Au Pair - help?

[pinkfizzle]

Have you found an au pair off a website - such as Au Pair world?

Did it work?

Also can you get childcare vouchers for an Au Pair?

I used AuPair World for all my aupairs.

If you search the archives, there are a lot of tips on how to screen aupairs, tips etc.

You cannot use childcare vouchers for aupairs.

thanks blueshoes!!!

I have got my Ap's from Ap world. Its like any process you just need to put the time in to try to make sure you get a good one and I always take refs. You can't use vouchers

Yes you can use childcare vouchers for au pairs if they go through OFSTED registration.

Is it easy for them to go through OFSTED registration?

mmmmm depends - the process takes a few months and it depends how good their level of English is and/or how much time you have to help them with it all.. If their English is not good then they will probably struggle with the training they have to do. If their English is good then it might not be too bad.

To register with OFSTED they will need to:

do a common core course like the ICP or MNT's distance learning version - cost around £150

do a paediatric first aid course - cost around £100

get insurance - cost around £70 (and they need to pay for that themselves)

have a CRB etc done which means they need proof of residence at your address, forms of ID etc and which is really rather pointless assuming this is the first time in the UK as foreign police histories aren't checked unless it's some international crime

pay £100 odd to OFSTED to actually get regustered

[pray that you've done everything correctly, sent off all the right forms, they haven't changed the rules....]

So count 2 months to meet all those requirements, then 3 months to get registered plus all the cash you have to shell out... may not be worth it.

As Treeesa says, level of English will also be a consideration as they may not pass the common core or first aid if their English isn't up to scratch. So my general verdict would be don't bank on using childcare vouchers for your au pairs.

My Ofsted registration took months to do, and I'm a British citizen! Think I started the process in February and didn't get my registration through til October. Not everyone will take that long of course, but I had to do the first aid course and the MNT common core course, and get criminal record checks from any country I'd lived in in the last 5 years. The thing that took longest was the CRB though, for no apparent reason - a good couple of months compared to two weeks for the German police check.

Given that most au pairs only seem to stay in a job for 6-9 months, you may not even have time to get her registered before she leaves.

Added to the costs frakkinuts mentioned, you also have to get a certified translation of any foreign documents/police checks - this can cost an extra £75.

thanks very much all, the cost may not outweigh the benefit.