Nanny advice

[HelloDulwich!]

Hi

I am looking to employ a nanny from January 2013 when I go back to work. My daughter will be a year old.

This is all new to me so need some advice on how to go about finding a nanny. Hoping some experienced Dulwich mums can help.

Is it best to go through an agency? Or source the person myself?

Nannies all seems to start new jobs in September when the kids go back to school. Will it be difficult to find one starting in January?

What kind of hours do nannies work?

What would the salary range be for a full time nanny?

Loads of questions! Any tips appreciated!

Thanks

[Cazzab]

Hi there

We found our through Simply Childcare and we were so lucky as she was the only one we saw and turned out to be amazing. I had v little time to find a nanny due to getting a new job following redundancy so I think we had it all sorted within about 2 weeks and she started in a January.

Nannies are not cheap, but you are paying for 1:1 care and convenience. They normally charge between ?90 - ?100 a day + you will have to factor in tax and NI. As she was an employee we did it all by the book via Taxing Nannies, which took the pain out of working out the tax bit and they helped pull together a contract. We were doing a nanny share (roughly ?50 per day per family) to help alleviate these costs but it was still very expensive as we were doing it full time. There are always loads of ads on the forum. My advice would be meet as many as possible just to get a feel of what is around and go with your gut instinct - you have to like this person first and foremost.

Ours had a great network of nanny friends so our child was always v social She also cooked from scratch and all toys were always put away when I came home from work - I still don't know how she managed to do it.

If I were you I would also weigh up other childcare options. My second is with a childminder and I haven't looked back. Horses for courses.

Good luck x