Finding nanny - advice please!

[Chalalala]

I have two little ones at home and will be going back to work in November.

When would be the best time to start looking? I live in a mid-size town in the Midlands, and from the ads I'm seeing on Gumtree/childcare.co.uk, nannies seem to be looking for jobs to start immediately. Is that the norm?

Also, I would need pretty restricted hours, something along the lines of 8:30am-3:30pm every day. I mostly work from home, so I am very flexible on the specific times, but can only afford a nanny if she works 35 hours/week max. Will this make me a less attractive employer, and will I have trouble finding someone for these hours?

Any advice appreciated... feeling a little anxious :-)

A lot of Nannies I know are looking for jobs that start in September. So you could start looking in the next few months.
The hours sound great to me. Though not all nannies like to have a boss working from home. It can cause confusion for the kids and can make things awkward.

Where at home do you work? If in the loft/shed in the garden/garage that should be fine - if you're around the house all the time that may be tricky as the kids will always want you. I know lots of nannies who won't work for parents who work from home, so it may narrow your field. As always, mention it in your ad. The hours would suit someone with school age children - would you be happy for a nanny to bring their own child to work in the school holidays?

thanks for the responses!

great point about me working from home... I hadn't thought that it could be an issue. I'm happy to hide away in our boxroom/office, not sure if that would be enough of a deterrent for the children though. I could always go work in the local library/cafés/etc, all I need is my laptop and an internet connection.

I'll specify in the ad that I'm fine with the nanny bringing their child, I don't see that as an issue, my older girl would love it. Although it may make it a bit tricky to transport the children around town for playgroups etc?..

I'm in the midlands. I don't think you will have a problem finding someone for those hours. I get most of my jobs through East Midlands Nannies, you could call them for some advice

I found that for availability, there seemed to be 2 scenarios:

1. You may find a nanny who needs to give notice on her existing job (eg if the children are now school age but she's continuing with reduced hours until she finds her next job). With that in mind, I'd start at least 3 months before your start date (a month to find someone, 2 months notice, and maybe a couple of settling in sessions)

1. The other possibility is someone who is currently available, who won't want to wait several months to start.

So if you don't find someone in your first search, your job becomes attractive to the second group.

I live in a mid sized town in the Midlands and your job would be perfect for me if the hours could be shortened by 30 mins so I could be at my children's school gate at 3.30. (I was a nanny, but nanny jobs are hard to find near me, so I childmind now to fit in with my family). What area of the midlands are you in if you don't mind saying?

You should be able to find someone easily. Could you change the hours from 8-3? I've been an after school nanny for the last year and would have snapped up the opportunity to find this sort of job! (not in the area though!)