Hi all,

A friend of mine has recently offered to childmind my 16month old son, however, they have a built in swimming pool in the garden (approx5ft deep) it currently is gated off but no hard cover! What are your views on the safety and does anyone know how Ofsted would view this?

Thanks for your help

Holly

they should have a risk assement for it and the gate should be locked at alltimes, so if she isnt allowed to use the garden it would be on her certifcate.

How high is the fence around the pool?

Is the gate locked?

How wide are the gaps in the fence?

Ask the childminder for her swimming pool risk assesment.

Ofsted wouldn't have a problem so long as the correct safety procedures are in place and there is a comprehensive risk assesment.

Hi

Ask your friend to show you her ofsted report and it will, i would think be mentioned in their somewhere, if not ask her if she has informed them that she has it and what they said ( i would ask to see it in writing ) also ask your friend how she keeps the area and minded children safe, if you have doubts exhaust every aspect until you are sure or dont leave your child their, in my view it is better to be safe than sorry, but that isnt me saying i dont think your child would be safe with your friend x

My concern is that the gate may be accidently unlocked or left open do Ofsted take this into consideration and what else would they possible suggest?! Also i am unsure if she is registered with Ofsted, if she isnt would they still carry out an inspection or would social services do it?!

Thanks for your help :)

Everything I was going to say has been said already.
Check Ofsted report
Check risk assessment
Check locked gate and any gaps in the fence.

Hi all,
Im unsure if she is Ofsted registered and im also concerned that the gate may accidently be left unlocked or not closed properly! How would Ofsted take these potential hazzards into consideration? If she isnt registered with them would they still carry out an inspection? Or would it be social services?

Thanks :)

Everything I was going to say has been said already.
Check Ofsted report
Check risk assessment
Check locked gate and any gaps in the fence.

Hi there,

Do you know or know where i can find the details of suitable Ofsted fencing, gate, gaps etc?

x

My concern is that the gate may be accidently unlocked or left open do Ofsted take this into consideration and what else would they possible suggest?! Also i am unsure if she is registered with Ofsted, if she isnt would they still carry out an inspection or would social services do it?!

Thanks for your help :)

If your friend is unregistered then she will NOT have been inspected by Ofsted, or anyone else.

She will have NO insurance in place.

Does she have a first aid certificate?

First things first, ensure she is registered, that needs to be a priority over the swimming pool first. If she is then Ofsted will have very strict guidelines in place over the swimming pool. If you have any concerns then the best thing for you to do would be to find an Ofsted Registered childminder in your area.

If your friend is unregistered then she will NOT have been inspected by Ofsted, or anyone else.

She will have NO insurance in place.

Does she have a first aid certificate?

First things first, ensure she is registered, that needs to be a priority over the swimming pool first. If she is then Ofsted will have very strict guidelines in place over the swimming pool. If you have any concerns then the best thing for you to do would be to find an Ofsted Registered childminder in your area.

Do you know if Social services do these reports? If im honest its actually a family member who have said that social services are going round to check the saftey, however, i have rang my local council and they don't have her down as registered, does these mean that they wouldn't do a check because she isnt Ofsted registered? Even though she is a family member i want to keep this proffesional and within the suitable regulations.

Thanks x:)

My concern is that the gate may be accidently unlocked or left open do Ofsted take this into consideration and what else would they possible suggest?! Also i am unsure if she is registered with Ofsted, if she isnt would they still carry out an inspection or would social services do it?!

Thanks for your help :)


if she is unregistered and you will be paying her this is actually illegal ! x

if she is unregistered and you will be paying her this is actually illegal ! x

Oh dear!
Do you know if Social services do health and safety checks? or is it just Ofsted? As she has told me it's SS doing the inspection, but i am confused! xx Would SS do a check if you weren't registered and just wanted to check the safety of your home? xx:)

My concern is that the gate may be accidently unlocked or left open do Ofsted take this into consideration and what else would they possible suggest?! Also i am unsure if she is registered with Ofsted, if she isnt would they still carry out an inspection or would social services do it?!

Thanks for your help :)

If she is not registered then working as a 'childminder' is illegal. Caring for a child for more than two hours per day, accepting payment is illegal.

As already been pointed out she will have had no inspection or suitable person/premises checks, no training (safeguarding, first aid, ICP etc), no insurance and subsequently no using of the EYFS which ensures that minders have to produce risk assessments.

Ask to see her certificate and a copy of her report.

If she is not registered you wouldn't be able to claim tax credits.

If she is not registered DO NOT USE HER AS A CHILDMINDER (sorry to shout but I cannot emphasise strongly enough)



If she is registered, then again as has been said, Ofsted will have commented somewhere about her pool, she should have risk assessments in place etc.
If you are not comfortable about any of it, then do not use her as childcare.
Personally I do not recommend mixing childminding/friends children - but that is just my opinion and for some people it really works out ok.

If she is not registered then working as a 'childminder' is illegal. Caring for a child for more than two hours per day, accepting payment is illegal.

As already been pointed out she will have had no inspection or suitable person/premises checks, no training (safeguarding, first aid, ICP etc), no insurance and subsequently no using of the EYFS which ensures that minders have to produce risk assessments.

Ask to see her certificate and a copy of her report.

If she is not registered you wouldn't be able to claim tax credits.

If she is not registered DO NOT USE HER AS A CHILDMINDER (sorry to shout but I cannot emphasise strongly enough)



If she is registered, then again as has been said, Ofsted will have commented somewhere about her pool, she should have risk assessments in place etc.
If you are not comfortable about any of it, then do not use her as childcare.
Personally I do not recommend mixing childminding/friends children - but that is just my opinion and for some people it really works out ok.

Thank you for the advise! Whats the best way to check if she is registered? I rang my local council and they didnt have her name registered and i checked the direct gov website, could this be a mistake or is she def not registered? xxx:)

to check if she is registered ask to see her ofsted certificate. if she hasnt got one shes not registered social service were takin over by ofsted many yrs ago as i was registered with them. if you are paying her it is illegal if shes not registered as others have said personaly i would be concerned leaving lo with her as sounds like shes not being honest and you do sound like your concerned with swimming pool. your friend im sure is lovely and would care 100% for your lo. so worth checking out. hope it goes well:)
.

over in northern ireland we are registered by social service and you can out if she registered by phone ur local early years team

sorry holly i am not sure if your question has been answered
No social services do not do the safety checks Ofsted do so if she is not ofsted registered she is not a childminder.
simple as

if she is not a registered childminder she is not registered to look after your daughter and therefore will not be insured.

if she can do the job ask her to register then all safety checks will be made with the right authorities

May be repeating......ask for reg number and check

my friend as a pool and I think ofsted insist on a highfence and padlocked gate.... She doesn't use for minding at all and has seperate garden bit for kids to play.

I had a 10ft pool and was told an absolute NO so got rid!

All sounds dodgy to me:panic:

I would not put my child with a childminder with a swimming pool, even more so if their not registered.

Thats my opinion:)

Thank you everyone for your replies, all your information has been very enlightening, just one last question!
Does anyone know the website i can go on to find out if she is Registered with Early Years Team? I'm desperately concerened and worried that this person may not be registered with them and has lied! Does this happen a lot? xxx Thanks xxx

May be repeating......ask for reg number and check

my friend as a pool and I think ofsted insist on a highfence and padlocked gate.... She doesn't use for minding at all and has seperate garden bit for kids to play.

I had a 10ft pool and was told an absolute NO so got rid!

Hi, sorry to bug you, just a quick question, was your pool 10ft deep or 10ft long? xxx:laughing:

Could i just add that the swimming pool is at ground level, which to me means that it's even more of a risk as he could just walk/fall straight into it, do Ofsted view all pools the same or would this need added safety meassures?

Thanks xxx