is ths too much to ask

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our youngest is starting school in sept so we are replacing our full time nanny with a part time one (her choice), just drawing up the job description this looks like an awful lot in 3 hours what do you think
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Part-time Nanny Required

4 days a week 3:30-6:30 term time, 4 days a week 8:15- 6:30 holidays.
Looking after a 4 year old girl and 8 year old boy after school and holidays.
Duties: Planning meals, Cooking meals (you are welcome to also cook for yourself), tidying/cleaning up after them and yourself, encouraging them to tidy up after themselves, washing their clothes, changing beds, washing bedding, driving to after school activities (1 a week each), supervising homework, and playing with the kids, supervising play dates.
Bathing and getting youngest ready for bed
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Do nannies usually wash clothes and bedding and change beds? I would have thought that those were jobs for cleaners, not nannies.

The rest sounds about right to me - the work would be less in termtime, as there'd be less cooking. I wouldn't put "meal planning" as an activity though - I'd suggest you plan what you want your children to eat and provide the ingredients. Nanny can cook it. Better would be for you to cook it and for the Nanny to heat it up.

How does it look in context of the week? If the had afterschool activities on 3 of those days and homework on the 4th, it might be hard to fit in. Could you manage it?
Would it be worth paying her to come from 2.30 to do the extra things and so make sure time spent afterschool is focused on the kids...

Wash clothes, change beds and wash bedding... don't really think that's the job for an after school nanny?!

Washing the children's bedding and clothes are standard nursery duties. It does sound quite a bit to fit in in three hours. Can you afford for the nanny to start at 2.30 to get some of the nursery duties done so she has time to spend with the children when they're home from school?

Slow cross post with Tiggerlillies.

Hi
I'm a nanny and the families I work for always comment on how much I fit in.
I think possibly too much for an after school role.
Five days , two days activities so limits washing time. I would allocate day 3 and 4 to strip, remake, wash one child's bed each
I wouldn't include any other washing, unless you mean just putting machine on? Not time to dry and iron.
Your children are still quite young and need supervision, play dates activities, homework will eat into 2 1/2 hours. Assuming school finishes at 3.30 pm by the time they get in and coats off will be near to 4 pm.
Maybe holiday you can ask nanny to spring clean bedrooms /toys.
Btw after school nannies are very difficult to find as midst nannies need a full time wage/salary. So you need the job to be inviting or you may struggle.
But as you have had nannies before that always helps I think.

looking after the kids bedrooms and clothes does fully fit into the stuff of a full time nanny.
(i researched this fully before i got one so i knew what i could ask her to do without being cheeky).

I can meal plan for them, but wouldn't want them eating re-heated food 4/7ths of the week.
(this has taken a long time to type sorry about any possible cross posts)

Yes children's laundry, tidy and cleaning bedrooms, cleaning toys, sewing in name labels, cleaning muddy wellies, cleaning up after cooking are standard nanny roles.
It's just after school limits time. Good idea all posters suggesting 2.30 start. Maybe you could even just do that three days per week. 3 hours over a weekplenty of time for washing. I would then:
Day 1 Strip beds , wash bedding, plus tidy damp dust and vacuum bedrooms.
Day 2 iron days 1 washing, new wash on.
Day 3 iron days 2 washing new wash for mum to iron.

I think children's washing etc isn't usually done by a part time nanny. There simply isn't enough time. Most machines take 2 hrs min just to wash and she needs to actually strip/ organise/ remake/ dry in 3 hrs plus look after kids is tight. A full time nanny had 12 hrs to fit in each step.

It will be hard to find someone who can do full time hours in holidays but only part time in school time.

I would get someone 2-6.30 daily all year, they can spend 2-3 prepping food and children's rooms. Then in holidays put kids in holiday clubs 9-2, and nanny collect at 2

Sorry OP cross posts too. You are absolutely correct not cheeky nannies do child related chores.

Art OP doesn't actually say washing needs to be dried. So assuming two sets of bedding. Strip beds - 10 minutes. Put in washing machine, 10 minutes, remake with 2nd set of bedding 15 minutes. So 35 minutes. Two children so twice in 5 days. But agree only possible on non activity, no play date days.

I wouldn't include any other washing, unless you mean just putting machine on? Not time to dry and iron.

oh yes only put loads on (or hang up if i put on in the morning), we don't iron anything in this house.

I was thinking of allowing extra time each day for food prep.

so thanks everyone, i will have to prune.

What's wrong with re-heated food? I frequently make a meal such as a lasagne or a casserole one evening and heat it up to eat the next. And we re-heat leftovers all the time.

I often re-heat food but over half the week? sorry fresh food and your 5 a day is one of my "things" it may not be rational, it may not stand up to debate, and I can't help it.

I was hoping to get someone at the local college studing a part time advanced course in something child related (like the last nanny was to begin with 5 years ago)

Reheated food is fresh - it's just as fresh as eating it on the same day. Once it's cooked, it's cooked.

Some people only ever eat ready cooked stuff bought from shops and re-heated at home. I wouldn't advocate that because it contains all sorts of yucky presevatives and stuff. But re-heating meals you've made at home? No problem. What do you do with leftovers? Or do you always manage to cook exactly the right amount that everyone wants to eat?

Personally, I'd prefer my kids to be eating something I've cooked myself, rather than something someone else has cooked.

I did after school nannying and the parents would often put a wash of the children's clothing in and I would hang it up, and I organised washing the uniforms on a Friday. Could you do something like that, as there might not be time in an afternoon to load the machine and hang it to dry at the same time as other jobs.

I think what you want done in those few hours is a lot - as means nanny will be washing etc once home after school with your children

So your kids will be ignored iyswim - while she does the chores - so she won't be there helping with homework or listening to reading etc

Plus with after school activites /play dates they may not be at home

Far better to have nanny come in hour earlier and do the chores

And yes she should cook for them. Will they be having school dinners so a snacky tea / or you want a decent meal - ie casserole - pie - lasagne etc

The main but of the meal could be reheated with veg cooked each day? If nanny starts at 2:30, are they likely to have to leave at 3 for the school run? It's amazing how much time is taken up by getting home from school, maybe going to the park on the way home, sorting out shoes and coats, getting the children fed, etc.

oh i forgot we literally (the traditional meaning of the word not the modern meaning) live next door to the school.

and thanks Blonde they will be having school dinners, so that has changed to:
4 days a week 3:00-6:30 term time, 4 days a week 8:15- 6:30 holidays.
Looking after a 4 year old girl and 8 year old boy after school and holidays.
Duties:
• Prepare meals (you are welcome to also cook for yourself) 2 meals holidays, 1 evening meal term time they have school dinner.
• Tidying/cleaning up after them and yourself, encouraging them to tidy up after themselves, Changing beds, helping with laundry,
• Driving to after school activities (1 a week each, so 2 in total),
• Supervising homework, and playing with the kids, supervising play dates.

I think it's fine as long as you don't expect the nanny to be solely responsible for the laundry and bed changing. There isn't enough time to do all of it, but certainly enough time to do a wash or two a week and get the beds changed at least (even if they don't wash the sheets). Or you could get the kids to strip their beds in the morning when they get up, nanny can put the wash on after school and remake the beds, you can hang up the washed sheets when you get in, they dry overnight and the nanny put them away the next day.

It probably also depends on how demanding your children are. If they're the type that will just get on and play by themselves, then plenty of time to do other stuff. If they need constant supervision/entertainment, then less time. I'd base it on what you could reasonably do in that time.

thanks everyone

Good Lord you want a full time Nanny for 3 hours a day after school on only four days a week!!!

I wouldn't even expect them to plan and cook a meal from scratch in that time to be honest especially if they have to go to after school clubs and play dates.

I would expect them to collect from school, take to play dates or clubs, play at home and cook and serve an already prepared meal.

They won't have time to do much else.

If you want all the meals planned and cooked and rooms cleared cleaned and all the laundry done you either need to keep your full time Nanny who I assume did all this or get a Cook Housekeeper as well as an after school Nanny.

It does amaze me what some people expect.

adp

Did you even read my original post where i said "this sounds like an awful lot what do you think?" Or the follow up where i said thank you and had reworded and trimmed the requirements.

Or why am i typing as i doubt you will even read this post?

Hi there.. having had 3 after school nannies, I found it quite hard to a: find the right after school / holiday nanny, and b: get the right balance.
You might find that one of the Teaching Assistants at your children's school is interested? Worth asking or asking if you can put a notice up in the staff room?

I think I'd put in my ad something along the following:

Typical day will involve:

1: Collect children from school and bring home
2: Help with homework / projects, take to and from after school activities / park as needed
3: Host after school play dates / take to and from after school play dates as needed
4: Prepare dinner for the children
5: Clean up / tidy common areas (kitchen after dinner / play room etc.)
6: General ad-hoc child-related duties as appropriate

I don't think the ad needs to be super-specific.. your children's activities / needs will change from time to time so no need to be definite right now, plus you can discuss in more detail at the interview. I wouldn't put about her eating in the ad - you can mention that at interview too, emphasising maybe that she can eat what the children eat if she wants.

I do think it's fine to ask the nanny to help with children's room and laundry etc. as and when needed.. I wish I'd been a bit more specific with that myself at interview, because as they got older, she got more 'down time', and I didn't really make use of it.

If school finishes at 3:15, then I'd put 3:15 as the start time. If you want more done each day, then you can advertise an earlier start, but that may restrict the applicants.

Good luck, I hope you find the right candidate.

thanks bbc great help