What does a Norland Nanny bring that others don’t?

[Milkingstool]

Or other very highly trained, highly experienced nannies? I’m interested in this as a childcare option on return to work now I have 2 DC. But friends nannies haven’t really impressed me so far TBH and seem to be a lot of hassle for the parents.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about Norland Nannies. I suppose I’m interested in what the difference is? (Or anything similar, I only know of NN but sure there are other well regarded colleges)

What is it about their training that sets them apart? I suppose what I’d really like is a real life Mary Poppins 😁 but failing that if there is a reliable system like this where you are guaranteed a certain level of quality and proficiency that could be worth looking in to

@Westfacing

Forty years ago a friend had a Norland nanny - she remarked that nanny was more well-heeled than they were!

Well I think, judging by what my friend's Norland daughter says, that has changed!

@SW1amp that makes sense, so nanny’s do a lot more daily tasks etc.

@batmanladybird

I had a normal nanny who had worked as an au pair in australia. We needed her to be able to use an aga. We just paid £50 for an aga workshop

What on Earth happens at an aga workshop?

Open the door and chuck the food in?

Nurseries don't fold your laundry or empty the dishwasher or keep your dog company...

A friend has a newly qualified Norland Nanny for her two children and is very pleased with her. She says she’s very good at creative ways to entertain the children and activities. She doesn’t wear uniform, and at newly qualified level she’s not more expensive than the going rate. And about the same price as nursery for two children around here!

I live in Bath (current home to Norland) and sent my daughter to what was their nursery. We kept in touch with the key workers and sometimes hired them for babysitting after we'd left. Loving, but politely firm when they needed to be, but utterly competent.

My daughter had a wonderful time there and the nannies genuinely did seem to love the kids.

Lots of our friends also acted as "practice families" for the trainees. The parent had to be there at all times, but jolly useful when juggling toddlers/babies/pets etc. The vast majority of trainees were great (I wouldn't have described them as especially rich/stuck up) but I did encounter a few trainees who were probably encouraged to find alternative careers.

I'm fairly certain you'll find a few videos online about their training. I thought there was a whole series on ITV(?) about 7 or 8 years ago.

@Fet2021duejuly2022 if you don’t work 9-5 with a commute of under an hour then nurseries aren’t that convenient. Most where I live are open 8-6. When we had a nanny my husband and I were leaving the house at 7.30am and one of us returning by 7pm to let the nanny go home.

@Fet2021duejuly2022

What’s wrong with nursery?

Nothing but it’s not an option for some people due to their working hours.

Yeah that all makes total sense, it’s extra home help which sounds really useful

One advantage of a highly trained nanny is that they are less likely to be nannying enroute to a different career. It can be a huge wrench for little dc when their day to day caregiver keeps changing.

I’m not sure I’d be keen to employ a certain Ms Poppins though- no references, children hanging out with disreputable characters and going on outings with her boyfriend.

One advantage of a highly trained nanny is that they are less likely to be nannying enroute to a different career.

This is a very good point. Doesn't have to be Norland, but anyone who's done a childcare degree or similar (lots and lots of nannies have, it's not exclusive to Norland btw) is at least looking at it as a long-term career rather than doing it until they get there lucky break as a singer/actor/other.

Friend of mine trained in the late 70s. It wasn’t a degree training then. Her uniform list was huge and included a wool camel coat, outdoor hat, outdoor shoes and the gloves she had to wear if she were in those items. Indoor uniform was as rigid but less formal. By the time the college moved to. Are, the uniform could include beige slacks. The whole theme was very beige and brown.

She was trained to do everything from knowing when new shoes were needed and ensuring they were fitted properly to maternity nurse work with newborns. You could put her in a house with a chaotic family of children and she’d have them all organised and ship shape Mary poppins style in a very short time. She said a few of her Nor land nanny colleagues insisted on working where a nursery maid/ mother’s help was also employed under them so cover could be 24/7.

They were still somewhere near Newbridge (I think) when she trained and they had huge ancient prams for the residential nursery on-site. (A bit like a baby hotel where v small babies and children could be boarded for parents to get away on breaks)

They learnt to clean those prams - which bit needed leather polish, which bit needed chrome polish etc. There was a pram inspection - so not only did the baby you roomed with need to be perfect, your assigned pram did too. Like a nanny army.

I’m sure it’s changed now.

That should have been - before they moved to Bath

This is fascinating 😃

So fascinating! We employ a part time nanny so as to have a mix of childcare options and back up; youngest is in nursery three days and with our nanny for two and she picks eldest up from school four days. It can be quite chaotic and not at all norland but I can hear laughter when I'm working upstairs and I don't get that on nursery days. I think a norland nanny would be out of my league

Mine too!

It would be a great period drama setting though, a bit like Call the Midwife. They could start in the 1920s and we would still be watching it in 2088 😁

It is fascinating! I'd love to hear more about NN training. (I'm just curious; I have no children and no desire to train to be a nanny.(

There was a programme about Borland nannies

I know I replied on a thread about it years ago

Prob somewhere in search

I don’t think there’s a lot of difference in training (minus the buggy care) for a Normandy to a NNEB

that was the in qualification needed to be a nanny years ago

I did mine over 30yrs ago

I don’t know why they stopped it

And courses were namcw betec cache etc

You get male NN now too -

The AGA thing: as soon as you want to do any baking, cakes or such, it's much more complicated than just "shove it in the oven". You have to put the cake tin in another thing, with a lid. Also toast, peculiar thing to put it in. But mainly baking is the difficult part. I love a kitchen with an AGA but not if I have to cook on it.

My friend was a norland nanny years ago. Norland nannies then were posh young girls but highly trained. Not filthy rich like the 'families' but from 'nice' backgrounds. In those days (1990s) they did wear the uniform and it was very strict. Hair tied back severely, no make up, no nail varnish, tan tights or light brown knee socks, hideous shoes. They were even taught to walk and open doors and talk in a certain way.
I went clubbing with my friend and she was a normal 19yo, but when dressed for work, it was all designed to maximise subservience and deliberately very very dowdy.

I always thought that was the whole idea of Norland nannies. My friend certainly did.

The mothers were normally very glamourous women, with successful lives. Hard to find way of putting this without getting banned but they took young women and made them as unattractive as poss so it was no risk re husband.
Couldnt make eye contact with mother and father too. In uk! There were so many many rules mostly around seen but not heard and parents must be deferred to at all times. Friend was sacked from one family for not closing doors quietly / respectfully enough.

And they were v fussy about socks. Seams had to be straight. It was a sacking offense to have any slight deviance from the many rules / strict appearance.

@crystal1717

My friend was a norland nanny years ago. Norland nannies then were posh young girls but highly trained. Not filthy rich like the 'families' but from 'nice' backgrounds. In those days (1990s) they did wear the uniform and it was very strict. Hair tied back severely, no make up, no nail varnish, tan tights or light brown knee socks, hideous shoes. They were even taught to walk and open doors and talk in a certain way. I went clubbing with my friend and she was a normal 19yo, but when dressed for work, it was all designed to maximise subservience and deliberately very very dowdy.

I always thought that was the whole idea of Norland nannies. My friend certainly did.

The mothers were normally very glamourous women, with successful lives. Hard to find way of putting this without getting banned but they took young women and made them as unattractive as poss so it was no risk re husband.
Couldnt make eye contact with mother and father too. In uk! There were so many many rules mostly around seen but not heard and parents must be deferred to at all times. Friend was sacked from one family for not closing doors quietly / respectfully enough.

And they were v fussy about socks. Seams had to be straight. It was a sacking offense to have any slight deviance from the many rules / strict appearance.

That is pretty chilling

[quote WheelieBinPrincess]@Avarua that is just ageist bullshit.

I’ve only just had my own child, but I’ve been a nanny for ten years and an English language teacher abroad at kindergarten before that.

I’m not Norland trained because that’s really not my background and I wouldn’t wear the uniform. But guess what? No one cares, because I have brilliant references and a lot of experience. I’m not in my fifties but I can assure you I don’t ‘put up with any nonsense’.

There are a lot of young inexperienced childcarers out there, frankly if I was being paid £120 ‘pocket money’ to work the hours done au pairs get made to do the family can pretend they have a nanny, I’d be on my phone a lot too.

It does annoy me when parents say they want Mary Poppins though. It’s so outdated! She was a fictional character and she could use magic 😂

On the ‘personal errands’ front a PP mentioned, I work 8-6. If I need to post a return it go to the bank I can hardly nip out on my lunch can I? So yes if necessary I do take the youngest with me to do errands, I do lots of craft and baking and all the other shiz at home too but we get out and about a lot and some of that might involve errands- that’s life![/quote]
Isn't this what most working people contend with, especially doctors or shift workers - go at the weekend not while being paid by your employer??

@purplehairlady

Even doctors and shift workers get a lunch break!

Sole charge nannies are always on duty.
You would have to be a special kind of moronic employer to refuse to let a nanny pop to the post office with a parcel, especially if you’re ever going to ask the nanny to run similar errands for you.

Our nannies have always had latitude to do their own admin as part of their working week
If DC can come with me to collect a prescription/sit in a waiting room/queue for the post office, they can do the same with our nanny
It is a nice lesson in patience, queuing and manners, if nothing else

It’s actually totally acceptable and really commonplace for nanny to take children on various errands, something you know if you have a nanny, which @purplehairlady you clearly do not. Teaching charges how to behave when they’re doing things that aren’t geared ‘for’ them is part of it. Loads of little children can’t behave in the supermarket, doctors waiting room, post office etc so bonus if thé nanny cracks that.