CM Club - I am so sick of unregistered childminders around me

[Booh]

And no body seems to want to do anything about it.

I am sure that I have moaned on about this before in the past, but why oh why do I bother when others get away with not being registered.

Ofsted don't seem interested at all

GGGGGGGGGGGRrrrrrrr

Ofsted and local councils need to have a paragraph or something in their literature to remind parents to use registered care if the person looking after their child is NOT a close relative.
And they need to prosecute some of these unregistered minders!
There is one at our school and she thinks its hilarious that she is full up and i've not got anyone until September!

I know a teacher who uses a 'nanny' for her children. She pays the woman £90 per day in cash. Thats £20 a day more than I pay my registered child minder. Bonkers. Not only is she leaving her children with an untrained 'carer' but she is also diddling the tax system.

They still claim tax credit (well two families around here do I know) they just use any old childminders number.............there is no checks made by the tax credit people so its a really easy fiddle............

I wonder if the NCMA do a poster?

Speak to your local early years adviser, i just did. She is rather concerned as apparently it conincides with several cm's in the area complaining that they can't fill their vacancies. She's is going to look into it and follow up on some information I did give her.

Actually they do make checks.

Im a CM and have had 2 calls recently about the parents that have claimed on my reg number.

Good, they need to double check like that!

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If they are under 8 years old I'm afraid so.

It's illegal if you are getting any kind of payment for the care.

Yeah but that's not what's being complained about here though is it? It's people marketing themselves as 'Childminders' but not being arsed to do the appropriate regisration/checks/training/paperwork. I'd be slightly dubious of a stranger looking after my kids who lacked the motivation/professionalism to register tbh.

Oops sorry, just seen that MissSunny said that already

So what happens MissSunny when friend decides that she actually wants to go shopping tomorrow, so cant have your DC (she could, you have no contract to say he will be there)

Or God forbid there was a accident and it involved you having to take a long time off work, she has no Public Liability Insurance.

Would she know how to give proper first Aid?

What if she didnt feed your child the way you wanted, or favoured her own child all the time,

What if she didnt have the appropriate Child Seats, would you have to provide one, the same with pushchairs , toys equipment?

Registered Childminders do all this as well as being highly qualified.

Way to go shoshe

Kick some unreg'd but.

Prior to 1948 childminding was not regulated. I suspect it went ok for many but regulation was introduced due to some neglecting children, endangering children, caring for large numbers of children.
Some people need to be told what to do, others use their common sense. While a parent may care for a neighbours child, what happens when they do that for everyone in the street? If everyone was sensible regulation I feel would not be needed. Alas not everyone is the same, standards of living vary, attitudes to raising children vary, acceptable level of care varies. Thus regulation means that service users can be assured that a minimum quality level of care is provided.

Shoshe, all those things can still happen with a childminder though.

If they decide they want to book a holiday or are sick, the parents still have to find alternative care and sometimes end up paying both the usual minder and the alternative care provider.

Accidents can happen anywhere, should children not go on playdates, to relatives etc in case of one? Parents themselves also dont have insurance.

Re first aid, how many parents actuallt take first aid courses?

As for favouring her own child, most childminders have their own children so this would also apply to them. Its human nature to favour your own child over others.

A SAHM is likely to have toys, its not a big deal to leave a car seat or buggy etc. At least you know the condition etc.

I dont agree with people working for cash in hand so am not agreeing unregistered minders but can see why some people use friends rather than strangers.

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I was going to start a thread asking about the risks of an unregistered cm & if I should use one but this has answered it for me!

In a way it is a shame, as I do know the cm in question through school & the church & she is trustworthy. But the issue of the insurance & liability is just too great for me to risk my ds's.

And are you also happy for those "friends" to defraud the Inland Revenue by not declaring their earnings?

The trouble with these "friends" is that, like my previous client who decided to stay at home and start taking my business, it's often just the start of taking on other children who are not "friends".

All my previous client's initial parents were friends. They met at MY childminding business and got to know each other through ME.

But do carry on trying to justify the indefensible with hypothetical cases, why don't you?

You claim that you look after your own children "perfectly well" therefore you could look after someone else's child "perfectly well".
Maybe according to your own standards, but not by mine! You don't even consider first aid training to be important!
"If an accident happens, it's nobody's fault." So when one of those toddlers falls into my ex-client's pond and drowns, that's fine - it was an accident, so nobody's fault?
Try telling that to the parents!