What should a nanny have?

[confusedpixie]

In your opinion. If you're a parent, what do you like to see wrt qualifications, insurances, courses, etc?

& Nannies/childcarers what do you have? Are you a member of any organisations? Get any magazines or read any blogs that you feel are great reading for a nanny? Are they of any benefit?

As a nanny:

10 GCSE - varying grades, various subjects (you don't want me to list them all do you?
National Diploma in Computing
Higher National Diploma in Computer Studies
CACHE Diploma in Nursery Nursing (NNEB)
OCN Maternity Practitioner Award
Paediatric First Aid (St Johns, 12 hour)
Safeguarding Children
Common Core Skills Training for Home Based Child Carers
Fire Safety Awareness
Currently have 6 Enhanced CRB checks (dated from 2006-2011) - perhaps I need to thin out the file a bit
Ofsted Registered Home Childcarer
Nanny insurance via MM
Childcarers Motor insurance via MM

Member of BAPN - though I'm not really sure of any benefit there as yet, apart from getting a bit of discount on some products.
I don't buy magazines, there is lots of info on the internet these days.
I read various cookery related blogs, always handy to get new ideas for recipes. www.mydaddycooks.com www.recipesfromanormalmum.com
Also other blogs like www.science-sparks.com www.redtedart.com

Hi nannynick :)

Thanks! fire awareness sounds interesting! Never heard of that but I'll add it to my list :)

As a parent, essential for me are nanny qualification e.g. NVQ level 3, NNEB, or degree/diploma from nanny college, plus paediatric first aid and enhanced CRB. Any other courses/qualifications a plus but not essential. Also relevant experience (as a full-time nanny, sole charge, with relevant age group, etc.).

I have 10GCSEs, 3Alevels (all As ), a Bachelors and a Masters, CACHE level 3, ICP, MNT maternity award, TEFL, first aid. I appealed to a certain kind of parent .

When I wanted a nanny for my 4mo I was looking for a level 3 qualification and age relevant experience.

Now (sob) I will need a new one for my 8mo and I'll be more flexible on qualifications if they have experience. I think if they're capable of getting a degree and have looked after children before then they can probably cope with DS so qualifications, 1st aid aside, are less important than personality. Cliché!

If we were in the UK I would insist on insurance. Membership of something like BAPN would show commitment, particularly to self-improvement IYSWIM. In fact any extras, as long as they're justified, I would view favourably as evidence of someone who is switched on and makes an effort.

Thank you :)

I'm wondering what to do next so this helps! I have two jobs at the moment but am thinking that as a young nanny I need to up my game to get more experience and make me more appealing when I inevitably leave my jobs a few years (hopefully) down the line when the kids grow up! And the courses are really interesting, my local council offers loads on all sorts of topics, some which wouldn't go on the CV (tackling racism, discussion groups on how sex affects behaviour and play, etc) so I figure if I can combine interest with something parents are looking for then that's doubly good for me!

I have GCSEs (not sure how many, 9 or 10 A-C's), studying the level 3, have a safeguarding course lined up, studying common core skills, have a pead 12 hour course, will be ofsted registered, am a BAPN member, have liability insurance and tackling my motor insurance at the moment.

One of my jobs is with two children with SN, one with autism and I'm wondering whether to take a short course on that or learn through experience? I intend to take a course about baby care as I haven't worked with under ones before now (I have a lovely 11mo charge in the other job) and am interested in BSL and/or makaton courses.

Obviously my focus is to get my level 3 finished but I'm thinking of my plans career-wise for the next 18months. I plan to have my level 3 finished by next summer, just in time to sign up for courses starting in September but some longer courses can be trialled in Spring, which is why I ask now so that I can start looking into trials of courses that will be most relevant. It also means that I can attend short one or two days courses in the next three or four months as I won't be full time until then and therefore won't need to miss work.

re the autism

i would take the course but the best way to learn about any SNis ask if you can attend the meeting and appointments school/hospial (you should really so the professional get the whole picture .they could also helps you if have any questions) .It will show how the systems works.
If you go for another SN job you then know who the professional are and how good/bad they are. and how they work and what they can do.
there also might be meeting that you can attend like support groups fund raising
maybe help out the school/sign on as temp TA

I've volunteered a lot in schools as a TA before and in nurseries, as much as I want to volunteer again I'm a bit bored of the educational system :/ I'm currently looking into the Big Sister schemes in the area as well as projects similar to homestart where I could go and just help out in the home or with the kids.

My new employers have given me a bit of info about the professionals they work with wrt their children and names so I'll be googling those and reading up where possible (and they're happy to talk about it extensively), unfortunately the professionals are mostly American's who they Skype with and whilst some of those meetings will be during my two days I'll be there to watch the kids so that they can have these meetings, iyswim? (I asked about it when I babysat for them the other week).
However they have people who come and work with their autistic son at home who they have said will be able to fill me in on the system they use with him and if I'm happy with it they're eager for me to train in that system and eventually do work with their son within the system which is fascinating! It's a long-term goal as opposed to something short term.
In my last job (with an autistic child again) I sat in on telephone meetings with American professionals which were also fascinating but as I was live-in it was easier for me to actually be there.

I will look into independent training for autism for the sake of getting a set training in it still though, I wasn't really sure whether I should or if it'd seem irrelevant due to each child being different.

www.autism.org.uk/living-with-autism/education/autism-education-trust.aspx
www.oaasis.co.uk/Contact
www.twas.org.uk/index.php?pIDref=146-Courses--Training

just some surfing i did

I was going to ask this same question. Gosh Nannynick what a legend :)

What do parents want though? Any more parents want to comment as to what you would expect of someone working as a nanny?

Some of us come to nannying later on than others, so we have done other things in our past. Those things may help, or perhaps hinder our chances of getting a job.

I expect that what one parent may want their nanny to have, another will be happy that their nanny does not have it.

longjane: thank you for the links :)

Nannynick you've hit my main problem! Working on things that other nanny's recommend is brilliant, however it helps when parents have an idea of what they feel is more important. Aside from the usual Level 3 and FA of course :)

Paediatric First Aid
Nanny insurance
Ofsted Registered Home Childcarer
Relevant experience
Cooking skills
Fluent English speaker and reader, by which I don't mean mother tongue, but rather a decent grasp of grammar and wide enough vocabulary
Interest in DC
Energy for playing with DC
Good professional ethics and values, in particular, not a racist
We don't need a driver but if we did we would obviously want someone who drove safely

I think a lot of people will look for experience rather than qualifications.

As a parent it's not so much what I think is important as what makes me go 'ooh!' IYSWIM. If you don't have my key requirements you don't make it through my screening process, if I don't feel we click when emailing or talking then likewise. So really the extra stuff is a tiebreaker for me and then you're looking at what makes you memorable/particularly suited to a job. If you work on creating a niche skill that's better than a CV of random courses.

I would follow your own interests. I assume they'll be broadly aligned to the kind of job you want to end up with and therefore relevant.

I agree with that one redglow, some people are naturally good with children and for some all the qualifications in the world wont make them good at the job I think L.Carbury has a fairly sensible list.