Is a Norland nanny worth it?

[Internationalpony]

Hi all,

We’re looking at getting a nanny and I love the idea of a Norland nanny for the following reasons:

1. They’re people who have truly chosen nannying as a vocation and haven’t just drifted into it
2. After a three year degree they’ll have a real in depth knowledge of child development so will be actively developing DC not just looking after them
3. They develop a weekly meal plan and activity plan - I’d find this so reassuring and beneficial
4. It seems like they’d do things to make our lives easier in so many other ways e.g. responsible for keeping the nursery tidy, DC laundry, will even meal prep for DC for the weekend
5. There are a clear set of expectations set out by Norland on what the nanny does and doesn’t do which can help to avoid any potential problems further down the line

However they’re of course very expensive, even for a newly qualified one, and we’d only consider a live out arrangement.

Obviously affordability is very personal but my question is, how easy is it to find other nannies who are just as good and proactively focus on child development? Are most other nannies happy to / expect to do similar duties? Where else have people found good nannies?

Finally, we have recently relocated to Northern England which another reason I’m concerned about finding a good nanny - there is so much more choice in London! Would any Norland nanny want to or be willing to be based here? Has anyone had a Norland nanny in the North before?

Thanks in advance!

My daughter is also a Norland nanny. They don’t all want London / travel / celebrity families. That can be quite tough and harder to fit in, especially once the novelty of London as a new graduate with good pay has faded! And some do work outside of London and the Home Counties.

They rarely wear uniform as it makes them stand out - not good for children from rich / famous / royal families.

Not all of them are placed by the Norland agency - they also use the other higher end agencies. Live out can be eye-wateringly expensive. My DD would expect at least £15k on top of the live-in salary in London and the south east. Given 3 years qualified is upwards of £45k live-in, that’s going some! And although they will do all the child-related stuff, not many will do housekeeping.

Completely agree with the other Norland mum who says they are fabulous though. Not that other nannies are not, but I haven’t yet met a Norlander that I don’t rate. And their support network is great which is even more important when there are fewer geographically close.

That was in response to a post about why was the North relevant to the question- not to the OP.

Lord, I've just been looking at the website, they earn more than I do as a medical professional. You'd have to be a multi millionaire to be able to afford it.

It would definitely be worth it though.

What a bitchy comment. Not everyone loves cooking - doesn’t make her any less of a mum.

We’re in the north of England and briefly had a trainee Norland nanny helping us part time. She was home from Norland for the summer so came from our northern city. She was only 19 but she was absolutely brilliant with the children and despite it only being a short term summer job for her, they still remember her. At the time there were some days when both of us were travelling with work and I’d get home just in time for bed to find them fed, bathed and cuddled up having a story. Is it worth it? I don’t know. I suspect she’d have been great anyway without being trained at Norland but the things they covered did sound comprehensive. I guess it’s a badge of quality that takes away some of the stress of finding a good nanny.

Thank you! That’s interesting on live in vs live out. The Norland guidelines are +~10k for live out in the regions. Are live in posts seen as more attractive, even with the higher salary to compensate?

We could offer live in if that would make it more attractive but it’s quite an odd concept having someone move in with you when you’re not used to it and DH has a strong preference for live out. I would have thought many nannies would prefer to live with friends or in flat shares than have to live with their employer, even at weekends!

I will be honest. I love my child but truly cannot be arsed with cooking. Not thinking about it, not doing it. If a lovely Mary Poppins wanted to feed my little one , great. I would love that. It would lower stress levels in my life to a manageable level.
Why do we have to pretend to love everything about parenting. Jesus Christ.

Live-in is more attractive because a nanny who is coming from a different area to take the job won't have the added stress and cost of finding accommodation nearby. Live-out, unless already local, will put a lot off.

My friend was a norland nanny. She was awesome, the experience she had at college was great and really prepared her well as a childcare professional.

She moved between her employers homes overseas so I think they would be prepared to go up north. Its the living out that's more of an issue. If they have the choice (and they will) they'll either go for accomodation or stay local to home I'd imagine. But you never know. Someone might be from just around the corner from you.

Haha — they generally only wear the uniform during their training. After that it’s up to the employer. I’m told that some families who hire NNs from abroad, especially the Middle East, require them to wear the uniform, but in the UK they virtually never do. You wouldn’t know a nanny was Norland trained unless s/he told you. I wonder if the royal family’s nannies even wear the uniform for regular day-to-day activities when there’s no wedding or public event happening.

Live in or live out is very much personal,preference- for the nanny and family. Like anyone, they prefer their own space and to be able to have friends over etc. However, if they are working a 55 hour week (0730 -1830 Monday to Friday), or more, they don’t want much of a commute and rentals near families who can afford Norland nannies tend to be pricey!

What the fuck is a Norland Nanny? My child is screwed. I’m too poor to have even heard of these!!

No, the “royal” nannies hardly ever wear uniform. Maybe if they are working at public events with a specific dress code when the uniform is more appropriate (practical) - formal wedding or christening for example.

@Elphamouche

www.norland.ac.uk/heritage-ethos-vision/

I agree, typical of mumsnet though. There is an element of immature, idiots on here that can't have an adult discussion about anything. I have honestly seen more mature behaviour from my teenager and their friends.

Well, I might add that to the “when I win the lottery” list. I had no idea this existed!

We had one for a while and found the routine and judgement a bit overbearing. She was absolutely lovely and excellent, just not a good fit with our parenting style. Check with the college on the likelihood of getting a live out Norland nanny. Lots of them want nice big posh house placements, not a regular nanny job.

😂🤣😂🤣 What kind of place do you think the North is?

Bleedin'Nora- I'm a Children’s professional with a title. These nannies earn more than me- I think I need a career change! Any psychologists made a switch into nannying?

Don't be so ridiculous

It's not everyone else's fault the OP wrote what they did.

Feeding a child is easy . As long as there is pasta ,cheese,eggs and veg you can create a delicious meal.

Oh OP make sure you have all your vaccinations before you Venture to ‘the North’ #shudders 🙄

Of course there will be other nannies just as good or better but I can understand why you feel as you do. They're not lazy or they wouldn't have made it through, the training is thorough and they probably want to do this job and do it well. It seems somewhat less likely (though never impossible) that they would turn out to be unsafe.

My relatives had a series of Norland nannies. They did exactly what it says on the tin.

If you are finding it difficult to source a Norland Nanny could you offer to be a placement family for Norland school and maybe one will want to come back after finishing training?