ok so all set to go with a new nanny - your collective wisdom on my checklist of things to do would be appreciated!

[nowwearefour]

I need to call at least 2 of the referees on her CV- is that enough as the others have moved away or seem so long ago that not really relevant (partly as she was with one for so long which i take to be a good thing?).
I need to make sure she is CRB checked. I need to make sure she has a valid first aid certificate and if not pay for her to have more training (or should she pay for that herself?)
Make sure she is Ofsted registered so she can accept childcare vouchers
Sort out the contract to find one we are both happy with and get it signed
put her on car insurance
figure out whether we will do her payment ourselves or via an agency

anything else? i keep thinking this person is looking after my children how else can i ensure it is all going to be ok??? and also we want to be good employers so dont want to miss anything

already checked we have employer liability insurance

Um, you've done all the practical stuff I can think of (I would recommend doing the tax yourself - easy enough once you phone up the HMRC helpline for guidance)

The only other stuff is to determine your boundaries in terms of the children eg:-

what exactly you want each week in terms of laundry & cleanliness in children's rooms

what eating options are good, bad and ugly. things they are allowed to eat when out and about in cafes etc.

Requirements ref discipline - rewards/naughty step etc.

spending kitty and how much nanny can spend without deferring back to you.

Any requirements ref doctors/dentists/hairdressers

any 'immovables' that seem obvious to you but might not be obvious to nanny (eg I have a thing about them cleaning their teeth every day, wheras my nanny is fairly lax about it...minor things like that can drive you wild)

I would also make sure that holidays are agreed fairly - eg 10 days she can pick anything so long as she gives you 4 weeks notice, 10 days you pick, giving her 4 weeks notice.

I also always put in contract that they are entitled to Statutory sick pay only if ill - I always pay them their salary anyway in practice but like knowing I don't have to, if I ever felt someone was taking the mickey.

thanks that is v helpful. need to think about those things then i guess!!

I think two referees is enough, if one of them is not her current employer. But, if they've moved I suppose you can't do much about it.

I would ask them things like how tidy she was, and what sorts of things she ate, and if she is outgoing and found it easy to make friends. I would basically check that their view of performance/personality matches the one she portrayed to you in the interview.

Thinks like, if you ask apotential nanny what she likes to eat, they all say they are not fussy and believe in healthy eating. And then in pratice you find out they think popcorn is a vegetable and they think fruit juice is a serving of fruit.

I have a nanny once who thought chocolate spread on a piece of white tost was a wholesome breakfast.

Squiffy, what? Brush them once a day? I think 3 is the rule. Could settle for two.

Oh, I hate when people don't wrap things up properly.... especially cheese!

I would go for as many referees as possible.

My first nanny left me a message saying I was soooo hard to track down. I have moved house since she worked for me, and have a new home e mail address as well, but my mobile number hasn't changed and because I work for a reasonably large law firm, if you google my name I come up on the first page.

This same nanny told us one of her former employers was uncontactable having moved etc. This turned out to be very convenient for the nanny because nanny had walked out on that employer and I would guess that the reference, had we got one, would not have been favourable.

You can always ask the referees you speak to if they got in touch with the missing previous employers as a second-best.

How about a list of contact numbers, and the order in which they are to be used? The best way to get DH is his mobile, but the best way to get me is my office landline.

We put together a list of local "things to do" together with opening hours, transport etc. She seemed to appreciate that.

In terms of hours, we were helpfully advised to stick an extra 15 minutes onto the working hours we wanted in the contract. This works well - it means I usually get home in time to have a proper chat with her without feeling I'm holding her up. And once in a while I try to get back 30 mins early so she can leave early.

We have a notebook where we leave each other notes about the boring stuff (e.g. the car's running out of petrol, there's mince in the fridge) so that the morning/evening handover isn't too full of shouted instructions while I try to leave the house. Obvious but helpful.