Nannies
Our nannies come with a vast array of additional skills and attributes. Below are some examples.
Nanny/Family PA
There is only so much washing and tidying a Nanny can do between 8.30am to 3pm whilst children age 5+ are at school. Therefore employing a Nanny to combine her role with that of a Family Personal Assistant will greatly assist the parents as she will run errands, deal with administrative tasks and generally manage household issues.
Typical duties could include:
- Buying household groceries and requisites
- Arranging household repairs
- Taking items to the dry cleaners/post office/alterations person
- Booking the household cars to be serviced
- Renewing car and household insurance
- Booking family holidays
- Booking flights and travel for the parents’ business/personal trips
- Taking the pets to the vet
It should be noted that in the event that one of the children is poorly and absent from school, the Nanny/Family PA’s priority will be the care of the child first and foremost with the view that the admin and errands will take second place for the time being. This also stands for out of school term time and family holidays.
Housekeeper/Nanny
This is ideal for families who wish to combine childcare with housekeeping. The division of duties is entirely up to the family and can be 50/50 to 70/30 depending on the number of children, their ages and the size of the family home. Nanny/Housekeeper duties may include family cooking (sometimes to Dinner Party standard), laundry, ironing, cleaning, vacuuming, care of the silverware, assisting a mother at home with childcare, sole charge nanny duties plus baby-sitting. The key issue to bear in mind is that if the main responsibility is caring for the children, then housekeeping becomes secondary.
Employers must be realistic about how much can be achieved when children are at home and also about how much one person can physically take on.
Privately Trained Nannies
The Norland Trained Nanny
In the 19th Century, the children of the upper and middle classes were confined to the nursery, seeing their parents for a maximum of an hour a day if that, and thus were cared for solely by untrained nursery maids and nursery nurses. 1n 1892 Emily Ward, a London school teacher, recognised the demand for elevating and establishing a superior level of care to nurture and psychologically develop the children of the upper classes and thus the Norland Institute located in Norland Square came into existence.
Once qualified, the status of the nursery nurse was elevated to that of a professional who would solely concentrate on being an educational mentor and moral guide to her charges. Not surprisingly, this unique and prestigious qualification set her apart from the untrained nursery maids and gave her a professional standing within the 19th Century household.
Today the Norland College is based in Bath and has its own nursery nearby where students train and are assessed as part of their education. Students leave either with the Norland CACHE Diploma in Childcare and Education or with a BA Honours Degree in Early Years Studies. Both courses require 2 years at the college; the Diploma requires a successful 9-month nursery or family probationary placement to be awarded the Norland Badge and the Degree, a further two years of study including placements.
The College charges approximately £15,000 per annum which doesn’t include accommodation or living expenses making the cost of the qualification approximately £40+k. That said, the Norland status continues to be held in high esteem and Norlanders, as they are called, will always have a wider selection of positions to choose from.
The College has recently been brought to the forefront and highlighted in the media since the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge recruited a Norlander for Prince George.
We always have Norland Nurses to offer our clients. They prefer to work Monday to Friday from 7.30 am to 7 pm (although flexible).
The Chiltern College Trained Nanny
The Chiltern College, founded in 1931, is based in Reading and offers a 2-year residential course where students can study the CACHE or the NVQ Level 3 Diploma for the Early Years Workforce (EYE).
Students attend lectures and have practical hands-on training in the College’s on-site nursery which, according to Ofsted, offers ‘outstanding care and education’ for babies aged 2 months to children aged 5 years. The Curriculum includes professional and practical skills such as working with textiles and wood, qualifying in First Aid, understanding nutrition, special diets and food safety, safeguarding children, Makaton, baby massage, swimming and singing with children.
Students are placed with a family, often with a newborn baby, giving them the household experience, and in a local primary school, which is invaluable for students when planning which route to take when qualified.
Once CACHE or NVQ Qualified, students must complete a one-year placement resulting in a glowing reference in order to be awarded the highly regarded Chiltern Certificate.
Our experienced consultant’s get to know the Chiltern Nannies, supporting and nurturing them and the family during the early days, with many Chiltern Nannies returning to Imperial throughout their careers trusting in the level of support that we provide.
Princess Christian College
The Princess Christian Training College, originally called The Home For Babies In Windsor was set up in the 1870s by a Miss Oxley. It was a specialist home which had up to 32 babies in residence where mothers could leave their babies while they went to work knowing they were safe and well cared for.
After a royal visit from Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Christian in 1942, the college was renamed in her honour and called HRH Princess Christian’s Training College and Infant Nursery.
The training included working for 2 months on the maternity ward at Windsor Hospital where they would learn how to bathe, feed and supervise breastfeeding and they would also spend one month looking after each age group.Students who graduated from the College in the ’60s and ’70s were awarded the NNEB (Nursery Nurse Education Board) which is now known as the CACHE qualification as per the other private colleges and along with the Princess Christian Certificate.
After 100 years of service, in 1971 the college closed in due to the lack of demand for residential care for small babies, however, Nannies who are Princess Christian qualified are well regarded in the industry.
Bilingual Nannies
Some families are keen to employ a Nanny or Governess who speaks more than one language to either assist the family in teaching the children a second language or to enable the Nanny to settle into her new role if working overseas.
We have Nannies and Governesses who speak a variety of languages with either English as their Mother Tongue or English as their Second Language.
We have successfully placed Nannies and Governesses with the following languages:
French, German, Italian, Hungarian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish, Bulgarian, Russian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic
Do telephone now to speak to one of our expert consultants who will discuss with you the current list of candidates with the extra language(s) to see where we can assist.
Ofsted Registered Nannies
Those Nannies who are Ofsted Registered attract a small tax saving for their employer. For Nannies to qualify to be Ofsted Registered, s/he must complete the following courses:
Paediatric First Aid
Childcare qualification – Level 3 minimum
Once she has passed these, she must renew her Registration annually.
TEFL Nannies
Courses which give the student an international qualification to Teach English as a Foreign Language can be referred to as a TEFL. The two most internationally recognised qualifications are known as the Cambridge CELTA and the Trinity Certificate TESOL. They are recognized by the British Council and by reputable English language schools worldwide. They can be taken on a full-time or part-time basis and are the preferred choice of most employers. Other four-week “equivalent” courses, with similar course content, duration and hours of teaching practice are also available.
At Imperial we have Nannies who are TEFL Qualified so please discuss this with your Consultant if this is of interest to you.
Mannies
For families who have boys and want a male role model type figure, a ‘Manny’ can prove to be a great success. A selection of our Mannies have previously been chosen due to their love of competitive sports, the father travelling abroad a lot or single-parent families who feel a male presence is necessary for their child’s growth.
All Imperial Mannies will be experienced with the usual childcare references and we have also placed Mannies who have either a childcare qualification or who have come from a teaching background.
Regardless of their gender, when it comes to recruiting the right person to care for your children, it’s not just the experience that you should consider, but also the personality as you will be working very closely with them.
Montessori Teachers
The Montessori Method was founded by Dr Maria Montessori in 1906 who set up La Casa de Bambini in the San Lorenzo district of Rome where she observed that all children develop at their own speed and thus the term ‘follow the child’ was coined. It is an internationally renowned qualification which can take years of full-time study, to include nursery placements, and differs from traditional education in that it places an emphasis on independence and freedom, within limits of course.
There are 3 Montessori Levels that students can take:
Diploma in Montessori Pedagogy Levels 3 + 4 (1 year full-time)
Certificate of Higher Education in Montessori Early Childhood Practice (1-year full time)
Foundation degree in Montessori Early Education Practice (2 years’ full time)
In short, a learning triangle is created between the teacher, the child and the environment. The child fosters independence and understands the limits in the ordered classroom by choosing the activity, where he/she engages with the physical route, and when finished, gathers the pieces and puts the activity away in the order he/she found it. This encourages the child to fully develop both physically and intellectually as well as spiritually and emotionally.
At Imperial we have Nannies who are trained in the Montessori Method and, if this is of interest to you, please discuss with your Consultant who will be able to provide more details.
Nannies who proxy parent
For parents who are away for short or long periods of time, a Nanny or Governess who can Proxy Parent is the ideal solution. She will care for your children 24/7, if required, or 24/5 depending on the number of days you are away from the family home, giving you peace of mind.
Special Needs Nannies
We have Nannies who care for children who have been diagnosed with a variety of special needs, from being ‘on the spectrum’ which includes ADHD, Aspergers, Autism to a child with Down’s Syndrome or other Genetic related Syndromes. The Nanny herself may have had a sibling or relative with Special Needs which sparked an interest to train as a Special Needs Nanny. Nannies will also have worked with children who demonstrate a developmental delay or a speech delay and are happy to work with families and outside agencies such as doctors, speech and language therapists to stimulate and promote development. Our qualified and experienced Nannies will have theoretical and first-hand experience of promoting fine and gross motor skills.
Our Special Needs Nannies work on confidence building, setting goals, arranging the correct activities to further their development, encourage independence in self-care and everyday routine and patiently guide any siblings on how to interact with the special needs child successfully. Once they know the child, the special needs Nanny will also have the intuition to gauge and anticipate any aggressive behaviour or frustration and will always be prepared to handle these moments sensitively.
Pony friendly Nannies
We do often have requests from families for a ‘Pony Friendly Nanny’. A typical Nanny of this description would either be a Nanny who was brought up with her own pony in which case she will be an experienced rider and will know how to muck out, feed and exercise ponies/horses. If she previously worked for a family whose children were enthusiastic riders, she wouldn’t necessarily have the riding experience but she would be familiar with the riding routine, the clothing needed, tacking up, feeding and grooming.Maternity Nannies
Our Nannies will care for a baby from age 3+ months only. If your baby is younger, we would highly recommend you telephone our sister agency, Maternally Yours on 0207 795 6299. The leading maternity nurse agency, specialise in the care of the newborn baby to the older baby depending on the issues that need addressing, i.e. from teaching new parents how to care for their baby to establishing that all-important routine in older babies if the foundations weren’t laid down from the very beginning.
