Futur French nanny looking for advices

[MarieMadie]

Hello,

I'm a french young lady (23yo) currently working with mentaly disabled teenagers in school (12 to 16 yo) as well as baby sitting regularly and after years of babysitting (since i was 16) and time in the uk as an au pair i've decided to become a nanny in London,
However since most of the chilcare knowledge i got is from books and experience i will take one year to study for a childcare degree from sept 2014 till june 2015 before actualy coming to England.

You might think its a little early to start looking into it but since when i was aupair i still had my french medical insurance, nothing to declare nor compulsory things to do, i think its better look for informations now so i can be ready once my training is complete.

So basically I've heard briefly of Ofsted and NHS but i don't know how to register or what paperwork is needed and this is why i come here asking for your help to get the informations i'll need to come live and work here.

Thanks for your time,
Marie

Hi. I would join an agency iiwy. It is free for nannies to register and you will be guided. I was with Knightsbridge nannies and Kensington nannies both of whom were great.

good luck

Are you doing the course to become an auxiliare de puericulture? If you want to register with OFSTED you will need to do another (short) course in the UK and have nanny insurance. You will also need a UK police check and a paediatric first aid course.

If you are resident in the UK you can access the NHS so as soon as you have an address you need to go and register with a GP.

The idea of going to an agency is a good one. I think Nannies Inc still have an office in Paris, although it's not the lady I knew any more.

It is worth contacting one of the organizations who support nannies - PACEY or BAPN - to talk to them because they should have accurate information, and also asking on the nannyjob messageboards in case there are French nannies (I'm sure there are) who have done the same.

I'll be doing the CAP petite enfance, it's usually a 2 years course but since i already have my baccalauréat which is a higher degree i will not need to take the "general courses" such as math, french.. so it will only last one year for me.

And the course to be auxiliaire de puericulture is more focus on younger children and leads more into the medical and paramedical world whereas the CAP p.e is more open to nannying as well as working in school and creches.

I'll definitely look into agencies however i live quite far from Paris (I'm in Bretagne) so it doesn't need to be located in France one of the airport in my region offers flights to London for quite cheap until we get 25yo so i could fly to London for an interview if needed.

I had no idea this kind of organisations existed this will certainly be very helpful.

Thanks very much for your advices

Be aware that the CAP PE is usually counted as a level 2 equivalent but as they're unlikely to know what it is anyway that won't matter. Some agencies may know and may be funny about putting you forward where a family have specifically requested a level 3+ qualification.

Just a word on vocabulary - when you say degree people assume you mean 'licence'. It's better to refer to your Bac or the CAP as a qualification :)

And you'll still need to do the UK common core course to register with OFSTED but you can do that by distance learning.

Oh i always assumed they meant the same but thanks for the clarification.

I found a document with qualification levels conversion and yes the CAP p.e. is considered as lvl2 (even tho i read lvl3 on a lot of internet pages) but i do have the Baccalauréat which is a level 3 qualification so i guess it will depend on the agency i choose.

For the common core course I've find out it can be done over one weekend with the Paediatric First Aid with Babyem but i don't know if its expensive for what it is or not (£120 and £85) as well as £75 for a DBS check but this one sounds expensive since in France you can get a copy of your criminal records for free.

I would probably bring a recent copy of your clear criminal record from France with you just as an extra for your portfolio. I would imagine that to be registered with OFSTED they'll require a DBS however given that you will just have moved over from France then it seems a bit useless.

Is there a reason you specifically want to be OFSTED registered? I appreciate that it makes you more employable to a. Wider range of families, however, so do your mother tongue French language skills!

Oh i realize having French as a mother tongue is a nice plus to have but since i don't have any actual nannying experience (even tho a nanny friend i had told me we were doing the exact same job when i was aupairing in London) so i think adding another plus can only be good to find the right fit with a family (as an aupair I've known good fits with families with whom i stayed the longest and not so good ones with whom i stayed the shortest ).

And its always good to have a sort of approval from the local organisation: in France i work for the National Education so for the babysitting, families know i'm reliable, i actually just realized i was never asked for references but anyway being registered with OFSTED would also have this kind of purpose.

I don't know if i'm being really understandable and if not i apologize i haven't practiced English much lately.