Help! Questions to ask references for in-home daycare provider?

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We interviewed a woman last night who I think we are going to offer the postition of watching Ben two days a week.  We're doing a background check, drug test and I am calling her references today.  However, I am struggling with what questions to ask.  Below is what I have so far....any other ideas?  Thanks!

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1. How did you find Alicia?
2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate her as a nanny?  (yes, I know this is stupid - but I can't think of another way to ask)
3. What were her best qualities?
4. Any bad qualities?
5. How did your child(ren) feel when she stopped watching them?
6. Would you re-hire her? Why or why not?

 

ghcc

I always ask:

 "what types of things did they she do with the kids during the day?"

"how many times was she sick/unavailable during the time you worked with her? and how did she handle sickness, etc? i.e. did she have a backup, how much notice did she give, etc."

I get the references to tell me things like the ages of their children and the timeframe the provider worked for them, it gives me an idea of whether this person is experienced with the "right" ages

Also, "if you ever had any concerns with Alicia, and you mentioned them to her, how did she address them" or something like that.

 Hope this helps - good luck!

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These do help, thanks!

Amrice78

I agree with pp, I don't have any other specific questions I asked, but I did spend a good amount of time on the phone with the references.  I asked them to relate stories of the provider - I got a sense of how the provider interacts with parents and the kids from this.  FWIW - I love our in home provider and she had glowing references, the few I talked to wanted to go on and on about her.