Live-out nannies usually work up to 10 hours a day between Monday and Friday on a sole charge basis. Babysitting can be agreed in advance with your Nanny, but this will be an extra paid service.

Responsibilities of a live-out Nanny are usually to include; playing, stimulation, education and social activities. Also, you can expect children's washing/ironing, tidying up after the children, cooking fresh food and a daily report to the parents.

Live-in Nannies usually work between 10-12 hours a day between Monday and Friday with 1-2 nights Babysitting included in their contract. They will usually have sole charge of the children. Responsibilities of a live-in Nanny are usually to include playing, stimulation, education and social activities. Also, you can expect children's washing/ironing, tidying up after the children, cooking fresh food and a daily report to the parents.

*(Both Live-out and Live-in Nannies are not expected to perform housework as they are employed as a child carer. However, light household duties may be agreed in advance and must be clearly defined in the contract of employment)

Over the past few years Nanny shares have become increasingly more popular. Families and friends are uniting to share the cost of a good Nanny, and Nannies are more than happy to work for more than one family at a time. Nanny sharing is a cost effective way to have the flexibility of a Nanny for your children as the Nannies salary, including tax and National Insurance, will be shared between the families. Nanny sharing can also really benefit children. They enjoy the company and shares can provide them with playmates.


Once you have been introduced to the families, you will need to agree on all of your requirements such as hours, salary, benefits such as car and finally, how and where the share will take place;

Nanny Share Options;
> The Nanny will have all the children from both families all of the time in one house or split between two houses, i.e.. Monday and Tuesday at one families residence, then Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at the other families residence (this will need to be agreed by yourselves).
> The Nanny will have one families children some of the time, and then the other families children the rest of the time.

A Mother's/Father's Help is usually suited for a less experienced or recently qualified person who is looking to gain more experience although, this is not always the case as some experienced and qualified Nannies like to work alongside parents as a team. A typical Mother's Help is not yet experienced and will more suited to work alongside the Mother or Father. They are principally employed as a childcare but they may carry out light household duties such as shopping, ironing, etc but this must be agreed in advance and clearly defined in their contract of employment.
A Mother's/Father's Help will typically work less hours than a Nanny - a usual day would be 8.30am to 5.00pm.

Maternity Nurses usually work 24 hours a day, 6 days a week. Some Maternity Nurses will work 8-12 hour shifts either during the day or night for any period of 1 week to 12 weeks, although this is flexible. The responsibilities of a Maternity Nurse are to support and assist the parent with thier babies during the first few weeks, giving them as much hands on help as they would like. You will help you care for their baby in all aspects including feeding, establishing routines, weight patterns, health check and be able to advise them on many matters including breast feeding, helping their baby into routines for sleep. They may help with siblings, but this would need to be agreed in advance.
Maternity Nurses are self-employed, and the parents are therefore not responsible for your tax or National Insurance payments for the period you will spend with them. You will have your own contract, and will discuss this and any other charges in advance including retainer payments should their start date be delayed due to late arrival of their baby.

Night Nannies usually work from 9pm to 7am for any number of nights between 1-6 a week, usually for a period of up to 3 months when the nanny will have established a good sleeping routine with your baby and enabled you to some very valuable rest needed. Responsibilities of a Night Nanny will include preparation of food, nappy changing, settling your baby for and during the night, night feeds, morning routing (to include feeding) and dressing your baby. The Night Nanny will also be able to offer you advice on breast feeding, established sleep routines and many other situations including Post Natal Depression. Night Nannies DO NOT carry out any domestic cleaning or laundry.

Pre and After School Nannies have become a popular request from parents looking for a logistical solution to childcare for children in full time education. The cover requested varies from before and after school, just after school, and both with full time hours in school holidays
Nannies who usually consider this type of position are those who bring their own children to work with them and command a higher hourly rate to compensate for the flexibility required for this type of role. However, with the pre, after school and full time in the holidays; the salary when averaged over the year can be surprisingly competitive, so we would not recommend any Nanny dismissing this option without first exploring the job in full.

Now known as the DCE (Diploma in Childcare and Education), this is probably the most recognised childcare qualification. It's 2 year full time course providing an in depth knowledge to all aspects physically, educationally, socially and emotionally of a child's most vulnerable years, newborn to 8 years old.
It also provides experience in health, hygiene, First Aid and all of the appropriate educational play that should be encouraged for each age stage, Students will experience regular hands on training in placements such as nurseries, schools, hospitals and families within a home environment.

These are private colleges which all have their own nurseries on site for practical training. Students reside at the college for 2 years. After completion of the course, student complete a 6-9 month probation period whilst working as a Nanny within a family. Once the probation period has been completed, the student gains the DCE (NNEB) and a diploma from the Royal Society of Health.

There are several levels to NVQ qualifications. The courses cover both practical and theory training over the 2 years and students are constantly assessed throughout. The courses cover many aspects of childcare including physical, emotional, educational and development.
A candidate who holds an NVQ level 2 would best suit a supervisory role such as a Mother's/Father's Help. A candidate who holds an NVQ level 3 would be best suited to a sole charge role as the NVQ Level 3 is equivalent to the NNEB.

Formally known as National Diploma in Child Studies, this course is very similar to the DCE (NNEB) but has a more academic focus and a less hands on practical approach. It covers a wide variety of subjects and students will gain skills in teaching, nursing and social work as well as, gaining academic learning with some practical experience. It is a CACHE course run by Council for Awards in Childcare Education.