The government has ordered a review of the case of two police officers who were told they had to stop looking after each others' children or face prosecution.
Detective Constable Leanne Shepherd, from Milton Keynes, was warned by Ofsted that she could be prosecuted if she did not end the "illegal" reciprocal arrangement with her friend, DC Lucy Jarrett.
The women, both 32, have taken turns looking after each other's daughters twice a week for the last two and a half years while they worked a ten-hour shift at Aylesbury police station in Buckinghamshire.
However, the pair were reported to Ofsted by someone – thought to be a neighbour – and an investigation was launched. New legislation means that people who baby-sit for more than two hours at a time or on more than 14 days a year should be registered and follow childminder rules, including undertaking first aid training and following the so-called "nappy curriculum" for under-fives.
According to the education watchdog, the rules apply in cases where parents receive a "reward" for the child care – which can include money or simply free baby-sitting in return. Ofsted is now in discussions with the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) about the interpretation of the word "reward".
The schools minister, Vernon Coaker, said: "The legislation laid out by the Childcare Act 2006 is in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all children. However we need to be sure that the legislation does not penalise hard-working families."
DC Shepherd said she had received a surprise visit from an Ofsted inspector who said she had received reports that an illegal childminding business was being run. Despite explaining that the arrangement was between two friends who were helping each other out, DC Shepherd was told that she was breaking the law and had to stop immediately. "I was stunned, completely devastated. I spent the whole day crying because I couldn't see how I could continue working," she told the Mail on Sunday. The legislation has been widely attacked and a petition to scrap the rules governing reciprocal child care on the Number 10 website has gathered more than 2,000 signatures. An Ofsted spokesman said: "Generally, mothers who look after each other's children are not providing childminding for which registration is required, as exemptions apply to them, for example because the care is for less than two hours or it takes place on less than 14 days in a year. Where such arrangements are regular and for longer periods, then registration is usually required."
Close relatives of the child such as grandparents, siblings, aunts or uncles are exempt from the rules, he added. DC Shepherd, who is separated from her husband, said the arrangement worked well for all parties, particularly as she and her colleague did demanding jobs that often required overtime.