Am I too old to be a professional Nanny?

[JustGiveUpGatekeeper]

I'm 46 and a mother of two aged 5 and 7. I'm also a lone parent. I currently work part time and rent privately. I am learning to drive. I haven't any prior professional nannying experience but of course have childcare skills being a mother myself.

Would it be ridiculous of me to apply to work as a live-out Nanny based on the above? I get the impression families prefer young, childless people for the job.
I've looked into childminding but the letting agents won't allow a business run from my home.

Lots of parents like more mature women who won't go off and get pregnant

My nanny is in her late 30's, no qualifications but brought up two children herself. she's great.

put a profile on childcare.co.uk and see what interest you get

Not at all, my replacement at one of my jobs is a 49 year old grandma with no qualifications. Go for it!

Don't think you age wil be a problem. But might be difficult with two children as often jobs are longer than regular hours, to allow for commute.
Have you got childcare for early starts ; maybe 7 am and late finishing?
To be Ofsted Registered you need a childcare qualification. Have a look on your local council website if they offer any level 2-3 childcare courses. You would also need a paediatric first aid course and insurance.
You don't need to be Ofsted Registered but if you were would increase the jobs you could apply for.
Whatever you do you should get insurance.
I'm an older nanny, love the job and have never had a problem finding work.
Good luck.

Our nanny (to 3.5 yo twins) is 52, has 4 kids (youngest is 12) - to be honest she has more energy than I do and looks about 30!! I prefer the fact that she has lots of life experience and has brought up her own family.

Agree that the before and after-school childcare might be an issue though as most live-out nannies do 8am-7pm or even longer - unless you can get a job where the family don't mind you having your own DC there, e.g. another parent at same school?

No, I don't think age is a problem at all.

Age will not be a problem. Having two school aged children will be though. Consider if you would need a job where they could come with you, or if having them in childcare is visible.

I am on a nanny facebook group and recently a survey was done of ages... It was quite a range, and many were 35+, some in 50's.

Florence Do you mean if I applied to a nanny agency for instance, they would require that I am preferably Ofsted registered, and at least have insurance and first aid course experience?

I didn't realise you needed to be Ofsted registered to be a private nanny

In England many parents are using Childcare Vouchers to pay towards the cost of a nanny and that means the nanny needs to be registered with Ofsted.

Other registration schemes exist for other countries in the UK.

You may find parents who do not use vouchers but it will reduce how many families would employ you. So it is something to consider if you can jump through the hoops involved.

You only need ofsted if the parent wants to do childcare vouchers. I use them elsewhere so I don't require it, but my contract says that the nanny has to register if I need it in the future.

All our nannies have been older than you-totally fine.No driving liscence and 2 primary school would make me think twice tbh.

Most nanny agaencies require a qualification and a little nanny experience, or no qual and more experience. They usually require you to have an up to date DBS check and a Paediatric First Aid certificate. They don't require you to be Ofsted registered, parents do if they want to pay some or all of your salary in childcare vouchers. You'd be better off trying to find a family privately.

I agree that your age is not an issue, your flexibility could be, and the fact that you can't drive depending on where you are of course).

Hi , I am 62 and still working as a nanny but I would advise you to get a paediatric first aid certificate and a DBS check. {smile}

There is a lot of competition out there these days but your age shouldn't be a bar. Good Luck

Oops

age won't be an issue and Ofsted is reasonably easy to secure with one off courses etc.
You will need to come up with good answers for what you propose to do with your own children for inset days / school holidays / if they are sick that won't affect your professional duties