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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

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Original poster

Questions about someone childminding unregistered. . .

125 replies

bestfriendswithbenefits · 07/02/2009 20:28

I know someone who looks after their neice for two whole days a week. As a blood relative, I'm assuming this is legal? She's recently started looking after another little girl ( aged 2 ) for someone else, but is, as far as I'm aware, not registered. She's getting paid to mind them both. How can I find out if she's registered? And if she's not, should I do anything about it? Who do I report it to? Am I just being a sticky beak? I know she is aware of childminding regulations, so it's not just a mistake on her part. thanks.

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DaisyMooSteiner · 08/02/2009 17:01

Well, that's between me and her But I see no reason why I shouldn't give her some money for doing so, after all she's using her own lighting, heating, food etc. I don't think the money is the issue at all, it's either appropriate for someone to look after your child or it isn't. I'm good friends with our cleaner also, but I don't expect her to clean my house for free!

tankie · 08/02/2009 17:03

If I wanted a friend to look after my child while I worked, I would expect to pay them.

LIZS · 08/02/2009 17:03

FAQ not if it is in your own home or less than the odd 2 hours.

AngelNanny · 08/02/2009 17:04

Do we know for sure whether the person in question is accepting money for the child that is not related?!

KatyMac · 08/02/2009 17:04

FAQ - not if they are in your house, they are a nanny then & the gov thinks if you employ a nanny it's you own look out - you can register a nanny but you don't have to.

Really if I advertised as a car mechanic/nurse/chiropodist/reflexologist/accountant & I wasn't I could get into a lot of trouble if only for not having the right qualifications & insurance why should childmindig be different?

FAQinglovely · 08/02/2009 17:04

well no I actually drop my DS round to her house and it can be the whole morning (or afternoon)......

AngelNanny · 08/02/2009 17:07

I difference between the profession of a nurse etc. and a childminder is that you dont have to have a childcare qualification or experience to be a childminder you just have to do a childcare basics course.

tankie · 08/02/2009 17:08

Is she advertising Katy? Is she calling herself a childminder?

There's a difference between advertising yourself as an accountant, and just helping out a friend with their tax return and buying you a bottle of wine to say thanks.

tankie · 08/02/2009 17:09

FAQ - You are using unregistered care! Turn yourself in to social services at one

AngelNanny · 08/02/2009 17:09

Exactly my point tankie - i agree

DaisyMooSteiner · 08/02/2009 17:09

I suppose then it comes down to whether you feel that you need special qualifications and insurance to safely look after a child. I happen to believe you don't.

KatyMac · 08/02/2009 17:14

Well I think it comes down to 'I don't have to obey a law if I don't agree with it'

FAQinglovely · 08/02/2009 17:16

well the one who'se house I sometimes drop him at is doing an Early Years course at Uni if that makes any difference

IotasCat · 08/02/2009 17:17

It seems odd to me that my friend (single, no children) can look after her sister's child all day Saturday and it is perfectly legal and yet if she looked after mine it would be illegal.

The h&s and insurance aspects apply to both situations yet only one is deemed of sufficent importance to be illegal.

wannaBe · 08/02/2009 17:17

all this obsession over qualifications and insurance is madness.

"what if something were to happen" well what if? Having insurance or not isn't going to potentially stop something terrible happening to your child, and do people really think about whether they would be able to sue the individual concerned before they entrust their child to them?

your child could go to the park with a friend and be seriously injured. The friend wouldn't have insurance, so does that mean we should all take out insurance before being expected to have other peoples' children over to play?

Of all the registered childminders I know, (and I know quite a few), I wouldn't trust the majority to look after my dog let alone my child. Registration does not make you a competant childcarer.

as for tax implications, I sincerely doubt that one child would generate enough income to even take this woman over tax code. If it does then I think I'll register as a cm tomorrow, given the majority I know have about eight children or more they must be earning a bloody fortune and childminding must be a more lucritive business than I thought.

If someone wants to earn a living as a childminder, then they should of course register before advertising to look after strangers' children. But if someone is happy to look after a friend's children, and the friend feels they would like to pay them for doing so, then frankly it is no-one else's business.

Sawyer64 · 08/02/2009 17:20

How can this be Illegal? If the agreement is between the parents and this lady,then its a personal agreement.

As long as all parties are aware that she isn't a Registered Childminder,then wheres the problem?

If you do a "favour" for a friend and look after their child,and they want to give you some monetary "reward",why is this an issue? Its a private agreement between you.

tankie · 08/02/2009 17:24

I think there's a big difference between being a childminder (running a childcare business, calling yourself a childminder, advertising for clients) and looking after a child. If someone is falsely claiming to be a childminder while unregistered, then that should be reported.

SlightlyMadScotland · 08/02/2009 18:16

But Sawyer, Tankie, Wannabe - the law is clear. It is not about calling yourself a child minder when they are not.

If they are looking after them for more than 2hrs per day
AND
they are looking after them in the childminders home
AND
they are getting paid
AND
they are not family

Then as the law sees it they should be registered as a childminder. If not they are breaking the law.

SlightlyMadScotland · 08/02/2009 18:22

JenniPenni · 08/02/2009 18:36

'Our nanny is qualified but not Ofsted registered - she looks after our kids in our home - so as far as I am aware does not need to register as a childminder. Is this right?'

Sam100 - Nannies and childminders are different... childminders HAVE to register with Ofsted, for nannies it is optional.

queenofbeas - The courses we do are far from pointless - mine have been invaluable! What is difficult (this is possibly why you have seen chldminders complain?) is many courses are during the week and it means taking (unpaid) time off work. It also puts parents out too, as they need to find alternate care. I am careful with the courses I do and give my parents fair notice.

Being registered means you are monitored and have to abide by certain rules and regulations (and curriculums!) and have certain standards etc. An unregistered person would not know what we need to know to run our business, unless she gleans info from a registered friend.

JenniPenni · 08/02/2009 18:43

'Of all the registered childminders I know, (and I know quite a few), I wouldn't trust the majority to look after my dog let alone my child. Registration does not make you a competant childcarer.'

Oh dear wannaBe, this is awful to hear As a childminder I've come into contact with LOADS of childminders, and the vast majority are not only competent, but highly skilled.

If they're not up to the job Ofsted would close them down believe you me, they have very high standards for us all.

And if I knew a childminder who wasn't fit to look aftera child, nevermind a dog, I would report them. A child's safety and wellbeing is my primary concern, not anything else.

JenniPenni · 08/02/2009 18:49

'I don't think childminders on here do their own image much good in these sorts of discussions, frankly. You risk coming across as being rather narrow-minded and self-righteous, IMHO.'

I find this unfair... we work our butts off and love what we do and choose to abide by the laws of the land and do things by the book. And we are seen as being narrow minded and self-righteous. Hmmm...

DaisyMooSteiner · 08/02/2009 19:15

I agree, it was a bit unfair of me. But it's not you choosing to abide by the law or do things by the book that sounds self-righteous, it's encouraging other people to 'report' someone else that seems petty. And it just depresses me to think that we're living in some quasi-totalitarian state where we're being told to inform on each other.

lou031205 · 08/02/2009 19:32

The thing is you can disagree with the law, but that doesn't mean you break it, does it?

You might disagree with a certain stretch of road having a 30mph limit. But if you go faster than that, you risk being fined.

If someone is 'childminding' and is unregistered, then any individual has the right to report them to OFSTED. What OFSTED do with that information is their perogative. But the person at fault here is the person breaking the law, not the person that informs the authorities.

The laws on childminding are there for a reason - to safeguard children. Whether there are good unregistered childminders, is irrelevant. If they are that good, perhaps they should look into registering so that they can legitimately earn a living at it.

AngelNanny · 08/02/2009 19:45

The OP is not sure if the person in question is registered, therefore she might be.

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