Sienna was calm and pleasant with my son during the two nights she worked and initially gave me confidence that we had found a suitable arrangement. We clearly agreed that she would cover four consecutive nights, and I relied on that agreement when planning my work.

After completing the first two nights, however, she cancelled the remaining agreed nights on Sunday afternoon, only a few hours before I was due to leave for work. This gave me virtually no realistic opportunity to find, speak to and safely arrange another overnight carer at such short notice.

Because I was unable to secure alternative childcare, I ultimately had to cancel two work shifts and lost the income from both. This was extremely stressful and financially damaging for me, particularly because the four nights had already been agreed in advance.

I also asked to see a current DBS and photo ID. She told me her DBS was not current. On the first day, I asked to see photo ID and she said she would bring it the following day. She did not bring it on the second day, and when I asked again, she said she would bring it the next time. However, she cancelled the arrangement before I was ever able to verify any photo ID.

There was also an incident on the morning after the second night that concerned me. When I entered the house, there was already a very strong smell of poo throughout the playroom. My son came over and hugged me, and when I touched him I realised he had soiled himself and the poo had already spread on him. Sienna told me she thought he had only just done it when I arrived.

I immediately cleaned him up while Sienna was still there. At that moment, I was focused on sorting my son out, paying her as agreed for the shifts she had completed, and getting through the morning, so I did not fully process what had happened. It was only afterwards, when I had time to reflect on it, that I became concerned about whether he had been left soiled for longer than I realised. I cannot know the exact time it happened, but given the strong smell throughout the room and the condition he was in, it left me uncomfortable about whether he had been checked and changed promptly.

Parents who rely on childcare in order to work need both reliability and confidence that their child’s basic care needs will be attended to properly. In my case, cancelling two already-agreed overnight shifts with only a few hours notice left me unable to find safe replacement childcare, and I ultimately lost the income from both shifts. Together with the concern I had about my son being left soiled, I found the overall experience extremely disappointing and unfair, particularly because the four nights had been agreed in advance and I had relied on that commitment.

• Overall
• Communication