childminder left girls in park with another woman

[booyhoo]

today i went to the park with my own two boys. my cousin's two girls were there with CM and her other mindees, i am not sure how many were with her. i spoke to the girls and then played with my boys. the CM was standing chatting to another woman. after a few minutes the CM said, "you two stay here with X (other lady) while i run up the road home." she took 2 other girls and put them in har car and left. she was away for about ten minutes and then left with my cousin's girls and 2 more children. the other lady stayed with her dcs.

should i mention this to my cousin or would it be seen as interfering? if it was my dcs i would want to know who they were being left with.

what is an MB?

Owl MB is the baby's mother, used by nannies as shorthand

MB = Mum Boss

I think you are all making assuptions here without knowing the OP's cousin's childminder.

My former childminder worked closely with another childminder. This meant that my daughter knew this woman, and I was happy for my daughter to be left with her. This could be planned, e.g. going to a school induction day with another mindee or an emergency, e.g needing to go to the doctor. This was in the contract and the other minder was covered by insurance. If it was planned I knew in advance, if it wasn't planned I was told afterwards.

My interpretation of the situation is, two childminders went to the park together. Childminder 1 had two children who were about to be picked up. She took them home leaving the other mindees in the care of childminder 2, they were picked up and then she went back to the park.

OK I'm making assumptions too but it is nice to try to think the best of people.

My friend's CM regularly leaves some of her mindees under her daughter's care while she does the school run to pick up the older kids. My friend knows (I assume the other mums do too) and is all right with it even though the daughter is not a registered CM. In fact the daughter is 15 years old, so not even an adult actually.

Like I said, the mums of her mindees obvioualy approve but I was ! If I was looking for a CM, this would be a deal-breaker for me.

obviously. i have no idea what obvioualy means

LutyensCBA Thats appaling!

That CM is breaking the terms of her registration and it would be a very serious breach.

I'm gobsmacked at what some people say that CM's do on here, it devalues the good CM's work, not all CM's break rules lots of us are very good.

marcopront, the other childminder would only be covered insurance wise if (having taken in the additional child) she was still within her own personal allowable ratio numbers unless it was a genuine emergency (eg carting someone off to hospital as oppossed to a doctors appointment.

Thank you for that coral.

In my situation she was always within her personal ratio. I liked the arrangement as it also meant if my childminder had been ill there was someone who could take my daughter.

Of course I don't know if this was the case in the OP but wanted to raise it as a possibility.

My ex CM used to do this. I found out she'd been leaving DD with her unchecked lodger and was not happy.

Have a nice new CM, however another parent removed her child from there as the CM left the kids with her sister while she nipped to the shop (less than 5 mins) to get bread. I didn't have a problem with that, I think it would depend who the other person was.

But if you tell your cousi nat least she can decide if she's happy with that or not.

Of course you must tell your cousin.

I have told a friend twice when I have seen her child doing something dangerous and she was appreciative both times.

so who decides if they can do it, ofsted or if the parents agree in contract/in writing that cm can leave mindees for few mins with someone they know/trust

saying that LutyensCBA story is awful - leaving mindees with a 15yr old

Ofsted I guess, if they found a childminder was leaving children with someone who is not a registered assistant and CRB checked, they could cancel her registration?
Also how would she stand with regards to her public libility ins, supposing she has any? if anything was to happen?

I would not DREAM of leaving a minded child with anyone else - shocking!

Basically if a CM employs an assistant they have to have the following

1. Permission from Ofsted
2. Full enhanced CRB disclosure
3. References / employment history checks and first aid, other training etc.
4. The registered person (ie CM) also has to have Employees Liability Ins
5. Also must have signed consents from all parents agreeing that an assistant may be left in sole charge of children, for short periods of time, although these periods of time are not specified by ofsted, and must have regard for the EY and CC registers and ratios of child:adult.

If it was an emergency such as the CM chopped her arm off and had to go to hosp, a CM can leave minded children in the care of a responsible adult, most CM's have a policy which names their emergency procedure and persons they would leave mindees with in emergency.

An emergency however isn't popping home from the park for 10min or nipping to the shop for bread.

As a registered CM if I had an emergency and had no choice but to leave mindees with a responsible adult I would write an incident report, detailing exactly what, why and when it happened and send a copy to ofsted as well as all parents involved.

I have once done this when dealing with a medical emergency. I had to leave the children while I travelled in the ambulance with a anaphylactic shock case. I was actually quite proud of myself - the hospital said that the first aid I'd done probably saved the child's life - there's something to be said for all childminders being trained in first aid!

I rang the parents first to inform them and the person I left the children with was a CRB checked primary school teacher.

So I can't help wondering just how many childminders WannaBe actually knows to claim that they all leave their mindees. I thought she was a nursery manager, not a childminder? Or am I confusing her with someone else?