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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

recommend a nanny agency?

12 replies

EverybodysStressyEyed · 26/04/2013 22:29

My youngest starts school this year so from September I am looking for a nanny housekeeper (emphasis on the nanny). We are in London.

Can anyone recommend an agency? The one I used last time is no longer open.

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SuperDuperJezebel · 26/04/2013 23:24

I like Abbeville, from a nanny POV anyway. I think they tend to cover SW, SE and W London mostly (though not exclusively) so it depends where you are.

iluvkids · 27/04/2013 16:02

Eden nannies is fab

Victoria2002 · 27/04/2013 23:16

Most agencies interview nannies VERY briefly. When I first went interviewing I was nervously thinking of smart things to say and was very surprised to be faced with a lady briskly ticking boxes eg: "live in or out?' 'Pets ok'? 'Will you travel' 'do you drive' and very little else plus they barely reference check at all AND if you return to the agency years later they don't even meet face to face again, just add a paragraph to your cv...SO I guess what I'm saying is that you need to choose one with plenty of nannies and in your area but do your own referencing and background checks. Eden, kensington nannies and Nannies of st James were some of the longer interviews I had.

EverybodysStressyEyed · 28/04/2013 17:35

Oh no! That's not what I wanted to hear!

I only have a week to find someone so I was hoping the agency would have done all of that so all I needed to do was meet the candidates and read their written references.

Has anyone used little ones?

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EverybodysStressyEyed · 28/04/2013 17:36

I feel like I've contradicted myself as I didn't mention that I Also need to find a temporary nanny to fill in until September.

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AndBingoWasHisNameOh · 28/04/2013 20:14

I've used Eden and Imperial as an employer. Both were fine but both seemed to pretty much limit themselves to emailing the job to all their registered candidates rather than proactively contacting individuals on their books who met the criteria. I expected a bit more but might be being unrealistic here.

AndBingoWasHisNameOh · 28/04/2013 20:15

I'm confused about who you want to start when?

EverybodysStressyEyed · 28/04/2013 20:21

Sorry I was being a bit vague in my OP just to get an idea of agencies

I need a nanny housekeeper to start in September so plenty of time

I also need a temporary nanny to start ASAP as my current childcare has ended unexpectedly.

The September role is obviously the more important as we would hope this to be a long term role and I would like to use the same agency for both hence not mentioning the temp role in my OP. (Sorry for confusion).

Eden were looking for me last time but they ended up throwing a load of inappropriate candidates at me which I then had to sift through. The agency I eventually went through were much more thoughtful in who they referred but have unfortunately closed down.

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Forresitters · 29/04/2013 10:51

What area are you? I have experience with several agencies that I can recommend for you

EverybodysStressyEyed · 29/04/2013 11:36

Nw london

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Victoria2002 · 30/04/2013 06:50

Sorry, but it's true. Also true with imperial especially that as a nanny you just check the agency website regularly for new posts then contact the agent if you are keen and they email your CV...not really personalised service!

FruttiDiMadre · 30/04/2013 10:51

Try Nadia at North London Nannies. I honestly think she is fab.
I also found Tinies pretty good. I really don't like Eden.

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