Nanny
Average Salary: £28,000 - £45,000. Experience Level: Newly Qualified to Senior.What Does a Nanny Do?
A nanny provides dedicated, professional childcare in a family's home. You are not just supervising children, you are shaping their development, creating learning opportunities through play, establishing routines, and often becoming a trusted, valued part of family life.
Day-to-day, you might be preparing nutritious meals, planning age-appropriate activities, managing school runs, organising playdates, and maintaining children's spaces and belongings. You will support children's emotional and social development, implement consistent boundaries, and communicate clearly with parents about progress and concerns.
The best nannies combine childcare qualifications with genuine warmth, creativity, and emotional intelligence. You will need patience, energy, and the ability to stay calm during tantrums or challenging behaviour. It's demanding work (physically, emotionally, and mentally) but for those who love children, it provides deep satisfaction and the knowledge that you are making a real difference.
Typical Daily Responsibilities
- Planning and supervising age-appropriate activities and play
- Preparing nutritious meals and snacks for children
- School and activity runs
- Helping with homework
- Managing children's laundry and keeping play areas tidy
- Bath time and bedtime routines
- Organising playdates and social activities
- Communicating daily with parents about children's day
- Basic first aid if needed
- Maintaining children's schedules and routines
Key Role Requirements
- Qualifications: Level 3 childcare qualification minimum (CACHE, NVQ, NNEB, or equivalent)
- First aid: Current paediatric first aid certificate (essential and non-negotiable)
- Background check: Enhanced DBS check (required for all nanny roles)
- Driving licence: Full UK driving licence (essential for most positions)
- References: Excellent references from previous families or childcare settings
- Safeguarding: Up-to-date understanding of safeguarding practices
Desirable Skills
- Additional qualifications (Montessori, SEN, early years teaching)
- Experience with specific age groups
- Knowledge of child development milestones
- Basic cooking skills and understanding of child nutrition
- Food hygiene certification
- Second language (increasingly valuable)
- Swimming qualification
Personal Qualities
Beyond qualifications, successful nannies share certain characteristics:
- Genuine love for children and childcare
- Patience and emotional resilience
- Creativity in planning activities and solving problems
- Clear communication with both children and parents
- Reliability and professional approach
- Flexibility to adapt to family needs
- Appropriate boundaries whilst building warm relationships
For Employers
Hiring a Nanny: What You Need to Know
What Makes an Exceptional Nanny?
The right nanny becomes part of your family's life, not just an employee, but someone your children genuinely love and trust. Beyond qualifications and experience, you are looking for someone whose values align with yours, who will nurture your children's development, and they would communicate openly about challenges and triumphs.
When we recruit nannies, we assess not just their CV but their personality, approach to childcare, and genuine affinity with children. We ask about their methods for managing difficult behaviour, how they would handle specific scenarios, and what activities they would plan for different ages.
Typical Hiring Timeline
We recommend starting your nanny search 6-8 weeks before you need someone to start. This allows time for:
- Initial consultation to understand your family's needs (1 week)
- Candidate sourcing and shortlisting (1-2 weeks)
- First interviews (video or in-person) (1 week)
- Trial days with shortlisted candidates (1-2 weeks)
- Reference checking and DBS clearance (1-2 weeks)
- Notice period for successful candidate (typically 4 weeks)
Trial Days Are Essential
Never hire a nanny without a paid trial day (or ideally, multiple trial days with different candidates). This allows you to see them interact with your children in your home environment. Watch how they:
- Engage with your children naturally
- Handle difficult behaviour or upset
- Structure activities and play
- Communicate with you and your children
- Follow (or ask about) your routines
- React to unexpected situations
Setting Up for Success
The most successful nanny arrangements include:
- Clear written contract with duties, hours, and pay
- Detailed daily/weekly routine expectations
- Communication preferences (diary, messages, chat at handover)
- House rules and boundaries
- Approach to discipline and behaviour management
- Regular review meetings (monthly initially, then quarterly)
- Emergency contacts and procedures
For Candidates
Succeeding as a Nanny
How to Stand Out from Other Candidates
The nanny market is competitive, particularly for the best positions. Here is how to make yourself stand out:
- Professional portfolio: Create a simple portfolio with photos of activities you have done with children (with parents' permission), certificates, and references
- Specific examples: In interviews, describe actual situations you have handled—tantrums, sibling conflicts, potty training challenges
- Questions about the children: Show genuine interest in the specific children you will be caring for—their personalities, interests, needs
- Clear communication: Be honest about your strengths and areas you are still developing
- Professional social media: Keep your online presence appropriate—families will look
- Continued learning: Show you are committed to professional development
Interview Tips
Nanny interviews typically involve questions about:
- Your childcare philosophy and approach
- How you would handle specific scenarios (child refusing to eat, hitting, separation anxiety)
- Planning age-appropriate activities
- Managing multiple children with different needs
- Your expectations from employers
- Why you are looking for a new position
- Your long-term career plans
Be honest and authentic. Families can tell when you are saying what you think they want to hear rather than being genuine about your approach.
Your Nanny CV Should Include
- Personal statement: Brief overview of your childcare philosophy and experience
- Qualifications: All childcare qualifications with dates and issuing bodies
- Experience: Detailed description of each role—ages of children, responsibilities, achievements
- Special skills: Languages, SEN experience, specific age expertise, creative abilities
- References: At least two family references with full contact details
- Availability: Notice period, start date, preferred hours
- Preferences: Age groups you prefer, live-in vs daily, location
Nanny Recruitment FAQs
Nursery experience is valuable and transfers well to nannying. You will understand child development, have experience managing challenging behaviour, and know how to plan activities. The main differences are working independently rather than in a team, adapting to one family's routines rather than structured nursery schedules, and developing closer relationships with fewer children. Many successful nannies started in nurseries.
Research typical salaries for your experience level and location. Be clear about what is included in your rate (gross vs net pay, holiday pay, sickness pay). Consider the total package (accommodation, car, benefits) not just cash salary. Don't undersell yourself, but be realistic about your experience level. We can advise on appropriate salary ranges for specific positions.
This needs addressing during interviews. Ask about their approach to discipline, screen time, nutrition, routines. If there are fundamental differences you can't compromise on, it's better to decline the position. However, remember you are supporting their parenting choices, not implementing your own. Flexibility is important, but you also need to feel comfortable with their approach.
Both have advantages. Live-in roles often include accommodation (saving significant money), but require clear boundaries between work and personal time. Daily roles offer better work-life separation but require suitable housing nearby. Consider: your age and lifestyle, whether you want to save money quickly, the specific family and location, and whether accommodation quality justifies live-in arrangement.
Most nannies are employed directly by families (not self-employed). You should either be paid gross (you handle your own tax) or net (family acts as employer and handles tax/NI). Many families use nanny payroll services to handle this properly. Never accept cash-in-hand arrangements—you will have no employment rights, no proper pension contributions, and potential legal issues. We can advise families and nannies on proper employment arrangements.
Give official notice (typically 4 weeks, but check your contract). Be honest but diplomatic about your reasons for leaving. Offer to help recruit/train your replacement. Leave detailed handover notes about routines, preferences, and important information. Maintain confidentiality about the family even after you leave. A professional departure protects your reputation and ensures good references.
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