Hi Ladies
I would love your opinion on this. We recieved a CCF network letter saying that a safeguarding issue had come to light and that when a childminder is outside of the home even if they are at a childminding group which has NCMA representative or a childrens centre teacher you need to kepp children in the same room with you at all times and that even when you need to go to the toilet you need to take all of your little ones with you some centres the adult toilet you cannot swing a cat let alone squeese 3 little ones plus yourself, the same applies when you take a toddler to the toilet and nappy changing. At a couple of our childrens centres if we have to take a call we have to go out of the room one of them we have to go outside and another we have to go into the kitchen and we will now have to take the children with us despite it being a door with glass in so we can keep an eye on them. What do you think??

Oh and we were also told that should we see a childminder not do this then report them!!

This seems to be a very silly suggestion - I think the children will be at more risk by taking them into the toilet with you - certainly at certain times of the month young children should not be witness to what goes on in the private toilet area and the adult is not their parent- then there is the risk of spreading germs / infections.

I used to be a ccf network coordinator AND in my LA job advise on the childminding side of things when LA discussing safeguarding. I would never suggest this.

In my opinion - it is the same when at home - you risk assess and base your actions on that risk assessment. In most cases I would say it is safer for the children to remain in the playarea both in the setting and when at groups. Of course it is good practice to ask another childminder to keep an eye on the mindees and for ratios to be considered - so only one or two adults out of the room at a time.

And if taking a phone call and can still see the children - you are maintaining the EYFS - no different to taking a call in the kitchen when children are playing in the lounge or garden.

In my opinion - another case of common sense not being applied.

If I was asked to do this - I would leave the group.

Penny :)

I have something in one of my policies that says I may leave another childminder to keep an eye on my mindees if I need to take someone to the toilet etc...

It's a completely ridiculous suggestion, esp as the adult toilets in our children's centre are not close to the childminder drop-in room - so how safe would they be in the ladies toilets?!?! I think not!!! I think someone must dream up ideas and suggestions cos they just don't have anything better to do!

As a parent of boys I would be most unhappy if another adult made my child accompany her into the bathroom while she was using it! I would expect her to ensure there was an adult she trusted who could keep an eye on my children whilst the minder dealt with her personal business on her own.

If I am trusting the childminder to care for my kids, then I need to have total faith in her, and that means that I would trust her judgement on a safe and appropriate adult.

No way am I comfortable with my child seeing all that they would see in a small ladies cubicle - that, to me, would be a serious safeguarding issue. There are lines that the children need to understand should not be crossed, and this policy that they want you to follow would blur those lines for children. A childs place in not in a small cubicle watching an adult go pee (etc).

As a parent of boys I would be most unhappy if another adult made my child accompany her into the bathroom while she was using it! I would expect her to ensure there was an adult she trusted who could keep an eye on my children whilst the minder dealt with her personal business on her own.

If I am trusting the childminder to care for my kids, then I need to have total faith in her, and that means that I would trust her judgement on a safe and appropriate adult.

No way am I comfortable with my child seeing all that they would see in a small ladies cubicle - that, to me, would be a serious safeguarding issue. There are lines that the children need to understand should not be crossed, and this policy that they want you to follow would blur those lines for children. A childs place in not in a small cubicle watching an adult go pee (etc).

totally agree. a child should not accompany any adult to the toilet unless that adult is their parent. If i need the loo when out and about with other minders then we watch each other children for the 2 mins it takes to go, even if it means going over our numbers for those 2 minutes. i would not be comfortable taking mindees into the cubilcle with me.
if i am on my own then i avoid going, and would only
ever go if absolutley desperate!

if parents trust us with thier children then they should trust us to decide when to leave them for a min or two.

Ridiculous :(

Last night I attended a Birmingham Network meeting - as a guest speaker - and this very issue came up as the childminders in the room had been told not to leave children when going to the loo or in the playground (while they popped into school) under the supervision of another registered childminder.

There was extentsive and heated debate.

However this was advice finally given

Risk assess - Toilets are not safe places to take children
If able to leave the children in the care of another childminder - Make sure the parents have ageed IN WRITING that you can do so - name the childminders concerned.

It could be part of 'emergency procedures' - so using the same named childminders.


I will now be adding a line to my policy to cover short term 'emergencies' on the lines of:-
' In addition to emergency situations,due to the nature of my work as a Registered Childminder there will be both planned and unplaned occassions during most days both within my setting and when out of the setting that the children will not be under my direct supervision. These occassions include when meeting my own or children's toileting and personal needs, when I have a puschair and can not access areas with the pushchair, when taking a phone call or answering the door. In these situations (and other situations not mentioned here) I will risk assess and take the safest option for each individual child. Children may therefore be left for very short periods of time on their own in a safe environment or under the supervision of another Registered Childminder or trusted adult. Children will never be left alone or with another adult if it is not safe to do so. Children will never be left under the supervision of a person under 18.'

Not quite right yet - that is just my first thoughts - but maybe will provide food for thought.

Oh and one person in the room had been reported to Ofsted for leaving her mindees under the supervission of another childminder outside a shop (could not get double buggy through door) Ofsted were fine about it - no actions or even recommendations given.

Penny :)

i had this dilema the other day, we had popped to tesco to get some fruit for lunch and desperately needed a wee :blush: the baby changing room didnt have a loo, so the only choice i had was to take mindee out of the buggy and sit her on the floor while i used the loo, couldnt think what else to do, i guess if it had been empty i cud have left her in buggy and left door open a bit? its put me off going to the shops alone with mindee, what do others do?

In a place like Tesco, I use the disabled loo as I can get everyone in.
If I then need to do something I don't want mindees to see ( time of the month, not snorting cocaine!) I can just swivel them round in their buggy.