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Spotlight on: kitty money

Most parents leave a kitty of petty cash for nannies to use to cover daily expenses. In term time this may just be £10 a week to cover unexpected activities as the majority of activities are pre-paid and the odd pint of milk, but in the holidays this can easily spiral. It’s important to have a good kitty management system for handling the money, and clear guidelines on what it can and can’t be used for.

A nanny purse which stays at work is easy to top up when running low. Nannies can also put receipts in the purse, or keep a small notebook to track expenditure. It’s often said that if you employ a nanny to look after your children and leave her the keys to your house you should trust her with your money, and this is probably true, but it can also be helpful to have an idea of what is being spent when and where to manage the budget a bit better. If a nanny constantly complains of being short of kitty money are the guidelines clear enough?

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Why you put up with your nanny’s quirks

 This is a guest post from a reader who wishes to remain anonymous. Just to remind you we welcome all contributions, and look forward to a respectful discussion!

Sometimes your nanny will drive you crazy. She dumps her bag just inside the door. She teaches your children songs that get on your nerves (get on your nerves, get on your nerves). The garden has been turned into a mud-pit. She never writes enough in the nanny diary. She always uses the last of the butter. There’s only ever one baby wipe left in packet. But you wouldn’t swap, or would you?

You focus on the good and let the niggles slide, and that’s fine as long as they’re just niggles. You can stop here if using up the butter is your biggest bugbear. This article is not for you.

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Why children act up for their parents

‘They never behave like this with me’. ‘The minute the mother walks in the door all hell breaks loose’. ‘The house is like a zoo when I get home’.

It’s a common complaint on both sides. Why do children act up when both nanny and parents are present? Here are 3 possible explanations:

They’re playing ‘power struggle’. Kids know that there’s a sense of hierarchy and they’re trying to navigate the complicated world of human relationships. When two people who are in charge of them are together, who is the one who has the ultimate power? The surest way for them to test this is to behave badly and see who tells them off, and whether the other person can over-rule any consequences.

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OFSTED inspections for nannies

Towards the end of the year a lot of nannies get calls from OFSTED informing them that it’s time for an inspection. Around 10% of nannies on the voluntary register are inspected every year, and most pass with flying colours, however it can be a nerve-wracking experience particularly if you’ve worked in a nursery.

Purpose: Unlike school and early years settings (nurseries, childminders, etc), OFSTED inspections for nannies are not to judge your skills as a childcarer or evaluate the way you implement the EYFS. It is purely to see whether you meet the requirements of the register as they apply to you. Your inspector should send you a document which lays out the requirements for both parts of the childcare register. You are only concerned with ‘both’ or ‘voluntary’ AND where it mentions ‘home childcarer’ (which is what OFSTED call nannies).

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Making yourself memorable to agencies

You might have noticed that many of the jobs on Nannyjob.co.uk are via agencies. Targeting agencies, rather than parents directly, is a slightly different approach. Here’s a five step approach to fast-tracking your way into their good books.

Be concise. When you apply through the site try to mention all the jobs they have that interest you in one email. That way you’re not spamming their inbox with twenty applications. You only need one to sign up with them, and if they don’t reply then follow it up with a phone call rather than twenty more emails.

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Child abuse – what is it and how do you recognise it

Every nanny and childcare professional should know what child abuse is and how to spot the signs. You will be probably be tested on this knowledge during an OFSTED inspection.

Child abuse is causing harm to a child, whether intentionally or unintentionally. There are four types of abuse: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and neglect.

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The psychology of hiring a nanny

Hiring a nanny is a risky business. You’re working from CVs with a variety of qualifications and employment histories, and a three line personal statement which is telling you what you want to hear. Not only that but you’re choosing someone to take your place, in a high-pressure, unsupervised role with unrestricted access to your children. Mitigating risk, a natural human tendency, is going to play a big part in your decision making when choosing a nanny.

To do this you may place arbitrary limits – you want your nanny to be confident handling an emergency so you insist they have a first aid certificate (sensible), you want to know they are a reasonable and law abiding person so you ask for a DBS check (also sensible). You may have preconceived notions about certain academic backgrounds or hobbies, which again is you trying to reduce risk by avoiding the unknown. You may be put off by an unprofessional email address, or an overly-familiar voicemail message, because it calls that person’s judgement into question.

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When nanny has a second job

Part time working has been on the rise in all industries but nannies are being hit by a triplewhammy of parents choosing to work part-time, using free help part of the week to reduce childcare costs and taking advantage of Government funding. This means more and more nannies are coming to interview with another job already, which can seem an administrative nightmare. Chin up though, as it’s not that scary!

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6 scenario based interview questions to ask at a nanny interview, and the responses you should be getting

 

Scenarios are a great way to test out how quickly your potential nanny can think on her feet and see what her natural reactions to everyday situations are. A lot of the questions you ask in an interview lead a nanny to respond in a certain way. Any clues that she’s gained about your childcare style will help her answer them, but she doesn’t need to have additional information because it’s all about how she would react.

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Child development: Steiner

Austrian scientist and philosopher Rudolf Steiner (1861 – 1865) developed a holistic theory of education based on three 7-year cycles of development. He believed that education needed to respect these cycles and the type of thinking or feeling that a child experiences. The first cycle from birth to the age of 7 children are immersed in action and are motivated to play and create. From 7 to 14 children explore ‘feeling’ and from 14-21 they develop their cognitive or thinking abilities.

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