That DD cannot be an au pair?

[LadyClaudette]

DD 19 is taking a year between year one of university and year two. She doesn't want to work in retail and has decided that being an au pair in England would be a great job.

My understanding of being an au pair was that part of the benefits of being one was the cultural exchange?!

So can my lovely,'calm, good with children but very English DD be an au pair?

AIBU to think that she can't?

She could sign up and see if she gets offers.
She doesn't want to go abroad--- it's too far apparently and she won't be able to drive
She could drive but it looks like there's other reasons.

If she's looking in December then let us know :-)

And to the OP who was all judgy about families with au pairs.....jog on.

She could be a mother's help.

When my DCs were growing up we used to sometimes have au pairs and sometimes mother's helps.

We had one young woman from Glasgow for a while and later we had a young woman from Oxford, we were in London so she was able to go home every weekend, if she wanted to.

She actually wanted train as a nanny and was getting a bit of hands on experience first. She wasn't all that old but she was brilliant with my DCs.

She could consider becoming a nanny rather than an au pair. British nannies are highly sought after. There are a lot of rich and/ or famous families paying huge sums of money for live in positions as nannies, butlers and housekeepers. Try looking at some of the recruitment agencies - Beauchamps Partners and Eden Private Staff for a start.

A live in junior nanny? This is their term for inexperienced nannies. Much better paid than Au Pairs.

www.edenprivatestaff.com/what-we-do/nannies/live-nanny/

Long term what does she want to do?

Just FYI to the posters saying why doesn't she be a nanny - you tend to have to need childcare qualifications to be a nanny/looking after children under 5. That's why they're paid so well.

I was a nanny when I first moved to London and as a 21 year old was paid £500 a week after tax. It was great! But I had worked at a nursery for 3 years during university and gained a qualification that way. No one in their right mind would hire an unqualified teen to look after their baby sole charge.

Some would hire her, but it will be low paid. Still better paid than Au Pair though.

You don't need childcare qualifications to be a nanny - some parents will insist on it, but others, like me, will stake a lot on references and interview and whether the candidate has common sense and a bond with children. AgainPlease

Sounds like your daughter fits the bill. I would employ her as a junior nanny if she performed at interview etc.

i spent a year as an au pair at her age in Brussels. I then came back to UK and spent a year as an au pair/junior housemistress in a boarding school in Hastings. Both were good fun. The boarding school option might be one for her. If she really doesn't want to go abroad then look for a job in another part of the UK to at least see somewhere different

No such thing as an aupair visa any more, so no requirement for someone to do a language course or be from a different country.

NMW does not apply to live-in staff who are being treated as a member of the family, so as long as she is being invited on trips out with the family outside of her working hours, then NMW won't apply.

She is basically a live-in nanny who is working part-time.

"If it's she wants to work with children then she could work in a nursery or as a childrens support worker?"

Not without a Childcare qualification and suitable experience.

Well there is what is known as a 'mothers help', which your dd could be. Au pairs are usually young ladies from abroad coming to the UK to either learn about the language and culture or study.

I know at least three English aupairs living in my village. Don't see a problem at all

It's unlikely she'd get a paid position as a Nanny, maybe a mother's help?

What is it she wants to do? Work with children or move out of home?

I'm a Nanny. I get paid £23 an hour but I've over 20 years experience and I'm a qualified Nursery Nurse, Paediatric First Aider, trained in safe guarding and Prevent duty and I'm Ofsted registered with an Outstanding grade as a Nursery Nurse.

And one family turned me down as they felt I hadn't enough working experience with children! They actually gave the job to one of my old colleagues who had been doing childcare for 40 years and made it clear she was the most experienced person they interviewed but they still felt it wasn't quite enough!

If she wants to work with children, would she not consider the nursery nurse/childminding route and get some qualifications too?

I am sure a family would take her on as a nanny. I know tons of unqualified, under 24 yr old nannies.