A childminder who admitted abandoning and wilfully neglecting youngsters engaged in a "course of deception" to conceal her actions from their families, a judge has declared.
Amanda Mathewson, 55, cared for far more than her permitted capacity of eight children, with officials discovering 27 youngsters at her address in Dunfermline, Fife, on one occasion.
Unsupervised children were discovered outdoors in the garden, while others remained strapped into pushchairs upstairs.
Proof presented to the court demonstrated that she had "repeatedly" left youngsters alone at the property.
While handing down the sentence at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Friday, Sheriff John MacRitchie noted that more than 90 victim impact statements were submitted by affected families.
Her offences occurred across several locations in Dunfermline and surrounding areas from September 7 2023 to August 26 2024.
The victims were all under the age of 16, with some being infants under one year old.
Mathewson took "various steps" to keep her illicit behaviour hidden from parents and supervisory bodies.
Her methods included insisting that parents send a text message before arriving to collect their children, allowing her time to hide excess children in separate rooms.
Alarm was raised on August 26 2024 when parents spotted that youngsters who should have been in her care were absent while she completed a school run.
Upon visiting her residence, parents discovered the front door unlocked and five children of school age left unattended outside.
Sheriff MacRitchie said: "Upstairs was a group of very young children – including the parents’ sons.
"Two children were strapped in pushchairs.
"The children were described as obviously distressed."
Addressing Mathewson, he stated: "You have left children without adult supervision for – on that occasion – at least 30 minutes.
"That was the second occasion on that same day the children had been left alone."
Other parents had previously observed that their children returned home thirsty, or wearing perfectly clean clothes despite Mathewson reporting they had consumed "messy meals".
Before her arrest in August 2024, Mathewson had operated as an independent childminder for approximately three decades.
She pleaded guilty at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court in October to wilfully neglecting, abandoning and exposing children in a manner likely to cause them unnecessary suffering or injury to their health.
At the same court on Friday, Sheriff MacRitchie jailed her for two years.
Delivering his verdict, the judge told Mathewson: "Your qualifications and experience mean you understand the developmental vulnerability of babies and young children, the need for constant supervision, (and) the obvious risks created by leaving them without an adult.
"The potential for catastrophic harm was enormous."
He noted that her actions demonstrated "planning and premeditation", stating she had "followed a course of deception and has taken various steps to avoid parents being aware of the fact that far too many children are being accepted into her care".
He explained that a prison sentence was the only suitable punishment.
"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.
Mathewson, dressed in a black dress, remained emotionless as her prison term was announced.
Dozens of parents packed into the court, quietly celebrating in the public gallery as she was jailed.
An additional 20 parents observed the hearing via a remote video stream.
Following the hearing, a parent told the Press Association that "justice has been done today".
"We feel quite gratified that the sheriff has clearly recognised the seriousness of the offense and the period of offending and the potential risks to the children," she remarked.
"We’ve fought from the very beginning to actually have the whole situation taken seriously."
A second parent stated: "One of the hardest parts for me has been rebuilding the trust with my children, because they believed we knew what was happening and chose to send them anyway."
She revealed that one of her children was made to change nappies on infants and had to "sneak biscuits because they didn’t get to eat anything".
She added: "We are all working professionals. We needed flexible, affordable childcare, and that allowed (Mathewson) to pull the wool over our eyes because we needed her."
Shortly before her offences commenced, Mathewson had received a highly positive evaluation from the Care Inspectorate following an unannounced visit on August 7, 2023.
That assessment rated her as "very good" across all criteria, observing that children experienced a "comfortable, welcoming and homely environment" delivered with "warmth, kindness and a nurturing approach".
After the court outcome, a representative for the Care Inspectorate 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 out-with 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."
