New Nanny Guidance and Building Your Career
So you want to be a nanny – how exciting! Building your profile as a new nanny involves many steps. But it’s worth it as it’s an enriching and gratifying role as you shape young lives and help families thrive.
Here, we explore some critical steps to consider and share helpful resources to help you build your career as a professional child carer.
Your first steps into nannying
Strangely enough, they may not be in nannying! To build a successful career in nannying, you can take some early steps that will give you a great foundation and accelerate your growth.
Are you an accomplished babysitter?
Having a bank of families you support with babysitting is a great way to demonstrate you can be trusted and that you have an emerging passion for working in childcare.
This London-focussed NannySitting group is just one example of a group that can help you find short-term/ad hoc roles.
Find and join the groups that are local to you and engage with families directly.
Keep a log (or career portfolio) to keep track of your progress. And add the more significant roles to your CV.
Working in an educational setting
This is gold! Especially at the early stages of your nannying career. Families and agencies increasingly look for nannies with this experience.
A stint in a nursery or a school as a TA early on in your career shows future employers that you’ve worked in a team and have broad experience in supporting children with different types of behaviours and families with different parenting styles.
It’s also a great signal that you’ve received some early and valuable training around childcare. And that you have a bag of tried and tested engaging activities to bring to the role.
We’ve partnered with Reed: They have been finding jobs for professionals in the education sector for over 60 years.
During this time, they’ve worked with thousands of talented primary and early years professionals across the UK, matching them to the perfect position and organisation.
Seek out opportunities to demonstrate your passion
Look for opportunities like volunteering, working in daycare centres, or helping at local events.
Every engagement is great for your CV, and they are all helpful discussion points at an interview.
Networking and building your profile
Find the social spaces where nannies and agencies come together: Facebook, Instagram, and even LinkedIn have strong communities of nannies you can join and actively support with comments.
Join nanny agencies: Nanny agencies can connect you with families seeking childcare services. They often require you to submit your qualifications and references. Many will be looking for more experienced nannies, but some will be open to new nannies who are enthusiastic and motivated.
Online platforms: Create profiles on websites like ours – armyofnannies.com – to showcase your skills and connect with potential employers directly.
Your online presence
Social media: Be mindful of your online presence and ensure that your social media profiles present a professional image.
Remember that building a reputation as a nanny takes time and dedication. Providing excellent childcare, building solid relationships with families, and continuously improving your skills will contribute to your success in establishing yourself as a trusted nanny in the UK.
Top tip: Families will check your social profiles. If they’re not a great reflection of you as a professional child carer, either clean them up or lock them down.
Building your new nanny network
It’s important to remember that as a new nanny, you are not alone!
The nanny community is supportive and generous in providing advice and guidance. A quick search on Facebook will reveal various groups offering guidance and support.
Our top pick is UK Nanny: It’s a strong and supportive community of nannies that offers events and training opportunities throughout the year.
Here’s a link to their Facebook group: UK Nanny Events
Find a mentor: As you start to meet more experienced nannies, if there’s one you gel with, ask if they would be your mentor. Even if you only meet up every couple of months – for a coffee or virtually – you’ll be able to get some advice from someone who knows the ropes.
New nanny basic legal requirements and expectations
Ensure you have the right to work in the UK: If you’re not a UK citizen or resident, ensure you have the appropriate visa to work as a nanny.
Background checks: Undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, which is a background check to ensure you’re eligible to work with children. While this isn’t strictly a legal requirement, we advise all nannies to have an Enhanced DBS (eDBS). And preferably on the update service.
To secure your eDBS, we have a special offer with Personnel Check where, once you have a profile on our site, you can benefit from a discount.
Skills and qualifications
Please don’t be intimidated by this. You can build your skills and qualifications over time through Continual Professional Development (CPD).
And there are loads of free courses and training opportunities available that you can find with a quick search on platforms like Facebook.
Childcare qualifications: While not always mandatory, relevant childcare qualifications like a Level 2 or Level 3 Diploma in Childcare and Education (formerly NVQ) will enhance your credibility.
First Aid certification: Obtain a valid Paediatric First Aid certification, which is highly recommended for anyone working with children.
Our partnership with Safe & Sound secures you a discount on first-class training opportunities.
There are also many excellent training companies specialising in supporting nannies, and they offer an array of accredited courses. To name two of the particular notes, Babyem and NEST.
Check out their websites to see what courses they offer, and follow their social channels to keep up to date.
New nanny documentation
Create a professional CV: Highlight your qualifications, experience, skills, and references in a well-organized CV.
If you need a CV template, we have one we can share with you. Just email hello@armyofnannies.com, and we’ll happily share it with you.
Write a cover letter: Tailor your cover letter to showcase your passion for childcare and explain why you’d be an excellent fit for a family.
Keep a Nanny Portfolio: As you build experience and qualifications, keep all your references in one place so you can quickly access and share them with enquiring families.
Top tip: It’s ALWAYS better to share your CV as a PDF. It’s a locked document, and it gives a more professional first impression. And make sure you use a spell check 😊
New nanny references
As you likely won’t have much experience, you need to think around the challenge of reliable and meaningful references.
Gather references over time: Ask previous employers, colleagues, or teachers who can vouch for your skills and character. Remember, these should be in your Nanny Portfolio.
Top tip: Make sure you don’t share these too early in the recruitment process, as you don’t want your referees being called too often. This will likely annoy them, and you might lose their support.
Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
Stay updated: Participate in workshops, training sessions, and courses to continuously improve your skills and stay current with best childcare practices.
Keep an eye on Facebook groups – and alike – where you’ll find a constant flow of training opportunities and events to tap into. Again, UK Nanny is also a great resource to find courses and support.
Interviewing (It’s just a conversation!)
Prepare for interviews: Be ready to answer questions about your childcare philosophy, experience, and how you handle different situations.
As a new nanny, think about those instances where you have shown your abilities to care for children safely and shown yourself to be both responsible and reliable. And don’t forget to smile 😊
Ask questions: During the interview, ask questions about the family’s expectations, the children’s routines, and any special needs.
Don’t get too nervous about interviews: They’re just a two-way conversation to ensure you fit well together. Think of it as a chat to showcase yourself and learn about the family.
Professionalism and ethics
Maintain professionalism: Be punctual, reliable, and respectful in your interactions with the family and their children.
Respect privacy: Always maintain the confidentiality and privacy of the family you support. Unless, of course, you have child-safety concerns or legal concerns.
In all instances, applying common sense and asking for advice is essential and advised. For example, confidentiality should never undermine your legal rights or protections.
Top tip: If you have Nanny Insurance with companies like Morton Michel, you can access free legal support.
Contracts and agreements
Legal stuff may feel daunting. But it shouldn’t. It’s just laying down the relationship you’ll have with your employer.
Create a contract: Once appointed, work with the family to create a clear contract outlining your responsibilities, working hours, salary, expectations and other relevant details.
The family will likely (should) lead this process, but you are an essential part of it.
Top tip: If the family are progressing without an employment contract, strongly encourage them to do so. A contract defines the relationship and protects you (both) if things go off-piste. And be prepared to walk away if they do not wish to put a contract in place.
If the family are using a PAYE company – and we recommend they do – they will have a contract for you to adapt.
We ALWAYS recommend NannyPaye as they are a five-star Trustpilot business, and their contract fairly represents the family and the nanny.
Legal obligations: Ensure you understand your rights and responsibilities as a nanny under UK employment law.
Creating the contract is a two-way conversation. Be prepared to push back on clauses that make you feel uncomfortable and ask fellow nannies for advice.
And that’s a wrap
We’ve covered a lot here. Hopefully, it helps you make your plan.
Don’t get overwhelmed; keep progressing in the right direction, and all will be good.
If you have any questions, please message us from our Army of Nannies Facebook page, and we’ll happily help and support you as best we can.
