How does childcare.co.uk work?

[wishiknewwhatiwasdoing]

Hi there
I have created a profile on this website and have had a few nannies view my profile. I haven't received any messages but I also can't send messages to any of the nannies that I've seen that I'm interested in. Is this because I have the free registration.

If I and nannies are using the free registration option does that mean we can't message each other?

I feel like I'm doing something wrong but not sure what I should be doing and don't know if it's worth paying the £19.99 that buys the gold membership.

Can anyone help me with this please?

Thanks in advance

Yes, you can't send messages unless you have a paid subscription.
You can Favourite someone though, which can be a good way to show you are interested in someone and if they have a paid subscription they can then contact you.

If I and nannies are using the free registration option does that mean we can't message each other?
Correct.

See this page for more about what you can do as a Free member and what you can do as a paid member. It also contains a link to upgrade your account to Gold membership, plus details about how to cancel your Gold membership. Membership auto-rebills, so once you finished looking for a nanny, cancel the gold membership, or you choose to keep it so that you can still contact other local childcarers.

In the good old days (not that long ago) parents had to take out ads in newspapers and magazines like Nursery World. The costs were very high... internet sites have reduced the costs a lot and let you browse for free.

Thanks NannyNick

Can I ask your advice about another thing please? I have received CV's and copies of references from a couple of prospective part time live out nannies. Both seem to have had lots of short term jobs. Is that normal and is that something I should worry about? Also, How do I know that their details are accurate and that the references are legitimate?

I'm sure I sound suspicious, but I don't mean to be. This is the first time I've done this and I have asked for and received the information that I've gleaned I need from this forum, but how do I know if there's anything else I need? Or what I should be looking out for?

Many Thanks again for taking the time to reply. I think I'll buy the membership for the first month and take it from there.

I think if you call the referees, you will see if they're legitimate.

I bought for 1 month and didn't need for any longer, but was only looking for an au pair to help with twins, not to take care of them when I was out of the house, so I didn't need to be too stringent about it. I'm not sure if you can check a CRB.

Personally I would be concerned if all jobs were short term. You would really need to ask them about each job and find out why they stopped working for that employer. I did a part-time nanny job a few years back and stayed a year (because the parents decided then that they didn't need a nanny once all the children were at school). In my current 4 day job, I've been there 3.5 years and long may it continue. I was in a full-time term-time job for 3 years. So if comparing to a nanny like me, then yes I think lots of short term (by short term I am guessing you mean less than 1yr) jobs may be something to be concerned about, though you do need to ask about it.

Some references with luck will be checkable by phone... have a chat. I am not sure you can ever be 100% sure but you should get good (or bad) vibes whilst chatting with another parent.

When you meet them, ask them to bring original paperwork - including ID documents like driving license, passport, birth certificate, National Insurance number (which you need for payroll purposes). You have a duty to check someone is not an illegal worker. Some info from UKBA on things to check.

You can't buy just a month membership... it auto-rebills. So put a date in your diary to remind you to cancel before the end of the billing cycle. Childcare.co.uk Cancellation will stop your repeat billing and cancel your gold membership at the end of the billing cycle. So if you decide to cancel, cancel it a few days, or even a week or so before payment date... your gold membership will still run until the rebill date.

Thank you MerryMarigold. Love your name.

I think the £19.99 is for about 3 months, so it's cheap really.

Short term placements might not mean anything at all depending on what she has been doing. She might have had a lot of well paid short term contracts but now want something a little less well paid but more consistent - it's not necessarily a bad thing :)

Good luck :)

Hope that made sense... if not, if you purchase membership say on 1st May, then put a note in your diary say on 25th May to cancel membership. Then it will continue running until end of May.

Once you are a paid member, you can access Profile Plus, which may give you a nannies email address, phone number.

NannyNick, thanks again.

The ones I've seen seem to have had mostly short stints (less than 6 months) so it's good to know that my instincts were right for a change.

I didn't really think about asking them to bring originals of everything so thanks for that.

I also didn't know about all the employment aspects so that link will be very helpful.

I must sound really silly, but this is all a bit of a minefield and as I've only just started looking, your help and advice is really appreciated.

Thank you.

There is loads of stuff in this section of mumsnet about employing a nanny - so I expect you will spend many a happy hour looking through it all... about contracts, about agreeing Gross pay, holiday entitlement, sick pay, redundancy, payroll... all sorts of things. Just keep in mind that your if you treat your employee well they may stay for many years.

NannyNick, I've been through some of it, but obviously am still a bit clueless and crosseyed . Thanks again. :)

ChippingIn, Thanks for your reply too. It's good that there could be legitimate reasons for short terms on a CV. By the way I LOVE EASTER EGGS TOO!! :)