Fife childminder pleads guilty to neglect after leaving children alone

Mixed · 2Amanda Mathewson, 55, a childminder from Dunfermline, pleaded guilty at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Tuesday 6 October to neglecting and abandoning children in her care. 1 2 Mixed · 2The offending took place at several locations in Dunfermline and elsewhere in Fife, and Mathewson, who has been a self-employed childminder for 30 years, admitted wilfully neglecting, abandoning and exposing children in a manner likely to cause them unnecessary suffering or injury to their health. 1 2 Mixed · 2The court heard she had 27 children in her home, 19 more than she was licensed to look after; 15 were under 12, 10 were under primary school age and two were under one. 1 2

Centre · 1Procurator fiscal Vicki Bell said two parents became suspicious after being told their children were not present during a school run; they went to the school secretly, found the children were not with Mathewson, and went to her home. 1 Mixed · 2At the house they heard a child screaming and found five unattended children in the garden; one child said there were no adults inside and that Mathewson had told them to wait in the garden. 1 2 Mixed · 2The door was unlocked, and inside they found a child crying under the kitchen table and a further nine children, all under five, in an upstairs bedroom, two of them strapped into prams; the children were described as distressed but uninjured. 1 2

Mixed · 2After police attended, Mathewson said the children had been left alone for at least 30 minutes; the BBC reported that doorbell camera footage showed it was the second time that day the children had been left in the house. 1 2 Right · 1GB News additionally reported that multiple children told their parents being left alone was "commonplace", and that parents had worried their children were not being fed because they came home with clothes in "pristine condition" and unchanged nappies. 2 Right · 1GB News also reported that the investigation found discrepancies between the number of children Mathewson was responsible for and the number seen with her, including at a church Christmas party (three children seen, nine in her care that day), a sports day and a visit to Dunfermline fire station; she said she was helped by a "child-minding friend". 2

Centre · 1A Care Inspectorate report published in August 2023, from an unannounced inspection about a year before her arrest, rated areas including care, learning and the setting "very good", the second-highest level, and said children were cared for with warmth, kindness and a nurturing approach. It also recorded that she was registered for a maximum of eight children at a time. 1 Right · 1A Care Inspectorate spokesman called the case "distressing" and said changes had been made as a result, and Police Scotland urged anyone with child protection concerns to come forward. 2 Right · 1In a statement given to the BBC and quoted by GB News, one parent said the criminal case was important for justice but their ultimate goal was to ensure no other family went through the same, and called for childcare regulation and family support to be rebuilt. 2

Centre · 1Sheriff John MacRitchie deferred sentencing until 6 November for background reports, and Mathewson's bail was continued. 1