Au Pair Newbie - in a rural area

[DCIJackieDeering]

DH has finally come round to the idea of an Au Pair, I've a few questions

• we live in a rural village, they will need to drive, we'll buy a small car, how is it getting insurance for them? They will have to be the main driver, but DH and/ or I will also be on the insurance

• is it still usual to provide English lessons? happy to do so, just wasn't sure of the demand for them these days

• how easy is it to get Au pairs given the Brexit cloud looming over us? We're in a rural village, about 15 miles outside Cambridge. It should be an easy role, one well behaved 10 year old, school drop offs and pick ups, giving her tea, overseeing homework 3 or 4 days a week. Occasional babysitting.

What else do I need to keep in mind?

You need someone over 22 with 4 years driving experience in a smallish car with Admiral to get a decent quote. If they are used to driving on the other side of the road get them a couple of driving lessons when they get here and let them drive around for a few days before driving your DC.

Don't provide English lessons, but suggest where they might do them - you can offer to pay towards them. Emphasise the easy one child set up on your au pair world profile, say there is a plenty of free time to explore or take a language class. Gym membership goes down quite well, they need to have some kind of network, even if its just another au pair to contact.

How about you get a proper Nanny and stop getting care on the cheap? Have you not seen the news today (29th Nov)?

Nothing the OP has said indicates that she will be exploiting the au pair.

What was in the news today about au pairs being exploited PoisonousSmurf? Please enlighten us.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-46370341

We've not struggled to find au pairs, although it really seems to depend on which country they are from. When we request a French au pair, we get maybe one or 2 applicants a day, when we request Spanish au pairs, our inbox is flooded.

We have found our au pairs do much better when they have a social network. Those that have been unable to make friends have generally got homesick quite quickly. In the first week of the au pair arriving, I'm pushing them to go out and meet with other au pairs. There are plenty of Facebook groups for au pairs to meet each other.

We don't provide English lessons, in fact there are no English classes available in my town. There used to be 3 English schools, but they all closed down not long after the Brexit vote.

I am up front about everything in the first few messages I send to potential au pairs. You don't want to be talking to someone for a while only for them to say that actually your pay isn't enough or they don't like the hours you are proposing. Get all the good and bad bits in the open at the start and then nobody is wasting their time, if they don't like it, they can decline the role before anyone has invested too much in the conversation.

Apologies, I forgot to come back to this.

@PoisonousSmurf

Where have I said I will be exploiting someone, they're looking after one well behaved 10 year old 3-4 days a week before and after school, and to be honest I don't leave for work until about 8 most days, and I'm home by 6.30. You can;t find a nanny who wants to do those hours, believe me we've looked.

I'm not asking them to do lots of duties round the house, but a high tolerance for videos about Harry Potter on youtube would be helpful.

I am worried about the social network point, because we're in a small village, but I'll do what I can to support them. Gym membership is a good idea, happy to pay for that.

They will have own room, share a bathroom with DD, and could have own living room if they want, does that sounds OK?

I'll give it a go and see who we get.

Oooo, I’ve had a reply from someone on Au Pair world, fingers crossed. It does feel a bit like Tinder for the middle-aged, middle class

Good luck!