Tag: nannies

Employed or self-employed?

This is a question which comes up a lot and there isn’t really a short answer. Employment status depends on each individual job. Being self-employed for one activity doesn’t mean that a nanny is self-employed for all jobs. Some nannies may find that they are employed part of the week by a family that they work for regularly and self-employed part of the week working with lots of different families. We’re going to look at some of the indicators of employment status that HMRC use to assess status and the pros and cons of being self-employed for nannies and parents.

  • Do they have to do the work themselves?
  • Can someone tell them at any time what to do, where to carry out the work or when and how to do it?
  • Can they work a set amount of hours?
  • Can someone move them from task to task?
  • Are they paid by the hour, week, or month?
  • Can they get overtime pay or bonus payment?

Nannies are usually:

–  required to look after the children personally

– required to follow the reasonable instructions of their employer, in a place determined by their employer and at a time chosen by their employer

–  contracted for a set amount of hours per day or per week

– able to have their job description changed by their employer

– paid hourly, weekly or monthly

–  paid extra for overtime and may receive a bonus

 

 

  • Can they hire someone to do the work or engage helpers at their own expense?
  • Do they risk their own money?
  • Do they provide the main items of equipment they need to do their job, not just the small tools that many employees provide for themselves?
  • Do they agree to do a job for a fixed price regardless of how long the job may take?
  • Can they decide what work to do, how and when to do the work and where to provide the services?
  • Do they regularly work for a number of different people?
  • Do they have to correct unsatisfactory work in their own time and at their own expense?

Nannies are not usually:

–  able to hire an assistant, unlike childminders

– required to risk their own money

– expected to provide the major pieces of equipment, such as a pushchair

– paid fixed price regardless of length, they are paid hourly, weekly or monthly and have fixed working hours

– able to decide the manner, timing and location of the work, the parents usually decide the hours required

– required to correct unsatisfactory work or finish tasks on their own time, they are typically paid overtime

The only criteria for self-employment a nanny may meet is working reguarly for a number of people.

 

So it’s clear that the majority of nannies working regularly with a family in a permanent position are employed. Even if a nanny works for 5 different families, each on a fixed day each week they are still likely to be employed by each of those families as employment is determined on a job by job basis.

 

Temporary nannies and specialists such as maternity nurses or behaviour consultants may meet certain additional critera. They may have risked their own money to undertake necessary specialsit training without a guarantee that they will be successful in finding work. They may decide the hours and days that they are available. They may agree to work for a fixed fee for an unspecified length of time.

 

Although self-employment can seem an attractive prospect it’s important to fully understand the implications for nannies and parents.

 

Pros for nannies:

You are in control of the times and days you work, so you can dictate when you will take time off and arrange to care for other children at the same time.

Some of your business expenses such as training and insurance can be offset against tax.

 

Cons for nannies:

You do not get sick, maternity or holiday pay.

You are not paid mileage.

You need to carry out a self-assessment each year for tax purposes, which means keeping accurate records.

You need to invoice parents for the work carried out.

You do not have a secure income.

 

Pros for parents:

You pay-as-you-go and are not liable for holiday, sick or maternity pay.

You don’t pay mileage – a self-employed person charges an all-inclusive rate which covers their expenses.

 

Cons for parents:

The overall cost is likely to exceed the gross wage agreed with an employee, as self-employed nannies need to put money on the side to pay their tax and national insurance and to cover periods without work.

If HMRC decide you should have been employing your nanny you will need to backpay the tax and National Insurance plus a fine which can be equal to that amount.

Your nanny can decide they are not available to work, leaving you without childcare.

Your nanny can make arrangements to substitute someone else in her place.

Your nanny is not obliged to provide exclusive care for your children as long as she does not exceed two families at any one time.

You don’t have the same level of control over your children’s day.

 

 

Calculating holiday entitlement

Standard holiday entitlement in the UK is 5.6 weeks, which include all Bank Holiday, pro rata for part time workers. But what does this mean? When does it start? What if you work part time or varying days or reduced hours for part of the year or term time only?

 

If you work full time you will get 4 weeks holiday and the 8 ordinary Bank Holidays (New Year’s Day or the following Monday, Good Friday, Easter Monday, the early May Bank Holiday, the Spring Bank Holiday, the August Bank Holiday, Christmas Day or the following Monday and Boxing Day or the following Monday or Tuesday). This give you a total of 28 days holiday.

To calculate your holiday entitlement for part time work, where you work the same days and hours each week you simply divide those 28 days by 5 to get a figure for 1 day per week and multiply by the number of days you work – so for 3 days it would be (28 days / 5 x 3 days)

1 day = 5.6 days or 1.12 weeks

2 days = 11.2 days or 2.24 weeks

3 days = 16.8 or 3.36 weeks

4 days = 22.4 or 4.48 weeks

Holdiay can be rounded up, but not down.

 

If you work term time only then you can use a similar calculation substituting weeks for days. In this example we’ll assume that there are 39 school weeks, so you get 4.2 weeks holiday (5.6 weeks / 52 x 39 weeks). If you have to take your holiday outside of term time then you may have an arrangement that you are paid in lieu of holiday. Alternatively you may be employed for 44 weeks of the year to allow for the holiday to be taken during your period of employment.

 

If you work different hours on different days but still work a fixed number of days per week you may find it more useful to calculate your holiday in terms of hours. For example Monday and Tuesday are 10 hour days but Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are 5 hour days. Taking 5 Mondays off would give double the amount of time not worked but still use the same amount of holiday. To calculate holiday in hours just add up the number of hours over a week, in this case 35, and multiply that by the number of weeks holiday entitlement, in this case 5.6, giving 196 hours (35 x 5.6).

 

The same principle applies if you work part-time in term time and full time in school holidays. In this case you need to calculate the number of hours worked over a year, for example 4 hours per day, 5 days per week for 39 weeks per year ( 4 x 5 x 39,) which is 780 hours, and 10 hours per day, 5 days per week for 13 weeks per year (10 x 5 x 13), which is 650 hours, giving a total of 1430 hours per year. This is then divided ny 52 to get the average weekly hours (1430 / 52) which is 27.5 hours and mulitplied by the weekly allowance for a full week, 5.6, to give 154 hours holiday a year. That means 15.4 days if taken in school holidays or 38.5 days if taken in term time – quite a difference!

 

If  you work varying hours and can’ establish a weekly average then it may be best to calculate holiday using the accrual method, so for every hour you work you earn 12.07% of an hour as holiday.

 

Holiday is distributed according to a leave year. This is usually specified in the contract, and many run from 1st January to 31st December, with a pro rata allowance for the first and final years. That means if you leave a job after working 10 weeks you will get 1.1 weeks holiday (5.6 weeks / 52 x 10 weeks).

 

We hope this helps you to make sense of your holiday entitlement, and remember you can always post on our messageboards to  get advice from other nannies specific to you.

 

 

The Pufflympics

Stuck for ideas? Why not try a themed activity week?! Nanny Claire has done weeks of activities centered around Princesses,  cars and space, and here she shares her Winter Olympic theme with a twist.

 

I’m a nanny and look after 3 children, two girls E 12 years old and AM 6 years old and one boy AC 9 years old. My job is usually part-time, I do the school run and then ferrying around various after school activities and playdates. However, there are times that those who look after children dread…the school holidays.

I had not given much thought as to what we were going to do all week, swimming, movies and playdates were confirmed but they don’t take up the whole week. On Monday the kids were having breakfast and it just so happened that the Winter Olympics were on, so especially with sports obsessed AC, we  were watching the curling. I’m usually quite strict on TV hours, switched off after breakfast until at least 4:30pm, but the Winter Olympics is not on every  week so it’s an exception to the rule.

As most of us who look after children know, it’s not long before we get the inevitable phrase “What are we going to do today?”, one of the kids said that curling looking fun so I said I bet we can find something to do curling with if you get washed and dressed, at which point they vanished like speedy ninjas.

So now I had to find something to play curling with, I wandered around looking at the various toys and then I saw the puffles…If anyone doesn’t know what a puffle is, they are pets for penguins on the popular Club Penguin game, they are basically small round, come in various colours and have fuzzy hair. There happen to be quite a few in the kids collection, kind of curling stone shaped and should slide across the floor quite nicely!

The weather outside was typically pouring down with rain, so I tested some chalk on the kitchen tiles just to make sure it would come off  later (not my floor after all!), no problem there so I sketched out some circles to represent the house in curling, got the brush out of the cupboard  and we were ready to go! There was soon puffles flying in all directions and much laughing, arguing and cheering. We decided that scoring would be whoever got their puffles closest to the middle on their turn, I didn’t expect the game to be such a big hit and the kids asked what other events we could do.

So we looked up the other Olympic sports there were, and I tried to work out how we could replicate them at home, a brief thought of kids  sliding down the stairs on trays entered my mind swiftly followed by thoughts of a trip to A & E. However bob sleigh could work, if we made them for the  puffles and not the kids. So at dinner I told the kids we were going to be making bob sleds for the puffles tomorrow.

On Tuesday morning I was greeted with much excitement, “Are we still making sleds for puffles today? After breakfast I raided my box collection, always have a variety of empty boxes for such rainy days, I cut down 3 boxes to the same size for each of them, out came the glue, and various arts and crafts paraphernalia. There was much discussion about what would make it slide better, runners on the bottom, aerodynamics, making it look pretty, etc.

 

I fashioned a slide out of some cardboard box strips and white bin liners, and put it on the stairs, we then timed each puffle and recorded the time. The kids spontaneously decided to create a team name and made-up country for their puffles, so we then had team Fermat for E, team Mouseling for AM and team I Don’t Know for AC, they created maps for their countries and an event chart went up on the wall, all their own ideas I’m proud to say.

 

 

The pressure was now on me to come up with the next day’s event, thinking of the events involved I decided that the Ski slalom was possible with a little help from a remote control car! This did involve tying the puffle to the car under the pretence of a seat belt, and the kids made crash helmets out of craft foam for them! The kids have a building set called Cranium which is a set of poles and cloths which can be constructed to create play houses, etc. and the poles turned out to be quite useful for slalom flags. We opted for the rule of having to go around 2 poles at least and not all of them, this way they all had a good chance to get around the course successfully. They had plenty of time to practice driving the car before we did individual times and recorded them on the event sheet, needless to say puffles and poles went flying in all directions!

I went home that night and dreamt of puffles, and how to do the next event! I decided that I could recycle the bob sled run into a ski jump  and use the remote control car again; we used a sun lounger cushion so we didn’t mangle the car. I admit the car was very slow but managed to construct  the jump so if you lined up well you could get the car to do a small jump off the end, sufficient enough to get a small measurement anyway. The kids all got  to practice again before we took some final measurements. This wrapped up the final event of the Pufflympics, the next day was Friday and the last day of the holidays.

We decided to host our own closing ceremony; a toy shopping trolley became a puffle parade float with a few adaptions of course. The kids designed their own part of the float to put their puffle on to reflect their team and country. Next was designing their own podium step, E helped me make some medals by gluing some sequins to stickers and then cutting them out. E made a party playlist on her iPod and wrote a speech, AC lined the parade route on the floor with string and AM helped me get some food ready. It was junk food heaven as I let them have full reign on what food they wanted, so we had hot dogs, pizza, chips, cheese sandwiches and squishy tomatoes (AM really really likes cherry tomatoes roasted until extremely squishy)!

So after a busy week hosting the Pufflympics the kids had been entertained all week when it was generally too rainy to go outside, and I hadn’t been driven mad by kids asking what they can do every 10 minutes. Most importantly we all learned a lot more about the winter Olympic sports, lots of fancy new words and rules and at a fraction of a cost compared to the real thing. I essentially used toys and things we had in the house, the kids had a blast and spontaneously  added lots of their own ideas of what they could do. If you fancy hosting your own event you don’t necessarily have to have puffles on hand, cars would also have made great competitors for the Carlympics or a variety of cuddly toys for the Cuddlympics? You don’t need to be confined indoors or to the Olympics either. Why not host the World Cup or the Commonwealth Games outside?

The Trouble with Teens

The trouble with teens is they think they don’t need a nanny or au pair, especially if you’ve been with them since they were much younger. They might feel that they’ve outgrown you or be embarrassed that their friends don’t have someone looking after them. The truth is they don’t need you in the same way but that’s not to say they don’t need you at all.

They need a cook, chauffeur, laundry maid and friend – all of which are file in the dictionary of job descriptions under ‘nanny’. Parents who keep nannies on for older children often have busy lives, working long hours or traveling frequently and want someone else to take care of the day to day tasks so weekend time as a family can be maximized. So teens do still need someone to buy their supplies for school projects, someone to make sure they get some dinner and someone they trust who isn’t a parent or teacher to talk to. Next time they say they don’t need you then point out all the practical things you do.

The teenage years are a difficult time bringing lots of changes. If you’re young you might find it difficult to maintain your authority because they realise that firstly people have to earn respect and authority and secondly they’re not so much younger than you after all, which is often a problem for au pairs. If you’re more mature they might feel that you’re out of touch and don’t understand them.

Take time to connect with teens in your care. Fake an interest in the latest band/singer/soap if you have to because it’s important to them and it gives you something safe to talk about. Give them space and privacy with their friends and don’t push them for details of what’s going on at school unless there’s a problem.

Give them freedom, as long as your employers are happy, to manage their time or walk back from school/the bus by themselves. Learning independence is an important part of being a teen and it can be hard to resist the temptation as a nanny to ‘nanny’ them. Sometimes the very title nanny is a red flag to teens so have a chat with them and come up with a description you’re both happy with that they can use to other people. You can become their sibling’s nanny or a family assistant – your professional pride might take a hit but you can still list the job as nanny on your CV.

The hardest thing about nannying teens is leaning that you have to give a little on the boundaries. Consistency and structure are vital for toddler and younger school aged children but teens needs negotiation too. Get it right and you’ll have a treasured place in your teen charge’s heart, not that they’ll ever admit it!

Smart socialising for nannies

One of the biggest concerns for nannies and parents alike is that nannying can be isolating for both nanny and child. Social contact is important for all human beings and as well as giving children the opportunity to play with others, going to groups and setting up playdates also gives nannies the opportunity to model social skills and how to form healthy relationships. But if you’re new to having a nanny or new to an area, how do you get started?

 

Have clear expectations

Whether you’re a parent or a nanny the interview process is the time to test out the other party’s take on socialising. It’s a question that might throw first-time employers but it can be helpful to remember that nannies don’t have coworkers and benefit from some kind of adult contact during the day so although it might feel like they’re asking to have their friends over to drink your coffee that’s not really the case, they just happen to have a network of ‘colleagues’ that they can take from job to job. There are no hard and fast rules , the most important thing is that both sides are happy with what is agreed.

 

Nannies don’t just have to see nannies

Sometimes new nannies can get hung up on only soicalising with other nannies and miss out on all the other social possibilities out there. While it can be great to meet up with someone who understands where you’re coming from, parents and childminders at groups with similar aged children can also enrich your social circle and at the end of the day playdates should be for children.

 

Be pro-active

Although there is a lot to get to grips with when you start a new job, be pro-active about finding social opportunities. Posting on the Nannyjob Meet Other Nannies messageboard or joining our social club for nannies can help you find nannies working near you and the Places to Go section will help you find activities in your area. Searching for groups and

 

Different social circles or friends in common?

This is probably one of the trickiest social situations to navigate. Are you happy to meet up with your boss’s NCT group and are they comfortable with that? Would you prefer that your nanny only meets up with people you know during work hours? What about playdates for school aged children? What about nannies who only work part-time? Again there are no hard and fast rules but communication is key to finding something that works for both of you!

How to keep your nanny – 10 ways

A while ago we posted a tongue in cheek post ‘How to lose your nanny in 10 days‘. Hopefully you’ve avoided making most of these mistakes and have a happy, settled relationship with your nanny. As the festive season looms (to be followed by that horrid January slump) we thought now might be a good time to look at ways you can keep your nanny happy.

  • Remember that one-off gestures are all well and good but the best way to keep your relationship (be it with your nanny or anyone else in fact) is constantly paying attention to the little things. Respecting your nanny will go a long way to ensuring their happiness and if you don’t have time to click on the link RESPECT stands for Rights, Earnings, Space, Professionalism, Expenses, Choices and Time. It’s worth just repeating that last one – your nanny’s finish time is the time they should be walking out the door, not the time you walk in. If you find yourself being persistently late then consider extending your nanny’s hours and paying for that time.
  • Make allowances, because your nanny is a person too, for the occasional late start (whether it’s a public transport mishap or a sleepy alarm clock) or off day. Allowing them to go early on occasion will make them a lot more tolerant of your occasional lateness (be it public transport or a meeting that overruns).  An unscheduled early finish rates pretty highly among the various perks nannies get, by the way! In the same vein appreciate the restrictions your nanny has on their time and let them run personal errands during work hours occasionally.
  • Get them a takeaway when they babysit, and if you have a netflix account or similar encourage them to use it. Or if they prefer to cook for themselves leave a bit of extra cash so they can pick up some special ingredients and have a nice meal.
  • Don’t skimp on sick pay if you can afford it. The odd bug happens to everyone and it’s doubly unfair for a nanny to have an unpaid sick day because they’re throwing up as a result of your little darlings’ generosity with their germs.
  • Let them use the stuff in your house. If you have a Kenwood Chef or a KitchenAid stand mixer and an enthusiastic baker for a nanny who’s planning to make her best friend’s birthday cake with a hand held beater from Tesco then let her use your kitchen one day. If their washing machine breaks down then instead of letting them trek to the launderette put your washing machine temporarily at their disposal. It might bump up your bills a bit but it’ll bump up goodwill even more.
  • Invite your nanny as a guest to significant events for the children like birthdays and christenings, unless you want them to work in which case pay them overtime. Chances are they won’t come but most nannies will appreciate that you think of them as part of the family.
  • Remember them on their birthday and at Christmas (or equivalent major religious festival that you or they celebrate). You don’t need to give an extravagant gift or a month’s salary as a bonus to show your appreciate them and all the work they do. Something small and personal with a voucher for their favourite store will probably go down well. Photographs of your children in expensive frames, while lovely to look at, aren’t a winner unless it’s a leaving gift.
  • Review their performance and their pay once a year. If you can’t afford a pay rise then try and show them you appreciate their work in another way, or give them some extra holiday as a reward for staying with the family. The very least you can do is point out what a great job they’ve done through the year and all the times you’ve noticed and appreciated them going the extra mile. 
  • Recommend them if they want extra babysitting and you know someone who wants a sitter. If your nanny doesn’t want to babysit then point your friend in the direction of our free babysitting section!
  • Finally…. Say thank you. Every day. Without fail.

Nanny contracts

If you’ve recently employed a nanny you should have signed a contract with them before handing over your children and the house keys, but you do have 2 months from the date your nanny starts work to provide your nanny with a written statement of employment so if you haven’t already then it’s not too late. You can find out more about the why and how of nanny contracts here and Nannyjob also provides 2 model contracts for you to download and use if you wish, and we’ve put together some additional pointers.

Agree a gross wage

As an employer you are responsible for deducting tax and National Insurance, leaving your nanny with their net pay. It’s important to put a gross wage in the contract so your nanny’s personal tax arrangements don’t result in overly-complex calculations each payment period.

 

Be precise about holiday

Each employee is entitled to 5.6 weeks holiday per year, which is 28 days for a full time worker and pro rata-ed down for a part-time worker. This includes any Bank Holidays, which means a full time worker will get 4 weeks plus 8 Bank Holidays. For part time workers the picture is more complex. A nanny who works Monday and Tuesday is entitled to 11.2 days (you can round up but not down) and will have 4 Bank Holidays on working days in 2014, leaving 7.2 days rather than 8 (which would be 4 working weeks) to choose. A nanny working Tuesday and Wednesday has only 1 Bank Holiday on working days in 2014, leaving 10.2 days of holiday. Allocating 4 working weeks or 8 days, would give less that the statutory minimum.

If your nanny works variable hours you might be better using an accrual method so both of you are clear in the contract how holiday will be worked out fairly.

 

Agree a list of duties

A written contract is the best reference for what duties have been agreed in case of any disputes further down the line. It’s also a useful tool for assessing and appraising performance, and if problems arise it gives clear indications of what can be considered poor performance for disciplinary purposes.

 

Define gross misconduct

In rare situations you may want to dismiss your nanny instantly without notice but there needs to be a provision in the contract for this. Common grounds for summary dismissal as a result of gross misconduct are child abuse, theft, using alcohol or illegal drugs whilst on duty and being found guilty of a serious criminal offence. Remember that if you dismiss your nanny for harming a child you have a responsibility to report that to the DBS.

Preparing for a new nanny job

 

What information do I need to have?

While it’s good practice for nannies to have certain information in writing there are no obligations, unless your nanny insurance states otherwise. Common requirements there are a signed contract, which proves you are permitted to be in charge of the child, and permission to administer over the counter or prescription medication. Other information should be in their red book, which should at least be stored somewhere you can access it, but do keep a record in your purse of their full names, dates of birth and important medical information just in case something happens when out and about.

Continue reading “Preparing for a new nanny job”

Separation Anxiety

Separating from their primary carer is a difficult experience for babies, and their parents too! In this post we look at some of the causes of separation anxiety and strategies to help.

 

What is separation anxiety?

Most people equate separation anxiety with crying and clinginess to a familiar adult. Separation anxiety is a natural stage that most children experience for the first time between 7 and 12 months. It’s a perfectly normal reaction to being parted from their primary carer. Unfortunately it also often coincides with a child entering childcare for the first time as a parent goes back to work. By the time a child is 2 years old, separation anxiety should have calmed down, although they may still be anxious or nervous about staying with an unfamiliar adult or in an unfamiliar place the first time it happens. Children (and adults) continue to experience some symptoms of separation anxiety even when they can rationalise what it happening. This can often be seen in parents leaving their child for the first time!

 

What causes separation anxiety?

Separation anxiety occurs when babies realise that things and people exist even when they can’t be seen. Babies realise that they are alone and feel that there should be someone there, so may cry in the night if they wake and find themselves alone or cry if you leave the room, or they feel anxious when a familiar adult leaves, even if there is someone to look after them.

 

What can help?

This depends on what is causing the anxiety and the extent you’re prepared to compromise what you do.

If a baby experiences separation anxiety every time you leave the room one option is to take them with you. At some stage they will outgrow their anxiety but this isn’t always practical.

Another strategy is to practice, first by playing peekaboo or hide and seek and then leaving the room and popping back in frequently. Say that you’re going and you’ll be back soon, and don’t worry if you can only manage 10 seconds at first. The most important thing is that you leave and come back.

Children will often experience less separation anxiety if left with another familiar adult so try to balance time spent with Mummy where Daddy leaves and time spent with Daddy and Mummy leaves. A child will feel more secure about the absence of one parent because the other parent is still there. Having other familiar adults – extended family, neighbours or friends – who will stay while you leave, even if it’s just to make a cup of tea, will acclimatise them to being without you without being alone.

At night or nap time do comfort a child but keep visits short and try to avoid lots of interaction. Their separation anxiety is real and distressing for them and they need to know that you are there. If they are unable to fall asleep because they are so distressed try the gradual retreat method where you put them in their cot and sit beside them, gradually moving further and further away until you are out the door. It may take a while and you need to be consistent but it is a gentle way to help them overcome their fear.

 

Separation anxiety and childcare – some advice for parents.

Children who have only ever been in the care of their parents naturally experience separation anxiety when they enter childcare or school.Children who are used to being around a wide range of familiar adults, for example extended family, are less likely to protest when Mummy or Daddy leaves although they are still likely to experience some separation anxiety. The transition just feels easier because they are accustomed to you leaving and coming back and you are used to leaving them.

It’s important to have a settling in period with a childminder or nursery, or a handover with a new nanny. Build up to a short day by first leaving for short periods, then half days and eventually a full day.

Make sure you always say good-bye when you go, and childcarers should always say good-bye at the end of the day too. Once you have left resist the temptation to pop back and see how they’re doing and then leaving again – this is confusing for children.

Always be positive about your chosen childcare. If your child senses that you are nervous or unsure they will pick up on this and feel unsettled too.

9nifty no bake treats

Sometimes you want to have a yummy treat but you don’t want to use the oven or you’re too impatient to wait for a cake to bake. Maybe you don’t have any eggs, or flour? Don’t worry – we have 9 nifty treats to the rescue!

1. Chocolate cornflake crispies

They’re an oldie but a goodie.

Ingredients: chocolate (as much as you like) and cornflakes or rice crispies (just enough for the chocolate to cover them)

Equipment: Hob, saucepan and heatproof bowl or microwave and microwaveable bowl, large bowl and spoon for mixing, cupcake cases, fridge

Melt some chocolate either in a bowl over  saucepan on the hob or in the microwave, mix it with some cornflakes or rice crispies, spoon it into cupcake cases, pop them in the fridge and wait for them to set (that’s the hard bit!).

2.  No bake cheesecake

And you thought cheesecake was complicated…

Ingredients: Half a pack of digestive biscuits (or hob nobs or ginger nuts), 125g butter , 375g cream cheese, 1 x 400g tin of condensed milk, lemon juice (to taste)

Equipment: A freezer bag, rolling pin,  microwave and microwaveable bowl or hob with saucepan and heatproof bowl, mixing bowl and spoon, round baking tin with removable base (ideally springform), fridge, cling film, scales, tin opener

Take the cream cheese out the fridge to soften. Put the biscuits in the bag and crush them with the rolling pin. Melt the butter and combine it with the biscuit crumbs to make a base. Put that in the baking tin and chill until set (usually around 15mins). Then mix the cream cheese, condensed milk and lemon juice together, spoon it over the base and leave overnight.

3. Fruit ice lollies

Make these on a rainy day so when the sun comes out they’re ready!

Ingredients: Fresh fruit (berries, kiwi, peaches, apricot and mango all work well) fruit juice

Equipment: Ice lolly sticks and moulds, or you can improvise with lolly sticks and little plastic cups, chopping board, knife, freezer

Chop the fruit up and pop it in the moulds, fill to 2/3 with fruit juice, pop them in the freezer and enjoy!

4. Iced biscuits

It doesn’t much simpler (or messier) than this

Ingredients: Biscuits, tubes of ready made icing or  icing sugar, water and food colouring mixed to a smooth paste

Equipment: None if you’re using ready made icing tubes, a bowl, spoon and piping bags or bottles if you’re not

Give children the biscuits, give children the icing. Stand back.

5. Yoghurt dipped fruit

Fun and healthy!

Ingredients: Fruit (strawberries, blueberries, bananas, kiwis, raisins), greek yoghurt

Equipment: Knife, chopping board, bowl, trays suitable for freezing, baking paper, freezer

You can choose whether to leave fruit whole or cut it in half or into slices, depending on the fruit. Cover the trays with baking paper. Once prepared, dip the fruit in the yoghurt, put them on the tray, put the trays in the freezer and leave for an hour or so. The idea is to set the yoghurt but not to freeze the fruit (although you can if you want!)

6. Coconut lemon slice

A classic combination of flavours to try with children

Ingredients: 200g shortbread biscuits, 200g condensed milk, 2 cups coconut, zest of 1 lemon, 30g butter, 2 cups icing sugar, 3tbsp lemon juice

Equipment: Freezer bag, rolling pin, mixing bowl and spoon, deep baking tray, baking ppaer microwave and microwaveable bowl, lemon zester, fridge, scales, tin opener

Crush the biscuits in the freezer bag using the rolling pin, then put them in the mixing bowl with the condensed milk, coconut and lemon zest. Combine these, melt the butter and stir it in. Transfer the mix to the baking tray and press it down firmly. Make the icing by combining the sugar and lemon juice and spread it on top. Chill until set and keep in the fridge.

7. Eton Mess

Quick, easy and infinitely variable

Ingredients: Meringues, whipped cream, fresh fruit (traditionally strawberries, but other berries, pineapple, passionfruit and mango are yummy alternatives)

Equipment: knife, chopping board, small bowls

Prepare the fruit, add the meringues broken into small pieces, gently mix in the whipped cream and serve

8. Mini banoffee pies

Ingredients: Digestive biscuits, Carnation caramel, banana, whipped cream

Equipment: knife, chopping board, tin opener, spoon

Arrange the digestive biscuits on a plate, top with caramel, sliced banana and whipped cream

9. Microwave chocolate cake

Who said no baking meant no cake?

Ingredients: 4tbsp flour, 4tbsp sugar, 1tbsp cocoa, 2tbsp beaten egg (can be left out), 3tbsp milk, 3tbsp sunflower oil (or melted butter, or apparently mashed banana works too),  chocolate chips, optional flavouring – vanilla or cinnamon work well

Equipment: Microwave, microwaveable bowl, tablespoon

Mix ingredients together, microwave. My microwave cooks this to perfection in 1 min 30s but you may need to experiment a little.