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Dunfermline childminder jailed for abandoning children in her care
Developing story first seen 44 minutes ago
Amanda Mathewson has been sentenced to two years in prison after admitting she wilfully neglected and abandoned children in her care. Sheriff John MacRitchie said she had grossly abused a position of trust, creating conditions in which harm and distress were foreseeable.
The 55-year-old childminder was permitted to look after eight children but at one point had 27 at her Dunfermline home, including babies. Between September 2023 and August 2024, she hid children from parents and organisations; some were left unsupervised in the garden or strapped into prams upstairs. Parents raised concerns about children being hungry, thirsty or in dirty nappies, while a Care Inspectorate visit shortly before the offences began gave her service a “very good” rating.
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In short
- Childminder Amanda Mathewson was jailed for two years.
- Up to 27 children were found at her home.
- She was authorised to care for eight children.
How this story developed
- 12 minutes ago Police found 15 children under 12 in Mathewson’s care when they arrested her, while parents had reported children coming home hungry, thirsty or in dirty nappies despite a recent “very good” Care Inspectorate rating.
- 17 minutes ago Amanda Mathewson was sentenced to two years in prison after admitting she had wilfully neglected and abandoned children in her care, at times keeping 27 children at her Dunfermline home despite being permitted to look after eight.
Explained simply
In Scotland, childminders care for children in their own homes, and must follow rules on how many children they can look after. The Care Inspectorate checks and rates childcare services, while parents rely on those safeguards and on the person caring for their children.
Amanda Mathewson was a registered childminder in Dunfermline. The case involved children under 16, including babies, and raised questions about how parents and childcare organisations were given an inaccurate picture of the care being provided. The allegations span a period when her service had recently received a high inspection rating.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Childminder who left 27 children in her home alone and unsupervised is jailed for two years”.