I always fancied running my own agency but after a (miniscule) bit of research I am wondering what nanny agencies do that savvy parents can't? Apart from being able to provide CRB checks, what can they do that a parent who educates themselves about the recruitment, vetting and interview processes can't do? Why would a parent pay fees when they can do everything themselves? What little secrets do nanny agencies have?
Reference checks, advertising, shortlisting - parents can do that. Contracts, interview questions, Ofsted registration - all the information is out there for parents to find out for free on sites like this and Nannyjob. There is always somebody to guide you to the right place for payroll info. Plus as a parent you still have to check the references out yourself anyway.
The majority of nannies I know advertise themselves privately as well as registering with agencies, and nannies get limited back-up from the agencies they register with if things go pear-shaped.
I might come across as negative towards agencies - I'm not, as I said I've always quite fancied having a go at it myself, but then so have a lot of nannies judging by the amount of agencies I see being advertised nowadays.