OFSTED

Ofsted are the Government Body (under the Department for Education) that monitor and supervise all registered Child-minders in the UK.

In our experience they have been the worst organisation to deal with out of all the others to date.

They should visit you and ask if you will take a 6-week voluntary break, whilst it is being investigated. In our case they used the terms, whilst ‘we’ investigate, they have NO Powers to investigate. The Police, will investigate any allegations made against you, not the NCMA.

The 6-week deadline they set is totally unrealistic, as in our case it has dragged on for 18months and their constant requests for continued extensions became very stressful, rubbing salt into the wounds. Another pile of salt they rubbed in was to demand the yearly fee, so yes, they can take your job away (your right to earn cash), and then ask you for some! It’s funny they can suspend you but not your payments.

They do not appear to take any notice of the parents of children you care for into account. As all the parents in our case, wanted the kids to be looked after by my wife the very next week as they saw the situation as farcical. Also it was still not being treated as suspicious by the Police, but as an unexplained death. But still without any investigation (that they said they were doing), they never spoke to any parents, or us (to establish facts) etc.

Whilst we appreciate that a child had sadly lost their life, at that time no finger was being pointed. As it happens my wife couldn’t bring herself to work as a childminder or anything else for some months after but by then OFSTED was in full control (of what, I do not know however).

They sent a letter one-day saying she was suspended then others would come through contradicting the first. We even had from the local council a letter and pack stating ‘Welcome to Childminding’. Clearly left and right hand did not know what it was doing.

If your main course of revenue is your childminding, consider carefully any insurance policies you can take out, and also any other employment that you can take out if cash becomes tight.