When to start advertising for a summer holiday nanny

[millarkie]

My mum will be living with us soon and will cover the after-school childcare shift, but doesn't have the energy to cope with the kids for a full day - Dd has a medical problem which means that holiday clubs and the like are unlikely to take her..so I think we are back to having a nanny or unqualified equivalent (we used to employ a student teacher who was fab..but now she's graduated ) for the long school hols (other granny and our own holidays cover the other holidays)..
So, my question is...when would be a sensible time to start advertising? - it's the sort of job which would suit a student who had experience of playing with primary school age kids, and who could cope with dd's needs, I guess I could try to find out if there are any local teaching/childcare courses and if they have noticeboards I could advertise on..and there's always gumtree.
Hmm..just had a thought - mum will be living here so maybe she will be able to do the necessary with dd if required and I just need someone who can play water fights in the garden, endless card making with dd, and feign interest in ds's pokemon cards

I would say that it's never too soon to advertise - remember that around Easter students get preoccupied with exams and the like so might want to line something up before then.

Thanks Frakkin,
I'm trying to remember when we advertised last time (and found lovely student teacher lady) - it was before May because we had to drive up here from our old house to interview her (mad interview, in a service station cafe and a kids playground in a nearby village).
Will start working on the wording - I think I need to mention dd's issues upfront because there really is no point employing someone if they can't cope with her (in case they take the kids to the park without Mum and dd needs help etc).
Deep Breath....

Millarke - there are far more nannies/childcare trainees out there who have experience with medical issues than you may think. Don't worry about that.

Where are you? If you are in or near London, or another big urban centre that attracts overseas teachers, there are always masses looking for ad hoc summer work once their contract ends. But they don't start looking until just about when the terms are ending (because, presumably, it isn't till then that they know they are not going travelling or whatever) - so you have to hold your nerve and wait till then. You can find somebody seemingly overnight then.

But it does depend on you being in the right sort of area, I think.

Bink - I'm rural although 20 mins from a university city.
Drinkyourmilk - Have tried a few times to write this and got tied in knots.
Dd has a bowel malformation so occasionally needs help cleaning up and changing herself after accidents - due to the medication she's on it's not the nicest of jobs..but there's no need for skill, just kindness and a strong stomach I'm sure anyone who has cared for babies or pre-schoolers would be ok with that part of the job, but then would they be ok with the majority of the job which is looking after school age kids and relating to them in a way which is different to the way you relate to preschoolers.
One way to go would be an experienced nanny who has dealt with a wide range of ages..but that experience would come with a hefty salary (which may be what I end up doing).
The other is to look for someone with a little experience of school age kids (teacher trainee, student etc) but who is not phased by dd's needs, and hopefully would come in less than a full-on experienced nanny salary.
My ex-nanny's sister (is doing a degree in youth studies and has experience running a brownie troop) was interested in taking over when her sister left....but was honest enough to say that she wouldn't be able to cope if dd had an accident.
Think i may need to budget expecting to pay a live-out nanny salary and be pleasantly surprised if I find a willing student-type for less...does that sound too mercenary?

What about people with some experience of children and care work? I did care work and was well used to cleaning up so your DD wouldn't have phased me at all.

In fact when are you looking for because I'm probably back for 6 weeks between July and mid-August if that helps?

Frakkin - yes that would be an ideal combination - just not sure how many people in our not-very-populated area would come into it..
We are looking to cover 21st July-1st Sept, although we will have a whole week off at some point during that time (so that would be paid hols for the childcarer) and there are a further 3 weeks (the first 3 weeks in September) where it would be useful if the childcarer could be available because Mum is going on a cruise then so we would need after-school cover at a minimum (although we might be able to cover this time in other ways).
If I knew we would have a spare bedroom over the time I would look for a non-squeamish au pair (like the fab one we have at the moment) but Mum is going to be having more space than current au pair gets (so she has bedroom, bathroom and living room), we are looking at converting our 'gym' into a spare bedroom but I'm still waiting for a slot from the decorator, and it would mean a live-in would have to share our v. manky and 'just about to be replaced..when we have time' bathroom.
(Having a bit of an exhausting time getting Mum's house emptied, repaired and ready to be rented out, getting our house moved around - new bathroom, loft rooms created, and dh's father died in the summer so now his Mum needs her house cleared out and she wants to move miles away - ho hum..all happens at once!)

I did some searching on nannyjob last night and a 60 hour a week live out qualified experienced nanny rate is £8 gross per hour - so that will be my top figure..not as bad as London rates thankfully.

i would def think about advertising within the next few weeks,as students will be hopefully looking for few weeks/summer hols work

i think if you are honest about your ds needs then you will find someone, fraks idea about a care worker could be a plan

would you consider 2 nannys who both work part time and between them they could cover your days, or would you prefer one person?

might be worth placing an advert actually in the uni halls/mag if they have one

Thanks Blondes, Was definitely going to be upfront about dd - the last thing I would want is someone who got upset and/or told her off and upset her when it happens (we have had problems with TAs at the school being mean to her which is upsetting for all of us and can make the problem worse because then she doesn't admit she's soiled and sits in it - causing infections and being the source of a horrid smell.

Would only need one nanny as Mum would do early mornings and afternoons (she'll be covering 8-8.30 and 3.40-6 in termtime as it is)..so potentially would be looking at 9-3 at a minimum. Although, I've just spoken to Mum and she is confident that she will be able to cope with the crazy duo all day in the holidays - think we may compromise with booking big 'un into holiday/sports clubs and leaving dd with Mum or MIL (who tends to take one child at a time for a few days every other week anyway)..might be able to manage this way...(although bit of a toss up whether the complicated time tabling involved would be more hassle than finding a nanny-type student).
Am giving myself a week to think about it

Thanks for all the suggestions though - has really helped me work through the options.