Why do so many nannies not have reviews?

[Jadefeather7]

In childcare.com

I would have expected more reviews!

I have had many families say they would write me a review and they never seem to get around to it. It is such a shame because one small review can make a huge difference.
I have 4 reviews but those are between 5 and 3 years ago. I do hope that your thread spurs people on to write reviews for their babysitter / nanny.

Anyone could make an account and leave a review.

It would be lovely to get reviews on sites like ChildcareCoUk but parents don't write them very often I find.

Quite a bit of work I do I get via other methods so parents can't put a review on that site, as they are not members of the site.

When I work for a family for many years and the job comes to an end, then the parents write a reference which goes in my portfolio and the parents are available for verbal reference.

So reviews on ChildcareCoUk tend to be for the shorter bits of work.

I think there's just not really a prompt to write them nor is it a standard thing to do. My nanny's been with me 3+ years and so I haven't been on any childcare site in that time, nor did I find childcare.co.uk at all a useful site in finding nannies tbh - I had much more luck on gumtree and nannyjob. Childcare.co.uk is more for nurseries and CMs IMO.

I did however speak to her references before hiring her and personal recommendation is also a good way to find a nanny locally - when I no longer need a FT nanny I would wholeheartedly recommend mine to a new family.

I found my last two permanent jobs via ChildcareCoUk. Gumtree and NannyJob had very little in my area. So I disagree that ChildcareCoUk is not a place to find nannies, I think location will make a difference to that.
Gumtree seems city focused. NannyJob is mostly agency ads.

All nannies will have a portfolio of references, certificates, DBS checks etc. So communicate with nannies whose profiles you like, don't worry about ChildcareCoUk not showing them having reviews.

Fair enough nick, it may well vary a lot by area and I am in the city. I think it's worth checking out a few sites for that reason though and also asking for recs on any local Facebook group can get you word of mouth recommendations.

I'm also still annoyed at childcareCoUK for swallowing and destroying the much more useful nannyshare.co.uk.

Meeting them in person and contacting references should be enough to establish whether or not they are someone you'd want to hire. Reviews aren't really a 'thing' on the website.

Wish we could get reviews for parents!

Thanks for the insight!

I don’t like nannyjob because you can’t search for the people that are nearby. I’ve had applications from people who live over an hour away from me, which with the early start required really isn’t ideal!

If you use a reputable agency, you still can't rely on reviews and references. My best nanny told me that the agency briefed her on what I especially did and didn't want, and what to say/not say. And chose references accordingly.

I’ve had applications from people who live over an hour away from me
For a live-out nanny role location is very important. Personally I avoid travelling any further than about 15 miles, which in my area can be a 30-40 minute drive. I prefer working close to home but you can't always find jobs within 5 miles of home.

You're always going to get applications from people who aren't what you're looking for though - as long as you get applications that do tick the boxes you can just throw those ones away.

Location was a big thing for me as nannies work quite long hours as it is and I didn't want transport issues meaning late or non-attending nannies, so I was brutal in prioritising only CVs from local candidates.

Well nannies are professionals with references etc usually when your interested in thing a nanny based on their cv and skills then you would ask to read written references and speak to references.

Because childcare is a horrible spammy site that sends me endless emails and seems full of people with no qualifications who then repeatedly email me. There is a) no way I'm ever hiring off it again, and b)no way I'm leaving a review for the weirdos I hired, as I don't want to leave a negative review.

Hi schwest just to let you know that it is up to you to control your notifications on the website. You don't have to be sent email notifications, it can all be based on the actual website.
As for you having bad luck, whilst that is unfortunate, it doesn't mean to say that the website is all bad.
Just with anybody you hire, it is always important to chase up their reviews and trust your instinct on if they are good for your position.
I have found and continue to find a lot of work from that website and I would hate for people not to use it because people tar it with a bad brush!

Yes I know I can control notifications I still find it irritating. It's just my opinion. I can afford an agency so that's why I do. Don't worry, there will always be loads of people who don't want to shell out £1800 and are willing to do the legwork and will find you on there!