Childminder who left more than 20 children alone in her home jailed

A childminder who admitted leaving children she was caring for alone and unsupervised in her home has been jailed for two years. More than 20 unattended children, two under the age of one, were in Amanda Mathewson's house in Dunfermline, Fife, when she was arrested in August 2024.

An internal Care Inspectorate probe found Mathewson, who was been licensed to look after eight children under the age of 16 at any one time, had been tipped off about inspections by an unknown staff member. Mathewson previously pled guilty to wilfully neglecting, abandoning and exposing children in a manner likely to cause them unnecessary suffering or injury to their health.

Sheriff John MacRitchie said Mathewson had committed a "gross abuse of a position of trust" during sentencing at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court. He read victim impact statements from affected children who described suffering from "nightmares, anxiety and a distrust of childcare providers".