unregulated. Does seem a little strange that some things are regulated, while others are not.
While rules may exist, I am sure there are many who don't follow them, in the same way there are many people who drive over the speed limit, many people who take class A and B drugs.

What is frustrating is that there isn't any middle ground. Professional registered childminders are wonderful and it's right their profession should be respected and protected, if only there were enough to go round.

But then call it something else, it would be helpful if you could semi-formally set up childcare with someone you know and trust, without bringing down the law on you both.

i do appreciate your points but wrt the insurance thing if you employ a nanny isnt the insurance situation the same?

what about an au pair?

But she would still be a teacher not an imposter (potential criminal)

I am talking about people lying about what they are

If SKSS's carer is calling hersef a childminding then it is lying, if she refers to herself as an ex-childminder then that is better

But a professional who has voluntarily de-registered/stopped can no longer call themselves by their title any more

Littleducks - nannies can have insurance, it is valid when caring for a child at the child's home or while on outings.
Au-Pairs to my knowledge can't get insurance, but could call themselves a nanny and get nanny insurance I expect.

No because it is your choice

Realistically you can leave your child with anyone in your home - if anything goes wrong it is likely that you will be the one prosecuted (neglect?)

However a professional advertising a professional service needs to be legit

Can I ask a daft question

what is the difference between leaving your child with a cm that has unregistered in these kind of circumstances and leaving your child with a friend for the evening??

why does the law allow one and not the other ??

I am not stirring.. I am curious