Looking for a Nanny or Home-based Childcare

Looking for a Nanny or Home-based Childcare

Over the recent months, many parents have turned to home-based childcare as an alternative to nursery care as they feel having their children at home feels more secure and safer. The challenge is trying to find a nanny who is able to work with your family’s needs. Here at Purple Dove, we listen to you very carefully and try and match the best candidate to the job description. This includes looking at relevant experience, qualifications, personality, logistics such as journey times etc. We have the experience, knowledge and time to interview all of our candidates extensively. We also find that candidates are more confident in speaking about their preferences and requirements to an agency, rather than when dealing directly with the family. Most Importantly, we do not bombard you with dozens of CV’s but handpick a few and sometimes it might just be one or two.

The role of a Nanny

A nanny is responsible for all nursery duties including; feeding, cooking, changing and being actively involved in the child’s physical, emotional and mental development.

Nanny hours

This can vary greatly as parents are also working flexible hours. It is important to be clear of the hours you require in advance as some nannies have more than one job. Here at Purple Dove, we have a minimum requirement of 30 hours a week to take on a vacancy.

Parents-you are the Nanny’s employer

As the Nanny’s employer, you are responsible for payment of their tax and national insurance contributions on top of the net amount your Nanny takes home. In order to make this process as smooth and clear as possible, we have teamed up with a leading payroll company.

Nanny qualifications

There are many different qualifications and childcare courses available to nannies and it can be confusing having to go through these. We are happy to explain the different qualifications to you.

The role of a Nanny/ Housekeeper:

As well as fulfilling the role of a Nanny, their duties also include all family washing and ironing, running errands, grocery shopping, changing bed linen, cleaning and generally running the home in the parents’ absence.

Nanny/ Housekeeper hours:

A Nanny/Housekeeper will typically work an average of 6 hours a day – often taking care of the household duties prior to collecting the children from school and then carrying out a more child focused role after the school-run and during the school holidays.

Cost considerations:

As the employer of your Nanny/Housekeeper, you are responsible for their tax and national insurance contributions on top of the net amount they take home.

Benefits of employing a Nanny/Housekeeper:

This role offers great flexibility to working parents with school age children. A Nanny/Housekeeper often works less hours during term time and their hours can then be increased during school holidays when the role becomes more child focused. A Nanny/Housekeeper is often a nanny who has their own home and understands how to carry out household tasks.

Mother’s Help:

Mother’s Helps normally work alongside the mother, caring for the children. They are often inexperienced but have a passion and desire to pursue a career in childcare. A mother’s help role provides “on the job” training and experience.

All duties should be discussed and agreed in advance with the Mothers’ Help you hire. Salaries vary depending upon the job description and location. We will be able to advise you on the costs.

All positions can be temporary or permanent, full time or part time. It all depends what your family needs.