good nanny and top nanny

nannyanna It's a standing joke (if that's the right word) on mn about Norland from many years back with a lady who used a Norland and their tv show etc

But agree as in any job you don't really learn till on your own

hellenback that's interesting as a nanny I know who is a Norland said the same when we compared what we did years

Obviously hasn't changed :)

I have taught childcare and visited Norland Collage with my students to have a snoop.
Turns out they were teaching the same childcare course that I was at the local FE collage.
Same course, same qualification....

Blondes You can get wonderful qualified nannies - whether Norland --of whom
We don't speak-- wink or nneb btec nvq etc

Why do we not speak of Norland?

Any training is good but you're best of judging on the person, their references and how many years experience they have had.

One of my lecturers at Norland said to us as we finished college "Completing your degree is like passing your driving test, you have the certificate to be able to drive but you only really start learning when you are on the road" At the time I thought this was really irritating but now that I am a few years down the line I know how right he was.

Also I have some days when I am a top nanny, some days when I am a good nanny and some days when I really should have just stayed in bed!

I'm in Yorkshire and yes can see why people might aspire to the 'fame' stuff more in London. Plus yes have seen some of the posts on here about people with 'problem' nannies for a want of a better way to put it. Maybe I was lucky to have a good college with fellow students who actually wanted to be there. just think it's a shame that people see it is a easy choice of job, or a stop gap until 'something better' comes along. I guess you probably wouldn't get too many people who have done a childcare course, regardless of where ever they did training, who would actually be aspiring to be an actor, musician etc, most would be wanting it as a career. Fee paying or not any sort of training should be a good thing, it's the person that counts not the name of the college on the certificate. As you said meet the prospective nanny and judge her as a whole person, not just where she/he trained.

Like I said I don't know what went on at your specific school/college, but it does happen and as a result there are many lazy/useless/bad nannies that give the rest of us a bad name. You only need to look through the posts on here to see the problems people have with their nannies.

I'm in London, which may explain the number of aspiring actors/musicians/dancers etc.

I did see that part of your post too, but still found the other section a tad off.

At my college I don't recall anyone on my course saying they got pushed in to doing the course because they are rubbish at doing anything else, or thought it was an easy option. In fact I remember a talk we had on the first day in which we were informed that for the 60 places available there had been nearly 150 applicants. So well over subscribed, everyone felt lucky to have got a place, and we all worked hard.

Not sure where you work, but I know nannies round my neck of the woods but i don't know any who are aspiring to music careers or whatever. Plus I'm sure you know as a childcare worker it's not an easy choice, it can be hard work sometimes and maybe career advisors in your neck of the woods should stop offering it as an easy option for people who don't get to do want they really want to. Not that that is your fault or problem!

Tet Maybe read my post again. Particularly this bit;

'On a one to one level, it doesn't really mean much because there are many, many committed, book smart, reliable, patient, kind nannies who didn't go to Norland/Chiltern'.

or how about this bit;

'It's an 'all the nannies at Norland are good, but not all the good nannies are at Norland' thing.'

I don't know what happened at your school/college, but it is absolutely the case that in some schools/colleges people are pushed into or come to childcare as a result of it being easy/having failed at what they wanted to do. I know at the moment a nanny who is trying to be a ballet dancer, a nanny who is trying to launch a music career and a nanny who is an unemployed actor. Childcare is not their first choice.

Childcare was my first choice. I also didn't go to Norland. I'm also very good at my job.

Of course, if you choose to be offended that is your choice and I must respect it.

1993 not 1983

Outragedfromleeds I work as a nanny and have done since gaining my NNEB on 1983. I find this statement on your post a bit offensive;

As a general rule the Norland or Chiltern qualification is a mark of quality. It demonstrates commitment, it's time consuming and expensive to go there. No-one has wandered in because they failed GCSE art and heard childcare was easy.

I did my course at a local college as my parents weren't able to afford the fees at Norland. Does that make me an inferior quality nanny? The course was hard work and time consuming. I was committed to the theory book based lessons, the course work, practical placements and passing the exams to gain the qualification for my chosen career, as was everyone else on the course.

I don't think any one wandered in for failing gcse's and heard childcare was easy. Plus you needed good grades to be accepted on the course.

Just because we weren't fortunate to have parents able to afford expensive colleges with fancy uniforms, does not mean our training was any less thorough and comprehensive.

I agree with the above post but I think the draw of a trained nanny (other than the status symbol) is that you know they have practical, hands on training as well as the theory; they will have to have had a certain level of theory and good references before they start; and somewhere like Norland is known for covering every eventuality in their training ( self defence, driving in dangerous conditions etc) but it isn't everything. And I guess some families just find having a name behind their nanny comforting.

The only way to know if a nanny is right for your family is to meet her!

As a general rule the Norland or Chiltern qualification is a mark of quality. It demonstrates commitment, it's time consuming and expensive to go there. No-one has wandered in because they failed GCSE art and heard childcare was easy. It's a comprehensive syllabus, so they'll be book smart. The selection procedure is fairly tough, so anyone not quite right will have been weeded out already. If they do turn out to be a nightmare you can go back to Norland/Chiltern and they should help you to find an alternative nanny and hopefully deal with the problems with the other nanny.

On a one to one level, it doesn't really mean much because there are many, many committed, book smart, reliable, patient, kind nannies who didn't go to Norland/Chiltern.

It's an 'all the nannies at Norland are good, but not all the good nannies are at Norland' thing.

If you don't have money to burn and you have time to read a CV/check references then you don't need the Norland brand.

Honestly no

You can get wonderful qualified nannies - whether Norland --of whom
We don't speak-- or nneb btec nvq etc

You can get crap unqualified nannies

You can get wonderful unqualified nannies

You can get crap unqualified nannies