Thinking of au pair or a nanny - what should I know?

[LadyBlaBlah]

DSs 8 and 5, both at school, so childcare would be school pick up and after school activities only.

But what should I know - what are the pro's and con's of an au pair?

Would I get a live out nanny for those hours? Is that preferable?

Off the top of my head...

Pros of an au pair:

They're cheaper in terms of wages, you don't need to faff around with PAYE (assuming you pay under threshold and are their only job)
They're live in - so they should in theory bond well with the family and muck in (if children are sick you can always ask - and I stress ask - if they'll look after them for the day)
They'll do a bit of cleaning as well as childcare and often an evening babysit
They can do longer hours in school holidays if you need them to

Cons:

They're live in - you're sharing your space with someone
They're usually fairly young and here to improve their English, the whole job thing often comes second
Their English may not be great
They'll need a fair amount of guidance as their experience tends to be limited
If you have a Romanian or Bulgarian you need to be aware of the restrictions on working (not too onerous)
They might not be too good with homework

You might get a live out nanny with their own child for those hours. you're unlikely to get someone who doesn't have a good reason (probably a drawback from an employer's POV) for wanting those hours. It's preferable if you want someone with more training/experience (which IMO you don't really need as your children are school aged) but on the flipside they might not do care for school holidays, they cost more and you'll probably need to administer PAYE. It's also preferable if you don't have a spare room or don't want to share your space.

For both you will need a contract and to be prepared to operate PAYE if necessary, but as I said that's only likely to be an issue with an au pair if you're paying them lots or they have a second job.