Live-in or Live-out in London/Bromley/Sevenoaks areas

[PorphyrophillicPixie]

Hello again! I'm currently just looking for a bit of advice so will explain the situation (so, may be tl;dr!)

Me and my boyfriend are likely not going to have our contracts at our seasonal job renewed come November/December, so may be out of a job around Christmas. He recently finished his level two fitness instructing award and can get his level 3 for free if he lives and works in a London Borough and is under 24. We did plan to travel towards the end of next year, however it can be pushed back further so that he can get this qualification done as otherwise he'll have to cut his trip short to get this course done before he's 24.

So, I have been thinking of taking advantage of being so close to London now (near Sevenoaks) and see if living near London would be a feasible idea. He would probably get a job in London, but I am curious about my possibilities.

I wouldn't mind being a live-in during the week and coming home on the weekends nor would I mind being a daily nanny. The main problem is that I will start a degree (Childhood and Youth or Youth Studies, my first unit can be for either and I'm not yet decided on which to do) in October and would need to do some form of volunteer work with 13-19 yos, so I'd need a family who are flexible enough to not mind me finishing before 7 once or twice a week in order to do some scout work or something similar.

So, as a live-in in London, would a family mind a nanny who goes home at the weekend most weekends? Would hours likely be late or would it be possible to work until 6/7pm at night in order for me to do my volunteering?

And with live-out, would it be possible to get a job without having to drive (license, no car and no intention of getting one)? Jobs don't seem easy to come by in the Bromley area, is there anywhere the same sort of distance from London with similar renting prices that nannying is more common?

And for both: How much could I earn in either job. I'm a mature 21yo, lots of voluntary experience with little ones, and lots of actual working with older children and young teens in a variety of settings. I'd ideally be looking for a position with both under-2's and an older child to gain experience with younger ones and keep up my work with older kids I also wouldn't mind a bit of housekeeping, especially if the child goes to supplementary care a few mornings a week! I enjoy cleaning and polishing, mainly polishing :o

I also would prefer a four day a week job, are they common? Especially with live-in?!

From experience I know that a lot of agencies aren't keen on having me on the books, especially as a sole-charge nanny due to my lack of experience, however there is no actual way of getting experience without getting a job with kids and as I can't settle for long it's impossible to get a job/qualification! Hence the OU degree, I can do it on the move and in my own time whilst deciding what career path I'd like to take for the next 10-15 years.

From looking around at jobs, it seems that £400-£500 gross is normal-ish for live-in's in London? Would that be right for my circumstances though? And live-out is significantly less around Bromley but I'm not sure what to go on for live-out London figures, I'd commute if I needed too as long as it's not too long on the train or tube!

Thanks in advance! And my apologiesn if I don't reply soon, I rarely use the computer anymore!

Bumping :)

Gosh you write a lot, hard to work out what bits are important and which are not.

You say agencies are not keen to take you on, which may mean that you don't have any relevant experience. Are you selling yourself well? Do you have references from your childcare work? Do you have some experience of working in a home environment, rather than group care?

You could try finding work yourself say via Childcare.co.uk / Gumtree.com

I don't know about being a live-in nanny, as I don't do that. However I expect what parents would want from a live-in nanny will vary, so some may well want you to work long hours, others may not mind you finishing at 6pm one day a week.

Daily nanny is the same in that what days and hours people want you to work will vary. So have a look around at what jobs are on offer to get a feel for the jobs in areas you are considering relocating. You may even find a job which involves working with teenagers, you never know.

Being able to drive in my view is a plus point, though nannies who post on here say it's possible to be a nanny in London without being a driver. Again it will depend on the family you work for, as some will want a driver, whilst others won't. You also need to consider how you would get to your Youth volunteer work.

Salaries vary, live-in will be lower than daily. How much you are offered will vary depending on what the parents offer and how well you sell yourself and your skills.

You can e-mail me your CV if you would like me to take a look at it. Click my username for my contact details.
It may help to get some perspective from other people about your CV, as your CV can be the first thing someone sees about you and it needs to sell you well.

Thanks for the reply!

I know I write a lot, I'm not good at filtering, especially late at night when I don't reread before posting

I was a live-in 'nanny' to two older children (8 and 12 at the time) for a year, I have volunteered in two or three nurseries and two primary schools (reception classes) for 6+ months at a time and at least one day a week, usually two. I was an instructor for PGL for 6 months and have babysat extensively from the age of 15 for two families. Agencies won't take me on as, in their own words, I have too little experience of sole charge with under 2's and have no qualification (yet they're perfectly happy to take on 18yos just out of a childcare college with an nvq 2 or 3 but no experience of home-care of a child or sole charge ).

I'd get a Mother's Help Job but I wouldn't be able to afford to live if I do, let alone save! Honestly, I feel comfortable enough around younger children and feel that I'm perfectly capable of taking care of them, but all agencies want is a piece of paper to say that I'm capable.

RE leaving early, that's exactly what I thought, I suppose it'll be more of a case of asking when I start looking for work.

I'm looking at Bromley and whatnot but there are pretty much no jobs going, which is why I'm considering London jobs and living in Bromley. I'd go for Sevenoaks and similar areas but I can only commute and I'm not sure how many would be keen on a nanny who relies on the trains. Still looking into the surrounding areas though, there might be buses or something!

I don't want to give up childcare but if I have to I will just in order to save money as I'm trying to save £10,000 in less than two years for the first part of my travelling!

Thanks for the offer on the CV, I'll take it up, but not yet if that's okay? I've not got it with me at the moment but I actually happen to be going home this week so will look for it there! :)

I can see why the agencies are not interested - you would be a hard sell to a family with young children.

However, you may be an easier sell to parents with school aged children... especially if you are willing to do more of a housekeeper type role.

Focus on making the most of the live-in nanny position you had, plus the primary school volunteering (do you have a written reference from those?)

I consider Bromley to be London these days - it's inside the M25!

The non-driving may be an issue though... as jobs like this I would expect would need a driver.

Here is a live-in position in West London. No salary details though.

if you worked in sevenoaks (as i do) you will need to be able to drive, very rare to have a job that says no driver needed

agree with nick that a job with older children/school runs may be the way forward

if you do live in, i wouldnt have thought you would be able to leave at 6pm, live in jobs are normally least till 7pm

nannynick: I know, I don't look good on paper what-so-ever! Even though I volunteer stupid amounts to the point where I volunteered as much as I nannied for 6 months! But they just don't give a damn unless I have a blooming bit of paper or experience and I cannot get either without being given a chance :( And I'm not going back to college as I cannot cope mentally living with my parents, which is the only feasible way to do it!

No written references, but I can get one for the second school and one of the nurseries though I think, at least the nursery. I'll also get one from my host family before.

I love the idea of working with older kids, but I'd need a full time position and cannot get that with only school runs which is my only problem, not many people want full time housekeepers!

Blondes: I've noticed a few recent jobs mention a car provided if needed, is that common around Sevenoaks or just fluke that it happens to be when I'm browsing? I cannot afford to have a car as well as a rented flat in Kent! lol

What I'd really like is to be given a chance to work with a younger child to gain experience. This career is so difficult to break into and I really do feel that I have a lot more to offer than 18 year old girls who've never looked after a baby alone before but have a 'level 3' so are therefore much more appealing.
Working with kids has been my dream since I was a little girl and nannying is perfect for me and the way that I work, if I could live on a shitty wage I'd do it just for the sake of being a nanny but unfortunately that cannot be the case when a flat will cost near £700 a month alone!

Hm, thank you for the advice, I think that maybe I should give up and wait until I have my degree and just go straight into youth work; me and my partner would never be able to afford a place together and save to travel anyway at this rate. I'll look into it again around December and see if the agencies can advise me on anything, but I always find MN more useful than agencies anyway!

Thanks again!

yes often jobs come with cars in my area, if you dont ask, you dont get

maybe you can do a mothers help/shared care job to gain the exp

if you wanted to work with children since you were little, why didnt you go tocollege/do a childcare course after you left school at 16ish?

Blondes: Can't afford to do a mother's help job and live + save, or even just live unfortunately!

& why I didn't do childcare? I bloody wish I did now! My school were really bad at pressuring the higher students into A Levels. I was an average-to-higher student and they filled my head with a load of crap about how NVQs weren't suitable for me, how they were worth nothing, how I should strive to do science and I naively believed them.

Two years later I left college with two A Levels, one in English and one in General Studies. The only uni that would take me was Essex who ran a ridiculously bad childcare degree course at the local college which I ended up leaving after three months. I then got into seasonal work because I couldn't cope mentally with living at home, still can't.

I know that I'll get that qualification or experience eventually and I'll end up working with kids and young people and that's what really keeps me going, knowing that I will get there. I'll never give it up for good and will always go back to the idea every few months, but saving money towards both travelling and my degree and actually doing my degree are going to have to take priority. I'll just volunteer whenever and where ever I can unless I can find an agency who can actually help me or a family willing to take me on!

Would doing youth work not be better given your course? Not sure what work you could get - maybe helping with summer activity courses (bit late now perhaps, but there may be things in half-term).

It's hard to study and earn at the same time... when I did my NNEB I did placement and college 5 days and worked weekends in a retail job, which payed just enough to cover rent and food.

I have employed live-in nannies for several years. A few things in your post would concern me.

1- You are quite attached to a boyfriend, which is limiting your desire to really live-in. Some people would be happy for you to leave on the weekend. But, I personally want my live-in nanny to actually live with me and not just sleep there Mon - Thurs. I want to know the person who looks after my kids and I achieve this through casual social chats on the weekend and sometimes after hours - whenever our paths cross in the kitchen really.

2- You want a four day week, which would not work with my job. Some people might be happy with this, but you should expect to be paid accordingly (i.e. 80% of 5 day a week job)

3- £400-£500 gross is WAY too much money for a live-in 4 day a week job with no previous live-in nanny experience. I would think in todays markey, you are looking at more like £300 for 4 days a week.

4- Leaving by 6:00 would be okay, but only by prior arrangement and probably a set schedule. For example, my current nanny has a guarantee that I do not ask her to work late on Tuesdays unless I am required to travel for work. The nannies job exists to support my job. So, if my boss calls on me, I will call on the nanny and I expect her to be there.

However, I am not a fan of agencies and am not really interested in "qualifications". I would consider a candidate with your level of experience, but you would at the very least have to lower your rate to be competitive in today's market.

nannynick: I don't know what age children I want to work with at the end of all this yet, which is why I'm doing the youth work course as my year one course, because then it would open up both childhood and youth as well as youth studies as future options. I have to do Childhood as my main level 2 course for both anyway so I won't have to make a decision until I've finished with that course iyswim? I would ideally like to be able to work with anyone aged 0-25, either working with one set for a few years and then switching or finding a really universal job, but from September it will become impossible to wor with 13+ without a degree in Youth Work, which is why I'm going down that route now, in case I decide to focus solely on youth work later on.

I'm doing my course via the OU, I know it'll be difficult but it'll be so worth it at the end of things! Also, I start work at 6am at the moment and can be home by 2pm if I want, so it'll be easier to study as it doesn't feel like I'm doing as much work.

Strix: Thank you for the feedback!

1. I can definately see the concern there. I am the same in that I want to know the people I live with but I can see how it'd be an issue if I went home at the weekends.

2. I would ideally want a four day week, especially if I were live-out, I know that it's harder to achieve with live-in. I'd just need an hour or two during the day to study in a five day really, like nap times or if the child is in nursery, etc.

3. I meant £400 if I were working a five-day as opposed to 4 day as that's what I've seen offered for 5 day, 50 hour week jobs, sorry I didn't make it clear!

4. That's fair enough, I'd probably only ask for it on a set day each week as it's not like Scouts change their schedules often ;) Most of the Explorers meet after 7pm anyways so it's more of a 'just in case' scenario I wanted to check :)

That sounds good, I have no idea on salary for a 'real' nanny to be honest as a live-in, I go by what's being offered in similar jobs. Like I see part-time jobs with £8-9 an hour in some areas and some for considerably less in others. In Kent, I'd expect at least £6.50 an hour live-out as Kent is expensive to live in (gross) and it's above min wage. Is that okay or should I expect less? I see live-in jobs in London for £400 for a 5 day week, is that normal? Many say wage to be confirmed.

I am thinking of having a nanny for my twin 16 month girls. 4 day week is fine and either live-in or live out sounds ok. We live in Bromley. Bit concerned about your experience but would like to meet you. Click on my username to find my email address.

ampapa - I cannot access your profile I'm afraid! My email is [email protected] if you want to email me? :)

It would depend on when you'd need somebody to start but I'm happy to chat about it now :)

Ironically you are offering the kind of service I will need in 12 months time, that I have been told noone will offer! I will be needing a live-in, fully flexible (from both employer and employee,) 12 days a month, with a bit of cleaning thrown in, young child nanny. I have been told this person does not exist.

While the timing is completely wrong, I've taken a bit of comfort from the fact that clearly you do exist. I cannot imagine I am the only employer who has a family situation like mine - especially since you are going to be looking so close to an airport. There are lots of part-time shift workers out there.

Backinthebox: Thank you for reassuring me on that!

I've recently discovered that unless I get a stupidly high paying job that OH would match (both very unlikely scenarios!) then we just won't be able to afford living anywhere near Bromley, let alone near London!

We're now stuck with the fact that we'll have to leave this current job between November and February (if we're lucky enough to be kept on!) and unless an alternative, normally paid seasonal job comes up we will have to try find jobs somewhere more affordable in order to stay out of our parents homes! Should be fun!

I'm going to see if there is an area with really affordable flats to rent (£500-£550, £600 max!) and see if I can get a nanny job there! fingers crossed

Kinda debating actually starting my degree now because of all this nonsense!