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A childminder from Dunfermline has confessed to leaving over 20 children she was responsible for alone and without supervision in her home. Amanda Mathewson, aged 55, admitted guilt at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court to charges of neglect and abandoning children in her care. These offences reportedly occurred in several locations throughout Dunfermline and other parts of Fife.
During the court proceedings, it was revealed that Mathewson had up to 27 children present in her home at one time, which greatly exceeded her licensed capacity by 19 children. Mathewson has been self-employed as a childminder for three decades and was arrested following allegations of cruelty towards children. At the time of her arrest, she was providing care for a mixed group comprising 15 children under the age of 12, 10 of whom were below primary school age, and two infants under one year old.
The case unfolded after two parents grew suspicious when they were told their children were not present during a school run that Mathewson was supposed to be conducting. Upon secretly visiting the school, they found the children were not with her. They then went to Mathewson’s residence, where they heard a child screaming outside and discovered five children unattended in the garden. One child informed them that no adults were inside and that Mathewson had instructed the children to “wait in the garden.” Upon entering the unlocked house, they came across another child crying under a kitchen table and found nine more children, all under five, in an upstairs bedroom, some strapped into prams. Although distressed, none of the children were injured. Police later arrived, and Mathewson acknowledged that the children had been left alone for at least half an hour. Footage from a doorbell camera indicated this was the second occasion that same day the children were left inside without supervision.
Mathewson admitted to willfully neglecting and abandoning the children, placing them at risk of unnecessary suffering or injury. The court heard that she accepted more children than she could reasonably care for. According to a Care Inspectorate report from August 2023, Mathewson was registered to care for up to eight children simultaneously, with restrictions including no more than six children under 12, no more than three having started primary school, and only one child under 12 months old. Around a year prior to her arrest, an unannounced inspection had praised the environment, rating care, learning, and setting as “very good,” describing it as “comfortable, welcoming and homely,” with children being looked after with “warmth, kindness and a nurturing approach.” Sentencing has been postponed until 6 November to allow for the preparation of background reports, with Mathewson’s bail continuing
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