Choosing a nanny

[Summerbaby333]

DH and I are looking into hiring a full time nanny when ds is 10-12 months old and we’ll both need to be back at work. For various reasons (inflexible working hours, oversubscribed nurseries etc) this is the best option for us, and I’m aware it comes at a cost! I don’t have many friends with babies so don’t have any referrals and planning to probably go via the agency route (I know we could try ourselves via websites but this is more for peace of mind / help with the logistical side.) I’m a ftm and feeling a bit anxious at the thought of choosing essentially a random person to look after. Does anyone have any tips on the process - key questions to ask the agency / nanny, pitfalls in choosing a nanny, how many times you interviewed / did you do a settling in period, eventually transitioning to a couple days at nursery etc? Also any tips of good agencies in south London would be hugely appreciated! X

Whereabouts in South London? Some friends of mine live in South Wimbledon and had a very good experience with Wimbledon Nannies: www.wimbledonnannies.com/

Southeast unfortunately.. thanks for the suggestion but doesn’t look like they cover my area!

We hired a nanny in SE London but not through an agency.
We're in a nanny share which is working brilliantly for us - a great way to keep costs down.
We interviewed about 7/8 nannies and met the lovely lady we eventually hired 3 times before making a formal offer.
We met about 3 that we would have been really happy with.
Make sure any nanny has up to date first aid qualifications and it's helpful if they've nannied in the local area before as there are lots of free play groups etc. that our nanny knew about.
The biggest source of confidence for us was speaking to the families of the children that our nanny previously nannied for.
We did a settling in period of about 2/3 days - first one with Mum and nanny hanging out and then steadily built up the nanny solo time with a parent within easy reach if there were any issues.

we got a nanny through childcare.co.uk (I think that was the website). once I saw the fees for agency nannies I decided I could manage without an agency.

first nanny was a nanny-share - we hired her and then found another family that shared 3 days per week to reduce costs. but after 2 years, they had a second baby and took her on full time. by then, our DD was ready for nursery so it worked out OK.

we did 1 interview and then a meet-up day for nanny to meet the kids. Had a list of formal questions for interview and went with the friendliest person who knew the local area.

We also used childcare.co.uk.

Looked at qualifications, discussed a job spec - we didn’t expect lots of cleaning beyond basic tidying after the kids and cooking for them for example.

Once we’d met and liked one, I spoke to several of her previous employers about her.

Talked about what they liked doing already and ideas the nanny had for activities as they got older.

Things to consider and discuss - a payroll/tax provider - we used taxingnannies but there are many others.
What allowance you can allocate for them to spend on activities etc plus if you’re buying lunch for them if they are out etc. Extra expenses can easily add up.
Whether you will insure them on a car or provide budget for public transport - we added ours to my car as I commuted by train.
If you’re happy they invite other Nannie’s and their charges over to your house when you’re out. We didn’t mind as it tended to work both ways and our DC then went to other homes too, but some may not like this.