Hi all. Wonder if anyone has any advice/recommendations?
My eldest has Special Needs and is just starting full-time school. We've had nannies and mothers' helps but now we really need an au pair or au pair plus; we just need help at the ends of the day and I'm usually in the house anyway.
The issue is that we need someone who genuinely can cope with Special Needs (DD1 is a snugglepuss and no bother at all, but though everyone who has met her so far has loved her, a few nanny candidates have been freaked out by the idea of SN) plus we need someone with good English as DD1 has major communication difficulties and someone rabbiting on in Polish won't help her at all. So I'm probably looking for a NZ or similar Au Pair who is already in this country and can come to meet her before committing.
I could try putting an ad in greataupair or something but we need someone quite specific so I'd rather pay an agency to filter out the thousands who won't have read the ad at all... but the agencies I've found online seem to specialise in importing seventeen year olds from eg the Ukraine which is absolutely not what we want.
NB - yes I am already in touch with SNAP childcare who are helping with a temp for half term, but they don't really do Au Pairs. And I have tried care agencies but they are expecting £12 per hour net and really this isn't a nursing job. She just needs help getting dressed and eating breakfast.
Thanks for any suggestions!