Category: nannies

Jobs in Childcare

Childcare refers to supervising or caring for children under the age of eight years. It is also called early childhood education or early years education due to an increased awareness of the impact of early experiences of a child on his or her psychological development. With governments spending more on creating early childhood workforce to improve the quality of support young children receive; a lot of jobs in childcare are opening up.

Jobs in childcare are diverse and offer different roles and working environments. On a broader level, jobs in childcare can be divided into two categories – home-based care such as nannies and family care and centre-based care such as day-care and preschool.

Different levels of qualifications are needed to work at various stages of career in early years and there is a range of training and education available to help you qualify and pursue part-time or full-time jobs in childcare.

The Children’s Workforce Development Council regulates the statutory framework and qualifications norms required for various jobs in childcare in United Kingdom. Training starts from Foundation Level (also called Level 1) to Foundation Degree (Level 5). Level 6 is the gold standard for people working with children and is called EYPS or Early Years Professional Status.

Working with children can be a rewarding one but almost all jobs in childcare demand high energy levels. While it is fun playing with young children, you need to take your job seriously. You must always keep in mind that their parents have entrusted them to you and you are responsible for their safety and well-being.

Work as a Nanny

Becoming a nanny can be a satisfying career and it lets you contribute to a child’s learning and development. The responsibilities of a nanny may vary from one household to another depending on how you negotiate with the child’s parents but the basics remain the same. Normally you are expected to provide care for the child, mentally stimulate them by playing and reinforce appropriate discipline. You may also be required to cloth them, prepare meals and do the laundry.

Although nannies are largely female, male nannies or mannies are also not uncommon. These jobs can be part-time or full-time or on a live-in or live-out basis. Many parents and nanny placement agencies prefer you to have a professional childcare qualification such as Level 3 Diploma for jobs in childcare as defined by Children’s Workforce Development Council.

Work as a Childminder

The roles and responsibilities a childminder are similar to a nanny except that they work in their homes instead of the child’s home. They must have a professional qualification recognised by the local authority and must hold a paediatric first-aid certificate. They must register themselves with OFSTED or the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills. A childminder can only take care of a maximum of six children.

Work in Playgroups or Pre-schools

Pre-schools provide early education to children aged two to five years. They primarily focus on building social and educational skills in children through play and play-based activities. Pre-school education improves the confidence in the young children and helps them adapt faster to a school environment. This segment offers the most number of jobs in childcare.

Playgroups generally operate for about two to three hours during school term time. Playleaders or the people who take care of children in preschools are required to have at least a Level 3 qualification as defined for jobs in childcare by Children’s Workforce Development Council.

Work in Nurseries

Nurseries may operate as voluntary or community organisations or private business or as a part of a school. They vary greatly in size, handling about 15 children to around 100 children. There is greater emphasis on educational play and child development than childcare alone.

Normally you can join a nursery as a trainee nursery assistant without a childcare qualification but to progress further in the career you need a minimum Level 3 qualification. With adequate experience and proper qualifications, you can move up to become a qualified nursery assistant, supervisor and finally a manager of the nursery.

The Manny Poppins Phenomenon

Childcare is no more a career for the girls. Male nannies or mannies, as they are known, are increasingly invading what can almost exclusively be considered as a female turf. Working mothers are increasingly open to the idea of hiring mannies rather than nannies.

According to a survey, eight of ten parents replied that hiring a manny is more acceptable today than it was ten years ago. 94 percent of respondents said they would surely consider hiring a manny to take care of their children. And about 20 percent said someone they knew actually had a manny.

According to an October 2009 survey by Children’s Workforce Development Council, mannies form a miniscule 1 percent of over 30,000 registered nannies working in England. Though this number is small, what is worth noting is that more males are looking at childcare as a long term career option and have a strong commitment towards working with children.

Another trend in nanny business is mushrooming of agencies specialising in male nannies. Though there is a societal prejudice over males entering childminding business, the manny population is on a steady rise.

Some celebrities like Britney Spears, Jemima Khan and Gwyneth Paltrow are among those who hired the services of a manny and certainly had the media talk about it but there is also a general surge in the public interest about manny services. So why is there a sudden interest in manny poppins phenomenon?

Matthew Black, who has been in manny business for eight years, said that the threat of an attractive female spending so much time in the house is an issue to working mothers. Male nannies, on the other hand, do not offer any titillation to fathers and do not stoke the natural female insecurity, jealousy and suspicion in anxious mothers.

Mothers are also happy that their boys are at more ease with a manny than a nanny. Mannies do not mind to go out, get a little dirty and play with the kids a lot more than nannies who just tolerate the boys. Young boys relate to their female nannies as an extension of their mom rather than simply a girl. But with a manny, it’s different. He is like their elder brother and the kids tend to be completely at ease with him.

“The attitudes are really changing. Earlier when someone hears the words male nanny, the first thing that would probably come to their mind is paedophilia. Such popular anxiety is lessening and now people view a manny with more respect and admiration. The bottom line is, man or woman, anyone can do anything to your kid. To think that only men can be sexual predators and female nannies are safe can give you a false sense of security but this is not true,” Black said.

He has a point. The idea that male nannies might be a sexual threat to children is overblown. A 1988 study by Crimes Against Children Research Centre at New Hampshire found that women are more likely to abuse children at daycares than males. Another 1995 academic research paper found that 23 percent of female sexual abusers were babysitters and 8 percent were teachers, only 8 percent of the male sexual abusers were babysitters and none were teachers. A 1997 BBC report found that 86 percent of sexual- abuse victims were not believed when they complained that their abusers were actually women.

Male nannies realise that they are entering what is traditionally a female bastion and hence put a lot more effort than nannies in doing their job. They usually have more education and experience and hence a more verifiable history than nannies. The natural hesitation over male nannies also drives agencies to conduct a more thorough background check and ensures only the most qualified come out on the top.

Mums At Work

Mums at Work

We hear a lot in the media these days about put upon working mums and the pressures they face, even in 2011, trying to combine a career with raising a family. Allison Pearson’s 2002 novel “I Don’t Know How She Does It” about a harassed working mother has now been made into a film starring Sarah Jessica Parker. A decade on, Pearson’s portrayal of a professional woman multi-tasking and tying to juggle family life with a career is still relevant. Let’s examine some of the issues facing working mothers in particular and see what needs to change.

“Having it all”

We’ve written before about the American study that deems “having it all” impossible. Its findings show that the so-called “supermoms” who try to be fantastic at work and at home put themselves under too much pressure and are more likely to succumb to depression. By comparison, those working mums who are more “realistic” and recognise that they cannot do it all fare much better.

In the opening scene of “I Don’t Know How She Does It” the protagonist, Kate Reddy, is in the kitchen furiously bashing shop-bought mince pies in an attempt to make them look homemade. It’s a very funny scene but it also pinpoints the societal pressure on women to work both the domestic and the professional. Hopefully, ten years on, most women have learned to accept that they can’t do it all. Outsourcing the household chores as much as is financially possible as well as educating one’s partner to see childcare as a shared responsibility goes some way towards helping ease the burden. Allowing a certain amount to slide is also an option! We can neither have it all nor do it all.

Staying put

In the trailer for “I Don’t Know How She Does It”, SJP’s character manically makes lists, rushing from the office to home while a neighbour tells her she and her kids “just fooled about in the park today”. When the pressures of juggling work with running a household and looking after the family seem overwhelming, it’s tempting to think that staying at home would be a doddle by comparison. But research shows again and again that work is good for women. Jamie Oliver, quoted in The Sunday Times Magazine at the weekend says that as he sees it, the women “that are most happy are the two- to three-dayers. I see both models of mum [those that work and those that stay at home] and definitely the ones that remain engaged, vivacious, humorous, have got the mechanism of work in their lives”. So according to Jamie, and others, there is a middle way.

Making it work

The fact is most women nowadays want to go out to work as well as have a family. Many have to in order to pay the bills. Excellent childcare is a must and NannyJob can help you in your quest to find the right nanny. If you wish to share a nanny and cut down on your childcare costs then that’s also an option.

And while it’s true that a good nanny will definitely lighten the working mum’s load, other things come into play too. A recent discussion on Radio 4’s “Women’s Hour” suggested that men were at the heart of any change in working practices amongst women. Having your partner share in household duties as well as getting them to share pick-ups and drop-offs will help. In the debate about rising childcare costs, we most often hear about women quitting their jobs because their take home pay after childcare means “it’s just not worth it”. Surely the childcare costs should be deducted from the parents’ joint income? Childcare needs to become the domain of men as well as women. And of course it’s not going to be perfect. Your partner may not do things exactly as you do; however, once again, being realistic is most important. With your partner’s cooperation, life is made somewhat easier for you.

Work life balance

Women need to remember too to slot in some “me time” in their busy lives. Merely getting out and going for a walk with a friend is good for your health and wellbeing. Prioritise this. The old adage “what’s good for mother is good for baby [or child]” is true.

So working women are under pressure – as are working men, we’ll leave that article for another day. What’s new you say? Accepting our limits and learning to compromise and assert ourselves will bring us some way towards harmony at home and at work.