Struggling to find a nanny- am I doing something wrong?

[satsumagirl]

We've been having an absolute nightmare with nannies.

Before this we had a lovely nanny for 2+ years. Our kids loved her, we got on great and she was super. Sadly she then got ill and had to leave. However she is back with us doing temp work at the moment until we find someone.

After she left we had a nanny for a few months who was absent a lot (sickness and other issues). She did not pass her probation and then left us abruptly one day. Very unprofessional (despite great references).

So we started looking again. I thought I had found someone great, local and flexible, but she has decided to stay with her current family as they have offered her more hours.

We are in the home counties (I'd rather not say where) and we are definitely paying the market rate). It is a before and after school role and 4 days a week on the holidays. I know these roles are harder to fill. I'm all over Childcare.co.uk and the local mum and nanny Facebook groups, and am registered with some agencies.

It's really getting me down. Are we doing something wrong? Why can't we find someone? After our experience with the nanny who wasn't up to scratch, and then having the nanny who accepted the job change her mind, I'm getting really worried we won't find someone. We both work long hours in senior roles and have no family nearby, hence why we need a nanny.

If anyone has any advice I'd really appreciate it. At my wits end!

Before / after school roles are more suited to a childminder in the home counties as people there tend to pay quite well for full time live in Nanny positions (hence why you’re struggling to fill the role). In the home counties a lot of childminders offer school pick up / drop off and even late pick ups depending on whether the childminder is used to dealing with parents who are London commuters.

It also depends on where you are - in Bucks for example you will probably struggle to get a variety of childcare options if you don’t live in Milton Keynes / Buckingham.

Did koru kids cover your area?
Nanny’s local to me have hiked their rates by nearly 100% over the last 5years and there appears to be a cartel thing going where even new nannies with minimal experience want £15 net at 50+ hours/wk.

Koru kids have all but taken over the after school/holiday nanny business over the last year or so. £13 gross all in. All admin and search done by the company. Total no brainier.

We were lucky in that we had a childminder for the mornings and then found a lovely nanny who would work from 3.30 as she had a job in a cafe before that. She is know leaving.

I'm in the same position but only need someone 2 days a week. I thought there might be someone out there, a NWOC, an older person who might want a more housekeeper role. We can be generous with holidays - we only need 8 full days per year. Unfortunately the eldest has special needs so I don't think we are attractive as a proposition . I have looked at Koru kids and they seem a possibility.

You really do have to consider what it is you offer that is attractive to the nanny, when they could get a full time, fully paid job elsewhere.

It is difficult to fill in the salary gap left created by the 10-2 gap, which is the reality after one job finished and the next one could start. If you both work long hours in senior roles, then perhaps you need to offer an attractive salary and see how the job description fits that. Make the position work for everyone. Don't sell it as a part-time job, just flex the hours so that there is an early start, late finish and time off during the day. Throw in a gym membership and add house admin, family calendar management, food shopping, holiday booking, present buying, party planning to the job description (but not cleaning!!). Taking care to reduce these tasks during the holidays if you expect your nanny to organise activities rather than ferry them between activities organised by other people. Then, it back and enjoy the time you have with your children and possibly even the odd night away with your husband.

Generous holiday allowances only work if the pay is also generous as this can often be seen as way of reducing nanny pay.

You also need to think about what a nanny does and whether this is a job that is attractive to them. Some career nannies want to look after young children. Nannies with their own children are already super busy in the hours you need them before and after school and managing activities, homework and food becomes challenging. Older people, perhaps looking to reduce their hours, are not necessarily looking for early starts and late finishes which still results in a long day, even if there is room for downtime in the middle.

In the same boat. We're going for a combination childminder and a 3-day nanny.

Maybe nanny with baby/toddler :) I was looking for job like that where I can still enjoy my toddler during the day and just do few hours school runs:) I ended up with full time job at the end-but this was ideal