Where do I even begin to start looking for a nanny??

[PacificDogwood]

I am clueless, please help!

Since the arrival of DS4 14 months ago, if has gradually become increasingly clear that a nanny for 3 days/wk would meet our childcare needs/wants better than the current arrangement with a (lovely) CM, much as I will be sad to 'lose' her.

So, where do we start: agency/ad in local paper/notice in the window of the papershop??

And is there actually any self-respecting nanny out there who will take on 4 insane lively boys aged 8 and younger?? Does it cost more for more children??

Gawd, even writing this down makes me feel even more clueless...Any advice/pointers from nannies or families employing a nanny would be most appreciated.

And should Giraffes read this, (or if anybody knows under what guise she hangs out these days could you point her in this direction, please?), did you not mention a friend who might be interested in us a (long) while ago? I really like the idea of a personal recommendation...

Thank you for having even read this far .

I used childcare.co.uk and found that very useful. However we eventually found our nanny on gumtree.

Good luck. It's a really hard job both finding the right person and leaving your child with them while you go to work.

Yes nannies will take on multiple children. And yes they cope. Much as you do. :)

Ha! Who says I am coping?? I run away to work...

Thanks for that, whomoved, I will have a look.

I absolutely have to go to bed now, but will be back tomorrow.

And in the same way... your nanny will practically leg it the minute you are back through the door at night

Start online and local village shop postcard advertising board just in case there is a local who might be interested... could put URL of the online ad on the postcard ad, so someone can find out more info before contacting you.

As a nanny, I would first look on NannyJob then Childcare.co.uk - an ad on NannyJob will cost you money. A listing on Childcare.co.uk is free but will cost the nanny money to contact you, unless they Favourite your ad, then you pay to be able to send messages and send them a message - if that makes sense. Initially create a free listing and get to grips with the way the system works so you can make the ad as good as possible given the way it works.

Last family I nannied for had 4 children aged 8 and under at one point. So yes some nanny are mad enough . Currently nannying for 3 children aged 6 and under - a little easier. No difference salary wise for number of children... nannies are paid per family, not per child. What I will say however is that the more children there are, the bigger the issue with transport. How does nanny get them all from A to B - will you be providing a car, or would nanny need to provide that... or is everything walkable?

Thanks for further replies - always a pleasure, nannynick, to read your posts as you seem to have the gift of grasping the jist of a problem so concisely (not that I have lurked on this board much... .

Re transport: yes, everything is walkable and we do normally walk on my days off. In fact, I am quite keen for the older 2 to walk to and from school, Nr3 has just started nursery and DS4, well, just does his baby thing .

Good idea to put the URL of on-line ad onto postcard advertising thingie, thanks.

I am off to have a look at NannyJob and Childcare.

I've been told nannies all look at Gumtree - that's where I found our last one. I got a load of applications, many of which were no good but they were quite easy to sift. And far cheaper than using an agency.

Make sure you check ALL their references, and make sure their CRB
is in order.

You can use a URL shortener like Bit.ly, goo.gl, if necessary.

I walk 3 children to school - well 1, or recently 2 in buggy, but it's still walking. We have rarely taken the car, even in the rain.

Consider what you need to include in an advert. Personally I like adverts which state the salary. I don't want to negotiate, I just want to know how much is on offer.

Echo gumtree, nannyjob and childcare.co.uk. Agree four kids under 8 is fine, last nanny job I did I had 4 under 5 years! Best wishes with your search.

If caring for multiple children, try and find a nanny who has over five years experience. Many people seem to nanny for a year or so and then do something else which is fine but it's not long enough to get 'coping with multiple monsters' under one's belt Also be aware of the difference between au pairing and nannying. We interviewed a few who said 'well I've been an au pair for two years and now I'm nannying' - the jobs are very different and would say looking after kids a few hours a day is not quite the same. (But please feel free to correct me nannies out there). :)

5 years of what experience, nannying? If so, seems excessive.

I have no nannying experience prior to caring for multiple children - most people wanting a nanny have multiple children in my view, as other forms of childcare are cheaper if someone only has one child.

To agree with Nick - I worked as an Au Pair for 16 months in France at 18 years old. No full time childcare experience before that just babysitting/Guides etc. I had three children 5 years, 3 years and 8 months to look after soul charge, got on really, really well and the children now come and stay with my family 6 years later. I then nannied in Ireland for a year for four children under five years old (only one at school 9-2 and did overnight cover as well). I would ask for some experience but agree 5 years seems excessive. You will know the right nanny when you find him/her.

Right, I have registered with a nanny agency (Tinies - anybody uesed them?)

Also read up on the payrol/legal stuff on NannyMatters - 'tis a minefield out there

Re experience: I am far, far more interested in the right person than number of years experience or formal childcare qualifications. And I'd give my left arm for the Right Person who will stay with us for the next 15 years...

Re pay: what is a reasonable rate of pay?? I don't want to insult anybody by offering a stupidly low amount, but equally don't want to be a mug IYKWIM. So, for a warm, firm but fair, cheerful, good-with-multiple-maniacs nanny for 30hours/wk over 3 days, ideally live out but live in could be accomodated for the right person, in the central belt of Scotland - how much? 250pounds/wk = about 8.30pounds/hr (gross)? More? Less??
Is it acceptable to have a starting point and be open to negotiation?

We were thinking about keeping our CM and looking for an au pair in addition, just to help with getting out of the house and bedtime etc, but decided a nanny would hopefully be able to provide more stability, consistency and less having to jank kids hither and tither.

I used nannytax.co.uk - very helpful.

I paid £18k live in. Don't ask me, I'm in Oxon. You have to pay more for everything here.

Look at other jobs on offer, what are they offering. I would have thought for live-out it would need to be a bit higher, esp if wanting someone experienced. However it's down to what you can afford - so work out what you want to pay, then offer a bit below that, so once someone is in the job and past probation you could raise the salary a little if you felt they were worth it.
No to negotiations, wastes time in my view. Had enough of that in other lines of work. How would you determine what to offer each candidate? If someone got offere the job below the top of the salary range, could you justify exactly why they didn't get full salary? My advice, just pick a figure, far easier to raise it for an exceptional employee later on via a pay review, if your funds allow to do so.

Nannytax - righto, I'll add that to my homework list, thanks

I have not been able to find ads/job offers that state pay . Ok, no negotiations. I like the idea of a possible increase after a probation period. On NannyJob there seem to be lots of people prepared to work anywhere in the world as well. How far are people prepared to travel or move for a nannying job?? Or am I reading this wrong?

Decide if you want live out or live in.
Then if live out, they need to live within reasonable travel time of your home, both in summer and winter!

Nanny payroll - there are various companies around. Compare what they offer and prices. Personally I'm happy and my boss seems happy with www.payefornannies.co.uk but that's just one of many nanny payroll companies, though does get mentioned on here quite a lot.

Recruitment wise, if you need to use Childcare Vouchers, then make sure the agency is registered. Also make sure the agency advertises the job as Gross... you don't want to be talking about pay with a nanny to find that you are talking gross and they are talking net.
A good agency will not send you many candidates - they should be matching candidates to the job.

I wouldn't use nannyjob to look for a nanny in anyway other than placing your own ad and seeing what replies you get. However, as you are in Scotland, if you self recruit you may not be able to use Childcare Vouchers as that aspect must be done via an agency. Would you be using childcare vouchers?

I can't say I fully understand Childcare Vouchers, but think DH would be able to get them. My understanding was to use them to pay/part-pay a nanny, the nanny would need to be registered to use them?
The agency (which I have just made preliminary enquiries with, not really signed up yet) are quoting a one off fee of £250 due on offering a contract to one of the candidates they sent. I am under the impression that after the nanny has been hired they have no further involvement. Is that not the norm?

In Scotland it is the agency that is registered rather than the nanny. The agency should be able to tell you more about how the childcare voucher scheme is run in Scotland.
Don't understand what the £250 fee is for... is it possibly for being able to use the agency for voucher purposes but you find the nanny? (If so sounds quite low, as agencies can often charge a fee equal to a nannies months salary or more.) Maybe it's the finders fee for finding you a nanny. Make sure you understand what fees are payable before you sign with them.

There are different types of agencies - introduction agencies and Employment Businesses. Many nanny agencies I think are introduction agencies so don't have involvement after placing a nanny with you, though may well have some initial involvement during the first few months to help you and/or nanny though any issues. Read the terms & conditions / contract carefully to see what the agency does and does not provide - for example, some will have a fee back scheme in the event that a nanny leaves after a short period of time.

Hello :) Got your Pm and came to search for thread. How can ds4 be 14 months?! I remember holding him when he was a wee teeny thing.

Ok there were 3 main agencies in our area, one has just stopped (I recieved a letter about this) this is west of scotland. So now only 2 main players - glasgow childcare solutions and a and h. I have had most dealings with gccs and have found them extreemly helpful to me, friends had more to do with a&h and had no problems withthem but I have never used them although am registered. (will pm you more on this)

In your area of work I assume you would be getting childcare vouchers (my boss works for same as you) so you need to register with a nanny agency to get these - in eng te nanny needs to be reg with ofsted but no ofsted here. so what you need is the care comission number to process them. 2 ways of this - either you join an agency, find nanny though them and then get code. or you find independantly, and then pay a smaller fee to an agency for them to facilitate this. (can explain in more detail if unclear)

nannyjob and childcare.co.uk good idea. gumtree in our area you tend to get a lot of random people.

friend i mentioned has job for now but is temp, when you looking for? not sure if I know anyone else. But happy to help you with questions etc if needed.

Do you need a nanny with a car? If so does it need to be a big car to fit your 4 lovely boys?

Lots more to think/chat about but dont want to overwhelm you so will let you read this and then add more. :)

PD re your last post - pm me the agency. Depending what one can explain what involvement I have found them to have/can ask my friend.

I heard from Alison recently. A & H Childcare Consultancy Ltd ceased trading in late 2009.

SCSWIS has a list of Registered agencies, though probably best to on recommendation if possible.

A&H are still around but without Alison, it Carens husband that mainly answers phones now. Its A&H nanny services or something now.

Ah, giraffes, there you are .

Thanks for all the info, here and in your PM.
I am once again MNing too late in the day and Must Sleep.

I am a inclined to look at GCCS now as well...

Childcare vouchers would have to be via DH's work as technically I am self-employed and I am not aware that I could get them, or could I??

nannynick, thank you for that link.

too late for me too! brain going to sleep, reply tommorrow, night.

If I registered with more than one agency would that make me look like a twunt?? Or should I register with more than one?

Tinies phoned me back this morning as arranged to see if I wanted to formalise registering with them. 250£ one-off fee sounds so tempting reasonable. A+E and GCCS seem to ask for a fee up front and then 1-2 weeks nanny wages on signing somebody.

I have decided I'd rather not put a postcard in the local papershop's window as I would rather not employ somebody who also lives right here. Too close to where I also work...