childminder left 27 kids alone.

[KassandraOfSparta]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr9dzljq56ejo

Licenced for 8, had 27 in the house. "At the time of her arrest she had 15 children aged under 12, 10 children under primary school age, and two children under the age of one in her care." Reported by parents who had spotted the woman doing the school run but without the kids she was being paid to look after. Wee ones left locked in the house, strapped in prams.

Very bland statement from the Care Commission promising lessons would be learned.

Police should also be trying to recoup the money this criminal woman has earned from her business. Poor kids.

This is why I would never sent my child to a childminder. There is simply not enough oversight. I’ve seen them out and about near us and generally I don’t like the whole setup either - you’re basically paying a stranger to look after your child in their house and have zero control really on how they do that, which other adults might be visiting, whether they have dogs, any of it. I’ve heard some absolute horror stories

This is a horrible story those poor children. I have a feeling that over subscribing children is more common than one might realise. Before I signed my child up to a nursery I went to look around a childminder, who told me she could give me a better rate if I paid in cash…that sent alarm bells ringing for me so I declined her offer. I also know of one who definitely was over subscribed. The mum who told me knew, and her child was in her care she was getting cheaper rates as a result, so she didn’t have a problem with it. She informed me that the other parents didn’t know and she colluded with her in concealing the other children. She isn’t an childminder anymore.

We can never trust anybody now a days. Even on writing. I guess all Parents can be very critical when looking for someone to take care of their kids. But sometimes we need to follow our guts. I cant imagine what are the parents going through now. Blessed them and the kids. The childminder probably a bubbly person and blind side the parents. All smile on them . This is a sad story . She must be doing this long time and know how to play the game.

Kids are going to think 27 kids at Childminder is normal - its normal to them

They will talk about the kids they played with not the 20 others they didn't

She may well have claimed Jenny my CM friend came over with her charges.

When was she caught, I think it will be a lits sooner than 2022

Coverage in the Dundee Courier
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/5590989/care-inspectorate-dunfermline-childminder-disciplinary-probe/

She'd looked after 70 children in the last 2 years 😱

but do they tell you anything?
how was school? - fine
who did you play with - Bob
what did you do - I don't know

is your childminder running an illegal and dangerous operation, taking money for minding 27 children? - can i have a biscuit?

Not just that but how did pick up and drop off times work so that people didn't get the impression that the number of children present were exceptional? I'm not blaming the parents (as in saying they did anything wrong) but I cant see how this was done. Didn't it seem strange to the community that so many people had the same childminder?

I disagree, if it was someone's first time using a childminder the childminder could say this is how it's done, I don't have people in the house, pick up is on the doorstep etc. Clearly lots of people were convinced by whatever she said. I think it's a low blow for you to say what you've said. I'm sure they're devastated.

I'm not blaming the parents at all, they must be devastated, but the whole thing does seem mad.
Even with only 3 children parents often bump into each other outside.
And parents chat to other parents at the library or toddler group about what childminder they're using.

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/5594627/fife-childminder-tipped-off-inspections/

Saw this reported on the news last night. I'd like to think heads would roll at the Care Commission but I very much doubt it.

I am amazed anyone is blaming the parents to be honest. There really are some shitty posters on here, I’m sorry you’ve come against them.

I have to admit I find the MN mantra that childminders are lovely cuddly home away from home environments perfect for very young babies or toddlers or sensitive children a bit baffling.

The ones I know are generally trying to juggle the demands of lots of different needs and as such not doing a fabulous job at it.

Same. I always thought of it as high risk option particularly for babies

I'm surprised that none of the older children told their parents about how many children there were. As others have said, how did parents not notice all the other parents when they picked their own child up?

It depends on the system they had.

I briefly toyed with becoming a childminder. We have a fairly spacious property with a lot of land and an annexe. I was struggling to find wraparound care for my own young children and briefly contemplated it. I joined a couple of Facebook groups exploring it as an option.

A lot of childminders have very strict policies for drop off and pick up. It superficially seems reasonable (don’t want other children getting upset; can’t leave children unsupervised) but it can mean the parents aren’t ever going into the property - the child is brought to them.

That coupled with a child who may be like my ds (who didn’t tell me the day his teacher fainted and an ambulance was called - all he had to say was ‘we had chips mummy!’) and you’re none the wiser.

I would also add that I am not thrilled with the wraparound my DD has: nothing awful, just not what I’d call High Quality but it’s literally the only option so it’s that or quit work. And MN never makes sneery comments about that, does it?

Really? I chose a CM because it was like a family. Older children who went off to school and morning/afternoon nursery drop off. The CM was doing what I would’ve done had I not been at work - visiting the post office, the bank, the park, the corner shop, etc.

We are still friends with our CM and the other 3 families who were there at the same time and my DC are now teenagers. Our CM was like an extra granny in the family. She only took teacher’s DC as it meant she could work term time only. She’s now retired and utterly appalled by this case.

There was no doorstep drop off though. I would not have countenanced that. Big red flag.

I would not have chosen institutional care (nursery) for my DC until they were eligible at 3 years old for mornings or afternoons at school nursery. All of that is long gone, of course.

I wouldn’t have contemplated institutional care either.

You know, the nursery my children went to was … in a home 🙄 I don’t know why that made things magically different.

They didn’t need to go out to the park or post office though, they did plenty of that with me as I’ve never worked full time with little children. See, snark works both ways, doesn’t it?

And actually @stargirl1701 I will apologise as that was very snarky. I was irritated at the phrase ‘institutional care’ (and that was intentional tbh) and also annoyed at the unpleasant posters piling on the poster who’s child was affected directly by this story.

The fact is none of us know for sure how childcare settings or schools are treating our children and some trust has to work if the relationship is going to be a productive one and positive one.

I’m wondering if she had screens on to keep them occupied. Fed them, made sure pick ups were staggered. Staged photos of the children being busy. Told lies to the children about who else was helping her or where other children were. Going off what @HFMMMwas saying, she was good at convincing parents everything was fine.

I still can't work out the logistics of how it all worked - it's a huge number of children being dropped off, even with no entry to the house by the parents. And what about the neighbours, did they not notice/hear the sheer numbers of children coming and going?

The red flag for me would have been the loud music blaring out - not as a sign that she was hiding anything but that it's totally inappropriate for young children on a daily basis

Have any of the parents spoken publicly I wonder - maybe they're too embarrassed/mortified to admit they didn't notice anything wrong

Or maybe the house is on its own? I’ve no idea here, just pointing out that we cannot know how she got away with it, but clearly she did.

This is an extreme case but I'm sure plenty of childminders bend the rules with ratios and supervising adults - probably not leaving dcs completely unsupervised but maybe with an unchecked relative and being a bit slack with equipment in the house. I certainly noticed some dubious practices when I'd see them at soft play and stay and plays on my days off (nothing illegal or unsafe, but not quite within rules or what you'd want from a carer). Childminders are quite hard to find now (we are in London) and nurseries are more expensive, so it's easier for parents to turn a blind eye.

I used to do the equivalent of childminding in Australia (family day care), registered with the local council. I was inspected monthly, one month by appointment to offer help with planning, behaviour etc (whilst also allowing a field worker to check on the kids) and the next month was an unannounced visit, we also had a safety inspection once a year which could take several hours and went through the play areas, nursery equipment, toys, cars seats, checking first aid, outing risk assessments etc. I have several friends who are childminders in the Uk and I know they are great, but for peace of mind for families, I do think someone should be doing more inspections.