Does anyone here employ (or work as) a nanny/housekeeper

[TheRabbitCatcher]

Our wonderful nanny can work for one more year with us before our preschool/school run arrangements start to clash with hers and it won't be viable any more :(

I'm considering other options and am wondering about the feasibility of employing someone in a nanny/housekeeper capacity. At the moment we employ a cleaner for 6 hours/week to do the laundry, ironing and housework and was thinking about amalgamating the two roles. I was thinking 3 days per week/ 9 hours per day.

I have a daughter who will be 5 and a son who will be 3 by then. She will be in school full-time and he will attend preschool for 2 of the mornings our nanny/housekeeper would be working (9-12.30). The role would involve doing the school/nursery run, childcare when the children are not in preschool/school, cooking them a meal and general housekeeping tasks such as laundry, ironing, changing sheets, cleaning etc. My work is flexible and so during school holidays I would take the children out for a couple of mornings so that he/she can get on with housekeeping tasks.

Does this sound feasible and like the sort of job someone would be interested in? Would it be a problem finding someone with formal childcare qualifications and experience to take on a role like this (considering it involves domestic duties/older children)?

Thanks :)

The number of hours is possibly not enough for some to consider it. For others it may fit with other work they have.

As a nanny I do:
Laundry, changing sheets, light cleaning.

So if you are adding deep cleaning (like more than just swishing some bleach around the loo, which view as light cleaning) and ironing, then it sounds possible that they could do that during the pre-school couple of hours - how much they would get done is another matter, they may find the time goes fast.

I would give it a try and see how it goes. Then if workload is not manageable, have a cleaner come in for say 2 hours one day a week to do a clean of the house, leaving nanny/housekeeper to do laundry. Alternatively if the nanny/housekeeper is fine with the cleaning standard but not the ironing, then contract out the ironing to an ironing service.

It may not be to your taste but you could employ perhaps a student? Students who are doing courses in childcare (especially those wanting to become a teacher) would jump at the chance of a job like this because it will give them constant childcare experience whilst earning a little extra at university.
Although it can be easy to assume a lot of student are not sensible, most actually are and you could easily choose someone with several years experience.
Just a thought and good luck :)

I don't think a student is a viable proposition for 3 days full care unless they're only part-time, but what works with a timetable one year may not work the next.

The age of the children is unlikely to be a problem, but housekeeping duties may be off putting for qualified and experienced nannies. Nannies rarely want to do parents laundry or change their bed. The children's tasks are viewed as nursery duties so are probably covered by your existing nanny and there's no benefit in amalgamating then.

Could you consider an experienced au pair if you can't find a nanny willing to do housework? They might do done cleaning but rather than 3 days they do 2 school run plus afternoons, 1 full day and then fit the cleaning over the other 2 days. That gives flexibility for language classes and the possibility of long weekends which could be quite attractive.

You will need to pay a tad more than a standard AP wage to get someone who has significant experience of children but there are qualified EY teachers around looking for jobs to improve their English. They would also be living with you, which you may not want/be able to accommodate.

I wouldn't usually suggest an AP for a full day of care but as your children will be 3 and 5 it's not like being left in charge of a baby and the impact on their language development will be minimal. They would be spending (over the 3 days) around 18 hours with the AP max, which is about the same as a standard before/after school 5 days if they were in school FT.