Need to find a nanny for September - help!

[AspirantPirate]

I hardly know where to begin..... please forgive me if this turns into a stream-of consciousness!

So, I am going back to work in September, after 9 years as a SAHM. My kids (all boys) will be approaching 10, 8 and 6. My job is likely to be very full-time for the first couple of years at least, so after a lot of thought, DH and I have decided that a nanny will be the best option.

We would like someone part-time, to pick up from school and look after the boys at home until about 7pm.

How on earth do I go about finding someone? I know there are agencies - is this the best option? They charge a fee, but as well as finding someone they also help draw up contracts etc, yes? What else do I need to know?

I'd be really grateful for any advice (and recommendations for agencies etc in the Bristol area, if anyone has any). I feel a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing

Do you know anyone who uses a nanny already? By far the best way we have found is to ask other nannies if they know anyone who is looking for work, word of mouth can't be beaten in my opinion.

Thanks, yes I do, so I will start asking around. I have no idea with contracts and employment terms etc though - how on earth do we go about sorting all that out?

You put put a profile on childcare.co.uk and see if any nannies reply too.

Aspirantpirate - Bristol Childcare part of Netmums seems pretty active. It may be worth putting an ad on there. I'm in the process of registering as a childminder and I have had 5 enquiries from there and I'm not even registered yet. Also would it be worth considering some form of childcare student? They may have finished college by the time you need them to pick up from school and also your children aren't really young, so may be a bit more self-sufficient so able to be left with someone less qualified?

Thanks, some good ideas there. I really need to put get some feelers out as I have literally no experience of all this! A student is a possibility, but I feel a bit twitchy about someone looking after my children 'on the side', if that makes sense? Me working is going to be a complete change for the whole family and is potentially going to be quite stressful - I like the idea of someone a bit older who will be very 'steady' and unflappable. I dunno... I feel twitchy about the whole thing, if I'm honest! Chances are, the kids'll be fine, but I'll be a wreck

I'm much less worried about qualifications than I am about finding someone who fits into our family and everyone feels happy with, so I won't rule anything / anyone in or out!

You want someone for 4 hours a day, so 20 hours a week. Realistically you are unlikely to find a fully qualified, experienced nanny who WANTS to take this job. It's not suitable for someone who wants part time hours due to having children, because the hours you want are the hours they want to be there for their own family.

You could try advertising, and you might get lucky, but I suspect there are more families that want this sort of set up than there are nannies who want it. You might get someone willing to do it for a short while, but would keep looking for a full time position

If you really want someone who is older and 'unflappable', then you will need to pay a premium hourly rate to make it worth their while. You are best off trying to find someone who only wants part time for a reason, and if they have something else to do during the day, this sort of position would be perfect - hence why someone suggested a student.

Where about do you live? I would suggest a student, because as others have already mentioned it is very unluckily that a fully qualified nanny would want that job. It is hard to find a another position for the mornings.

I said I liked the idea of someone older, not that I was hell-bent on getting it :) As I said, I haven't ruled anything in or out and am more concerned with personality and 'fit' than anything else. But I also need someone who is 100% reliable and mature in outlook (which some students are, but some are not. I know - I was one!)

Oh, and 2-7pm = 5 hours, so it will be 25 hours per week, not 20.

Thanks for your input.

2-7 is better, certainly. It might be possible - if your finances permitted - to get a housekeeper/nanny and do 1 - 7 with an hour or so of cleaning/tidying/ironing a day included. That would bring it up to 30 hours. That might make it an attractive position for an older person. It would also help you keep on top of things, and let you make the most of your free time.

My job is likely to be very full-time for the first couple of years at least
We would like someone part-time

Those two seem to contradict each other... if your job is very full-time then why would you only need a part-time nanny?

It's something I feel you need to think about. Whilst your 3 boys are all of school age, school is not all year round. School does not really like children with mild illness or some types of injury. Between you and DH are you able to cover the time off school that your boys might have, or if they become ill or injure themselves to a point where school won't have them... what would you do?

Is your DH good at housework and keen to do lots more of it - as if you are working full-time, you won't be doing the housework that you currently do. So who would do it? Will you be employing other staff for getting the more mundane things done, such as laundry, general cleaning around the house?

If you have decided that all you need is a nanny 2pm-7pm 5 days a week, all year round, then that's fine but I thought now might be a good time to mention some things you need to have considered, as it's not just childcare that will be an issue, there is the other things you do around the home as well.

Payroll companies can help with contracts, so you don't need to use an agency. Try the lower cost self recruitment method first, such as using Childcare.co.uk, Nannyjob.co.uk, and your local Netmums and local Gumtree.com

Yes, thanks, we have considered all of those things, and have also considered extra hours for housework etc - I wasn't sure if this would make the job more or less attractive (I have no idea whether doing housework is something that is part of a nannies job description - if it is, that is wonderful, because that would save us having to hire a cleaner as well, so 1 or even 12-7 would be a definite option).

nannynick trust me - those are all things we are thinking about! We are really feeling our way here, hence asking for advice and starting the process of looking for someone now.

Then just give it a try! Put an ad on Gumtree and Childcare.co.uk with a starting date of September. You have the advantage in that September is a time that a lot of nannies are made redundant, as their charges start school and families use different childcare arrangements.

Level of housework done by a typical nanny would not be as good in my view as that done by a cleaner. A Housekeeper/nanny position may if you made it clear enough, mean that you get applicants who are happy to clean the loo's as well as ferry the boys around between schools/clubs/activities and help with homework, cook them a meal, that sort of thing.

What is the budget you have available? That is where I would start off... establishing how much money per year you have to pay 1 (or more) people to do the tasks that you need and desire. Your budget could determine what options are possible and what is out of your price range.

As I get older (I'm 37 so still young ) I would expect that my job role would change to being more of a housekeeper/nanny (I'd better learn to iron!) if I was to stay with my current employer. I would wonder if parents of a baby and toddler for example, would be wanting an older nanny - I'm likely to be around 40 - is that older nanny territory? So as I get older I feel that job opportunities may change a bit... maybe I'm wrong though... time will tell.

Sounds like the level of housework done by a typical nanny would exceed the level of housework currently done by me Let's just say my standards are fairly, ummmm.... basic.....

Thanks so much for all the advice, I will get some ads up and start asking around properly amongst friends (as opposed to idly chatting about it). I'm currently a student so between exams, looking after the boys, worrying about the new job and everything else, the whole child care thing just feels completely overwhelming! But it's the absolute lynch-pin for the future happiness of the whole family, so I really need to get it right.

Thanks again. I'll be back with more stupid questions, I'm sure!

There are certainly some people around who are looking to change direction a bit... for example childminder to nanny, now their own children have left the nest who may well like a job which is a mixture of housework and childcare and not having a toddler all day long.

Get the ads up, even contact people who are currently looking for work. Also think a bit more out of the box - who do you know already? There may be someone you already know through church/school/friends of friends who would consider the role.

After school care is one of the most difficult kinds of childcare to sort out and anyone willing to do it can pick and choose her job because so many parents need it and not enough people want to do it. It also means that it is not cheap - even for a mature student. Combining it with general household duties is a good option but I would not restrict yourself one way or the other - just say in your advert that 'if wanted, more hours are available by combining the job with household duties'.
Another option you could consider is trying to do some sort of nanny share arrangement - it won't be easy finding a parent who only needs hours earlier in the day but it may not be impossible - a freelancer for instance might find it feasible to consider sharing with you. Or maybe a stay at home mum might like having a few hours a week childcare so she can get to the gym or go into town or do a class without having to consider her baby/pre-schooler.
Another option I know that some parents do is that they pay well over the hourly rate that a nanny normally gets. That way it generates more interest in the job and makes it more feasible for someone to consider it economically. So for those 3 or 4 hours you need at the end of the day, you pay at least £2 or £3 more an hour than the average nanny hourly rate. It is a lot more but you will still be making a saving by not having to employ someone for more hours earlier in the day in term time. In the school holidays if you need full day care, then you would probably have to negotiate reverting to the normal average daily rate for those days.
It is very early to be actively looking for childcare starting in September. I know you are stressed thinking about it now but you risk getting even more stressed because there won't be much interest at the moment. Most nannies, childcarers, students etc, won't know that they are going to need work 6 months from now. You will have more interest nearer the time. It doesn't stop you doing what networking you can now, but really I would not start actively adertising until May at the earliest. I know that probably sounds very late to you but I promise you that it isn't! I've been in childcare recruitment for 16 years and whatever anyone else tells you, you will find more people available from May/June onwards who will consider a September start, not now when most carers are looking for immediate or April/May starts. Also, if you did find someone now, it is so far ahead that you risk them turning round in July or August saying they have found something better and won't be doing your job after all!
Any other form of childcare and parents have the upper hand, but with after school care, it is the one form of childcare where the carer can call the shots.
So good luck and take every opportunity you can to tell everyone you meet locally about what you are going to be needing - yes, you might risk boring them rigid but you just don't know who might know someone who knows someone! (And by everyone, I mean everyone e.g. dentist' receptionist, local librarian, manager of local children's shop, manager of local cafe, morning playgroup leader etc etc etc! And have half a dozen printed postcard size ads in your handbag, so if someone says they might know someone, you can then hand them a card which they can pass on rather than have them scrabble around for a tatty bit of paper to write a phone number down and which they proceed to lose!)

Thank you so much, that's really helpful! I am taking notes!

If you have the time to sift through CV's then Gumtree is always worth a shot. Tinies and Harmonyathome have Bristol branches. Imperial Nannies are based in Bath but cover Bristol. Liz at Poppins is good. She's based in Swindon but covers a wide area.