Working in child care is highly rewarding, very enjoyable and a huge responsibility. As a nanny you will need to be committed and dedicated to your work and have an understanding of your requirements as a nanny. Each and every family you work for will be different and you will need to adapt accordingly.

To work as a nanny you will need to be qualified or hold a good degree of child care experience. MNT offer Childcare Training Courses. We recommend you carry Nanny Insurance and register on the Voluntary Childcare Register. You will need a clear CRB Enhanced Disclosure and a valid First Aid Certificate. The Parent & Child Nanny Agency only registers nannies who declare themselves as non smokers.

Nursery duties

Nannies are responsible for carrying out ‘nursery duties’ this is anything pertaining to the care and welfare of the children in your charge and typically includes:

• Children’s laundry
• Cleaning and tidying children’s play areas and bedrooms
• Driving children
• Cooking for children
• Preparing baby feeds/meals
• Organising the children’s social calendar
• Taking children/babies to doctors and health check ups
• Documenting records/receipts

Additional Duties

In some instances you may be asked to carry out light housekeeping in addition to the nursery duties, this typically includes but can vary depending on the parents ‘other’ domestic help and requirements of a nanny

Some parents include pa/housekeeping duties in to the role, this is typical of families with school aged children who want the commitment of a full time nanny but are able to offer a variety of chores to sustain the nannies’ hours. In some cases nannies are employed to work more domestic hours than childcare – always check your contract and ensure you are happy when signing.

Daily Records

We recommend you keep a daily ‘Nanny Diary’ documenting the events of the day to include:

• Daily activities
• Meals/ feeds (quantities)
• Any significant particulars
• Any sickness or unwell children

Often parents will use the diary to post notes and requests. This is a great correspondence tool for busy working families.
You should document all mileage, out of pocket expenses and provide receipts where possible so your employer can reimburse you accordingly.
If you have been asked to administer medicines, ask the parents to put the amounts and frequency in writing.  Then document your actions in the nanny diary

Cooking

In most cases it is your responsibility to prepare healthy and nutritious meals to the children and babies in your care. In some cases, parents will provide ready made meals/jars or provide ready cooked and prepared food for the children in your care.
If you are not a confident cook you can book on to one of our Certified Nanny Cookery Courses.

Dress

Always dress suitably clean and tidy. When caring for babies and children. You will probably be kicking a football around and sitting on the floor with little ones so stilettos and skinny jeans are out of the question.  It is recommended you do not wear large earrings/jewellery or have painted nails for health and hygiene reasons

Car use

You may be provided with a car for use whilst working but most often nannies are required to use their own car. Your car will need to kept in good working order, have appropriate seatbelts for fitting car seats and ideally have a working mileage clock.
You will be reimbursed for petrol costs for journeys when transporting children in your care.
It is likely you will need to fit a pushchair in the boot of your car and would therefore need to ensure there is enough space to do so.
You must inform your insurance company that you are using your car to ‘transport children’ It is likely there will be a very small premium added to your policy. Most often this is an insignificant amount.
We highly recommend you have membership with a car breakdown service (for example AA/RAC) to cover you in the event of breaking down.

Nanny Essentials

Always carry a fully charged mobile phone in case of an emergency situation and so your employer, children’s school etc can get hold of you when needed.

Contract of employment

Your employer (the family) will provide the employee (the nanny) with a contract of employment. This will cover:

• Hours of work
• Salary
• Length of contract
• Notice period
• Grievance and disciplinary procedures

 It is important you read through your contract thoroughly before signing. If any changes are made during your employment you should request this is documented or a new contract is issued to replace.