Dawnb123

Sudden termination & concerns raised

Our son was with Dawn for nearly a year, and during that time he always seemed happy, settled, and content in her care. Dawn also helped us with pick-ups and drop-offs, which was really useful, and something we checked with her multiple times to ensure she was happy to continue doing.

We really thought a lot of Dawn. Dawn then took three weeks off for personal reasons.. no issues there at all but on the weekend before she was due to return, she very suddenly terminated our contract, citing a breakdown in the relationship. This came as a complete shock to us, especially as our communication had always been friendly and positive—she would message about non-work-related things, and was even invited to our son’s christening.

The sudden termination left us without childcare at very short notice, which was extremely stressful and upsetting for our family. Dawn asked for £600 to cover the 4 weeks notice or we send Ezra to her for the 4 weeks & she will claim funding (we didn’t send him, see the next paragraph.) There was also a dispute over payment following this, as we did not agree with being asked to pay after the contract had been ended so abruptly. This has now been settled, but added further stress at an already difficult time.

Since leaving, I was approached by another parent who occasionally saw Dawn with the children at playgroups. She shared concerns, from one parent to another, that Dawn had previously terminated other contracts suddenly and mentioned instances where a child in her care was not comforted when upset and spoken to in a way that raised concern. While I cannot personally verify this, hearing this has been very upsetting and has made me question things further.

Overall, while our son appeared happy during his time there, the way the contract was suddenly terminated, the lack of prior communication, and the stress caused afterwards has left us feeling that the situation was handled unfairly. I would advise other parents to ensure they have clear agreements in place and to be aware that arrangements may change very quickly.

• Overall
• Setting
• Cleanliness
• Food
• Communication

by Ella on 20/04/2026

Response by DAWNB123 on 20/04/2026:

Wow Ella. This is not something I’d like to have posted in public but you have given me no option. I gave notice to you because once again you were not happy in having to pay your childcare and this had been a common reoccurrence for the last 5/6 months. You would change your days at last minute and I accept that but there comes a time when enough is enough, I didn’t feel 100% valued from you. You had signed a contract which you obviously didn’t read. You are the first family in 12 years that I’ve had to give notice to and find that you are very petty in doing this as it has not gone your way. Most settings would have charged you the full week whether you used the space or not. I bent over backwards to accommodate your requirements. I now know that I made the correct decision and I wish the new setting good luck.

Experienced, professional childminder? Really?

I placed my two children with this childminder for after school care having just moved to a new area. Each day my children were collected from the childminder by either my husband or myself and no issues or concerns of any kind were reported to either of us.
You can imagine my shock when I received a text terminating my contract after just 7 days. And yes - that was a text - even though my husband had collected the children from this person just 1.5 hours before!
The reason given for termination was 'they do not fit into my setting'. When pressed for an explanation as to why, I was advised they had bounced on a sofa, had to be asked to speak nicely to other children etc.
Both of my children have additional needs which were clearly explained to this childminder before she began collecting my children from school. I would have expected a professional childminder, who states she has special needs experience, to be able to manage minor issues such as these - if indeed they did take place - or to raise the matter with either myself or my husband so it could easily be resolved. Simply terminating an agreement in this manner was wholly unprofessional and quite frankly, I could not recommend this person.

• Overall

by Parent on 28/11/2014

Response by DAWNB123 on 19/02/2019:

I DO NOT take kindly saying it was because of SEN that I terminated the contract, it was due to comments made to other children and my settings atmosphere completely changed when your children came for such a short period of time. As you are aware I have to consider all the children and my own children as well. Even after when they left your children made nasty comments to mine!!!!

Mind at ease

Due to my family situation Dawn was brillaint with my daughter. I had just recently moved to the area so my daughter was very clingy. Just after a couple of days of been with her and other children there was a hugh difference. Dawn will go out of her way to help in anyway, they go on day outings when the older arent at school which she loves. Only problem is I struggle getting my daughter home. Have and will recommend always. Thank you

• Overall

by Parent on 08/10/2011