The curse of Boff. Again.

[BoffinMum]

You are not going to believe this, guys. The lovely temp (and she really is lovely) who came today has had to leave because her mum was rushed into hospital. We don't know if/when she'll be coming back. So we are without childcare again! I am currently in Paris and DH was supposed to be going into work tomorrow because he hasn't been able to get in all week. He has no leave left either. Crikey! Anybody want three lovely children, two with diarrhoea?

Peter thought to himself "Maybe I should try childcare as a profession so I don't have to spend my life in airports being looked at naked whilst wrecking university provision in England" ... he rang a leading agency on the diamond encrusted iPhone that a leading Russian had given him during a visit to his yacht ...

BM. Have you tried Melanie at Eden nannies in Bath.

She is just absolutely brilliant. If you can provide live in she will probably be able to help.

passes virtual g and t...........

Thanks, MummyPoppins, I am indeed registered with Eden.

BTW I just deregistered with A Posh Agency upon realising that the placement fee would be £3650 (presumably plus VAT knowing them) and they would only give an eight week guarantee.

I got six months' warranty on my car when I bought it for £2500. I reckon they can do better than eight weeks for £3650 so in my new outraged Daily Mail mode, I am not going along with it. If their nannies are so ace, then surely they should be prepared to guarantee them for a really decent amount of time ...

"If their nannies are so ace, then surely they should be prepared to guarantee them for a really decent amount of time ... "

Now, that's proper arsey behaviour! Well done!

I think you'll find the same nannies register with lots of agencies so going posh doesn't help (in more ways than your bank balance)
The poshest agencies I'm with are the ones who tell me to lie on my CV, fabricate references and tell outright lies about me to prospective families like I have a degree and am a qualified teacher!!!
Would be nice certainly and maybe one day but not true now. I'm a qualified TEFL teacher, I'm working towards my degree and whilst I have worked in primary schools I do not have QTS. I've always found also the posh agencies I've interviewed with do not always interview in the way you might expect. I've had some more interested in my family background and didn't ask me a single child care related question.
(Sighs cynically and goes to retrieve singing baby from cot as the working hour has indeed dawned again)

Tavvy! That's dreadful!

"If their nannies are so ace, then surely they should be prepared to guarantee them for a really decent amount of time ...

ditto - say a year if not then the nanny has to pay back your fee lol

normally agencies fees are 4 weeks salary, so a months wages

I've found the same Tavvy - most important questions are, Do you ride? Do you ski? What does your father do?

OMG!

I can ride and ski but have no idea what this has to do with nannying ...

It doesn't necessarily but it does have to do with social class. Nannies from a higher social class often can do these things and can command higher salaries by virtue of what your mother and father do, whether you have a posh voice or can fake it. The whole class thing is alive and well in this industry. The families who hire nannies are upper and upper middle class mostly; they;d have to be with fees like that and they want somebody from a similar background in my experience. My household is fully staffed but I'm, the only English one and come top of the pecking order. I'm not agreeing with it but I've learnt to play it to my advantage (without obviously doing what the agencies suggested.) I spend more time discussing my HP dad rather than my childcare skills. It's really boring.
One of these days I'll write a tome on the subject. When I'm not working that is.

I don't ride or ski, and I went to a comprehensive. Posh agency didn't find me a job...

I did find it difficult to live with someone who said 'hiya' all the time, wiped her nose on the back of her hand, and didn't know how to eat at the table.

But then DH says I am a terrible snob.

Posh nannies also understand things like "Make sure DS does his prep"; the concept of Saturday school (both still evident in some state schools); the wearing of vests and boots in cold weather; the etiquette of play dates; packing for smart hotels and how to behave around (ahem) posh grandparents.

When I was nannying I found The Lady magazine the best place for getting a job. Agencies weren't fun. I don't understand why someone would pay an agency a lot of money to read references when you really ought to be checking them yourself.

Am I socially ostracised now??

Understand how to pack for posh hotels but don't stay in a job for more than 5 minutes... I guess that's your pay off

Fab, I paid something like £80 for a Lady ad and the replies were a total waste of time. The best was from a Jehovas Witness couple and the boke half of the couple was planning to have free rein of my children in my absence while his wife got on with other things.

WTF??

Freudian slip there - bloke half, not boke half.

Fair point well made missus. Although in my defence I would really hire them to be able to keep the kids in one piece, not for their valeting skills.

It's only politically correct to pretend to be liberal.
Most people aren't so don't be ashamed of the snob closet. Let's face it; if I had children and was paying somebody else to care for them in my absense then I'd want somebody who talked properly, used a tissue and both knew their table manners and used them.

Yes you do sound a snob. Think about it, you have a high flying career and complain no one is reliable or dedicated or good enough to look after your children. I drew the line when I was looking for temporary child care - it wasn't good enough for my children. I wasn't going to leave them with a stranger for the sake of my career.I'm not slagging you off or trying to start a row, but we all make different decisions, all I am saying maybe the whole thing needs a rethink ?

Something is going a bit wrong in the recruitment process - could it be that you're a bit dazzled by nice accents and lovely manners rather than the qualities that actually make for a good nanny?

If most of the nannies who post on here applied, I expect Boff would consider us. I expect many of us don't work for Upper class families... though do work for middle class / upper middle (what would be considered upper middle?).
I don't ride, I don't ski, My dad is a retired civil servant. I do however know what prep is, as I went to a prep school.
Boffin, have you tried the local newsagents window? Just wondering if that produced any applicants, or not.

WiP, that has occurred to me and is something that has been muttered through tears a lot at home over the last fortnight (and indeed in a colleague's office this morning).

Missus, I am a bit snobby in some ways perhaps, but I am certainly not daft enough to prioritise skiing or a plum in the mouth over decent childcare. Seriously. Anyway, one of my main research areas is social inclusion, so I would hope by now I have a bit of a sense of perspective.

I would stalk and kidnap NannyNick or indeed Blondes but I can't get anyone to mind the kids while I head down there LOL!