Au Pairs - where to find, and any 'non-London' au pair tips?

[brawhen]

I'm thinking about an au pair for next academic year. This would be the first time we would use an au pair - currently have a mix of day nursery, after-school clubs, student babysitters, grandparent visits etc etc.

I have a 3 & 5 yo boys (au pair would NOT be replacing day nursery as main childcare for 3 yo; 5 yo is at school).

Can anyone offer some advice:

• Where to find an au-pair - website recommendations? Agency recommendations?
• Where to find example contracts / house rules etc (thought this would be easy to find but maybe I'm looking in wrong place?)
• Any tips on recruiting in a smallish (but nice) market town in Scotland - not your (typical?) London location
• Any other top tips on getting it right??

Many many thanks!

Don't mean to hijack but also have an interest in the "rural au pair" topic... maples do you provide a car for your AP?

Thanks maples

How have you helped your ap with language lessons or meeting peer group friends locally? Or were they OK left to own devices on this??

We have used aupairworld.net both times and have had two superb au pairs. Currently looking for our third! We aren't in a rural area, about 40 mins outside london - suburbia! but haven't had a problem recruiting an au pair. You can indicate what you want/from which countries etc - and then write a description of your family and the job. You then need to check references etc yourself.

We did try an agency the first time but got sent details of au pairs who didn't match our requirements at all. We prefer an older au pair - slightly more mature attitude plus longer driving experience (which we need) so prefer 24+ - we found the agency had 18-20 year olds who had only been driving a year and wanted to stay 3-6 months (we want someone to stay a year ideally, less change for the kids). We have found on aupairworld.net we have had a lot of applications each time - even if we narrow down our preferences. One thing I would do is find out where near you they can take Cambridge English lessons - both of ours and most applicants have wanted to do this plus the exams. Also, where they might meet other au pairs. Be very explicit about your expectations - for example, we pay more than the going rate but in return have more hours. This is sometimes referred to as au pair plus. Also, we tend not to cook that much in the evenings - but we do at the weekends and welcome them to join us then. We tend to choose someone who is more lively and expresses themselves to be interested in seeing things, visiting places, meeting people etc. That is a personal thing, but i wouldn't cope very much with someone quieter as am too much of a loudmouth myself!

We have loved having our au pairs and have been lucky both times. Our old au pairs now 'vet' the new ones - chatting to them on skype and email. We also exchange a lot of emails and skype with them beforehand also. Like you, beforehand, we relied on a mish mash of different childcare and haven't looked back since having an au pair. our children are more secure as it is more routine as well.

hth - ask if you have any more questions

maples - thanks!

Gym membership is a good idea. I have seen language classes advertised in town - will give them a phone.

Car would not be essential for us as we are walking distance from (small) town centre and also on mainline train for Glasgow/Edinburgh etc - but I guess if ap was keen and had a bit of experience they could use it and would extend options for activities with kids.

I'm not very FB savvy (don't use it myself) but will see if I can hunt out a group.

and looster too - yes, the mishmash thing is prompting me to think about something more stable which might also be easier to manage and actually work out cheaper too. But someone living in feels like a very big step. Good to hear your positive experience.