good nanny and top nanny

[Barly]

Leaving aside any child-hating, chain-smoking jobbers, what is the difference between a "normal" nanny and a "top" nanny (Chiltern, Norland)?

Apart from prestige and possibly uniform, are there any real, practical differences because of their training or even selection before they start learning?

I did maternity work nick in my local hospital. Loved it. Think that's why I enjoy doing night nannying with ickle babies

We did 6 days in college and 4 in placement - so mon to fri and the following mon in college then alturnite tue to fri in placement

I don't think any of my class got to do maternity work in a hospital. Not sure I would have liked it back then, newborn babies is something I have got to like over the years, possibly since caring for one 3 days old.

This thread is v interesting to me as a parent: hiring a nanny I had no idea what any of these things are! Luckily it turns out that the lady we liked best has NNEB, which from this thread seems to be a good one! Does anybody know why it was scrapped??

havnt a clue, as i said that was the college course and qual you did for 2years if wanted to be a nanny

think the namcw was a 1 or 2 year course depending what you studied, that was about nneb time but again scrapped

all seem to be 1 course nvq and btec now

All I can find is this from CACHE:

When the Second World War ended in 1945, many women who had worked during the war stayed on in their jobs. The Government recognised that professional child care was a priority, and the National Nursery Examination Board (NNEB) was founded. In 1994, the NNEB merged with the Council for Early Years Awards, and CACHE was formed.

Over these 65 years, we have continually invested in high quality qualifications. Written and developed by experts they have proved to be successful for millions of learners, earning us a reputation for excellence and leadership across the sector.

Today our continued dedication to nurture the achievement of all those who care for children, young people and adults means our qualifications will always meet the needs of a modern workforce.

I know the year below us when I was in year 2 of my course were doing the NNEB in modular form, with an test at the end of every module. As oppose to the way I did it as course work to be passed plus exams at the end of the course which also had to be passed. I always thought the modular sounded easier as less studying and revision if only studying one subject at a time, as oppose to us having 2 years to recap! I still remember hours revising, mock exams to practice, lots of making flash cards to test each other etc etc

If the NNEB merged with Cache in 1994, that modular form NNEB didn't last long, just 2 years, makes me wonder if they trialed it and it didn't really work, hence the merge. Would love to know the reasons behind the changes and eventually merge and consequent dissappearance. It was still a popular course where I was.

Are there differences in the habits the children are introduced to? Luckily, those differences are much less than a generation or two ago, of course. Something along the the lines of spreading butter on a slice and taking bites off it versus breaking bite-sized pieces off and only then putting some butter and marmalade on. (No, I don't find this important, just can't think of a good example. Writing thank-you cards maybe, that sort of things.)

I think the habits come down far more to the parents of the child and the nanny herself.

Because of our training and our academic studies that looked at the way in which children learn the nannies on my course are all very much about fostering independence and encouraging children to do things for themselves as far as possible and teaching them how to do the things they're can't yet do alone. This also extends into play and letting them decide (within reason) what they would like to do and planning activities that are in line with their interests. We were always encouraged to take children outside whatever the weather (our mantra being "there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing!") and NO screentime for under 3s and as little as possible for older children. Obviously, this is ultimately down to the parents and my LO watches 20mins before bed and occasionally on long car journeys and when he's ill (although parents allow more and it's done no harm) We did a big project on traditional children's birthday parties and hand made invitations and thank you cards were encouraged.

Overall, though we were taught to work in line with the parents and their expectations. I think I have higher expectations re things like manners than my LO's parents, though and so insist on them when he's with me. It mostly comes down to personality, I think.

Thanks. And would you say this is true for all formally qualified nannies, or that there are differences in these matters between Norland/Chiltern and others?

All qualified nannies should be working in line current research on how children learn best and obviously putting the child's needs at the forefront of everything they do.

I don't know very much about Chiltern (I looked into applying there but they didn't offer a degree course) and don't know of any other specialist nanny colleges so I can't say what they teach there but being a nanny is about creating a stable and consistent home environment for a child/ren when their parents cannot be there so I'd imagine that they too would encourage their students to work with parents.

Norland particularly has a reputation for being very traditional and old-fashioned but the training has really moved with the times whilst still retaining high standards for their students and their work.
I think Norland sometimes conjures up images of Victorian nannies in starched uniforms who demand good manners and command respect by being quite forceful and scary they're not really like that at all!
We're taught how to play and how to get the most from children by being gentle and respectful of them and their wishes and needs.

I don't mean to bang on about it or sound like I'm trying to give you the hard sell. I apologise if it comes across that way. I'm simply trying to answer your question as best I can and condense my training into something simple, concise and readable. Tell me to stop at any point!

No, not at all, that's all helpful.

Er, as in: thanks to all here!