Dad discovered 27 abandoned children at the nanny’s house

Amanda Mathewson had more than 50 children in her care between 2023 and 2024. A father has described the shocking moment he discovered 27 children had been abandoned at their childminder’s home with no access to food or water. The dad uncovered the crimes of Amanda Mathewson, 55, after she was seen at school pick-up without his two sons, who were supposed to be in her care.

The nanny had been highly recommended in Dunfermline, Fife, but what parents believed was happening inside her house turned out to be a lie. A court heard that she had more than 50 children in her care over the course of 2023 and 2024, despite being licensed to look after only eight. On the day she was arrested, she was caring for 27 children.

All were under 16, and some were younger than 12 months old. Mathewson reportedly got away with it for almost a year by telling parents to text her before collecting their children, giving her time to hide others in different rooms. Speaking to The Times, Angus said he and his wife had trusted Mathewson with their two sons for nearly two years.

In 2024, one of their boys began complaining that the childminder was putting him upstairs in a buggy. When the parents challenged Mathewson, she quickly claimed he had simply fallen asleep. It was one of many lies she used to mislead parents and continue neglecting the children in her care.

The truth emerged on August 26, 2024, when Angus’s two sons were supposed to be with Mathewson. Another parent contacted him to say they had seen Mathewson at school pick-up, but neither of his children were with her. He and his wife rushed to the school and noticed that none of the trainers sticking out of Mathewson’s buggy belonged to their sons.

They then drove straight to the childminder’s home, where they could hear a child crying inside. They found the back door open and five school-aged children waiting in the garden without any adult supervision. Inside the house, there were 22 more children, all left unattended.

Angus said: “At first it was just shock and disbelief, but then just an incredible sense of duty set in. We were surrounded by distressed children who didn’t recognise us, with no idea of what their needs were or what problems they had.” He added: “We realised we’d just uncovered a snapshot of what had been going on here but how bad did it get?” Twelve of the children there that day had not yet started primary school, including a toddler crying under the kitchen table. Angus’s two sons were upstairs, shut in a “boiling hot” spare room with nine other children under five, including two strapped into buggies.

The windows were covered and the blinds were drawn, and the children were sitting watching a programme on a TV placed on top of a chest of drawers. Angus said: “I found nine of them in there with no access to food, water, toys or activities; the only thing for them to engage in was the TV.” He was walking downstairs with his sons when Mathewson returned from the school pick-up. “She walked into the hallway, looked up and locked eyes with me … I just said ‘What are you playing at?

How many laws have you broken here?,’” Angus told The Times. At that point, Mathewson collapsed and slumped, realising the lies she had told had “fallen apart.” Scores of distraught parents soon arrived at the house as Angus called police. Mathewson was described as “having an answer for everything” even though parents had noticed warning signs that something was wrong.

Some said their children were returning home thirsty, or in spotless clothes even after Mathewson claimed they had eaten “messy meals.” Others said their children came home thirsty, with dirty nappies or wet underwear. The childminder also gave parents “diaries” or “logs” of their children’s day, which police later found to be misleading and false. What many parents still cannot believe is that Mathewson’s crimes were not uncovered by the Care Inspectorate.

She had received a glowing report from the regulator after an unannounced inspection on August 7, 2023, just weeks before the offending began. The report rated her “very good” in all areas and said children were being looked after in a “comfortable, welcoming and homely environment” with “warmth, kindness and a nurturing approach.” In a letter to parents in February 2025, the Care Inspectorate admitted that Mathewson “had knowledge of complaint and inspection information” from someone within the agency. At Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court in October, Mathewson admitted wilfully neglecting, abandoning and exposing children in a way likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to their health.

At the same court on Friday, Sheriff MacRitchie sentenced her to two years in prison. Handing down sentence, the judge told Mathewson: “Your qualifications and experience mean you understand the developmental vulnerability of babies and young children, the need for constant supervision, the obvious risks created by leaving them without an adult. The potential for catastrophic harm was enormous.” He said only a prison sentence was appropriate.

“A non-custodial sentence would fail to reflect the seriousness of the offence, and fail properly to punish, and fail to express society’s grave disapproval of your conduct,” the judge said. After sentencing, a Care Inspectorate spokesperson said: “This was a shocking case and our thoughts are with those affected. “Amanda Mathewson broke the trust of families and children, and the crime for which she is responsible has been dealt with by the courts.

“The Care Inspectorate has listened carefully to parents who raised concerns with us and we have reviewed how we work following learning from this case. “This has included updating our inspection, complaints and conflict of interest procedures. “We have provided new ways to submit feedback on childminders both during and outwith inspections.

“We have also provided clearer resources to help families understand what to expect from their childminder. “It is important to note that this case does not reflect the wider childminding sector. The overwhelming majority of childminders in Scotland provide safe, nurturing care for children, with more than 90% receiving grades of good or better at inspection.”