What age range of child will a nanny look after?

Nannies can look after children of any age.

What hours do nannies work?

Nannies can sometimes work flexible hours to fit your work hours. Make sure the hours are reasonable and clearly explained before the nanny starts to work with your children.

What about part-time childcare?

Many nannies are happy to work part-time. They often take children to school, pre-school or other activities.

How much does a nanny cost?

Employing a nanny means you become responsible not only for paying the nanny's wage or salary but also for deducting the tax and National Insurance contributions. The Inland Revenue operate an Employers Helpline on 0345 143 143 for friendly advice on tax and National Insurance.

The National Minimum Wage is set currently at:

• Main (adult) rate for workers aged 22 and over £4.20 per hour, increasing to £4.50 per hour in October 2003

• Development rate for workers aged 18-21 inclusive £3.60 per hour, increasing to £3.80 per hour in October 2003

For more information about the national minimum wage, or to order some free guidance please telephone the National Minimum Wage helpline on 0845 6000 678.

How do I find a nanny?

You can find out more about nannies from your local Children's Information Service or you can talk to nanny agencies in your area.

New guidance will shortly be available from the Department of Trade and Industry on the revised regulations governing employment agencies. These measures will offer parents reassurance that nannies introduced by agencies are properly vetted.

Other types of childcare in the home

• Mother's helps usually work with you rather than looking after children while you are out.

• Maternity nurses are specially trained to take care of new babies for up to three months after the birth. They usually live with the family.

• Nannies provide childcare in your own home. Trained nannies can provide you with high quality, professional childcare. They can look after children of any age and they can often work flexible hours to fit in with your working hours.

You need to provide good working conditions, a reasonable salary and make simple tax and national insurance arrangements. Nannies are covered by National Minimum Wage regulations.

There are no legal requirements on a person applying to work as a nanny – so it is up to you to make sure that you are employing a nanny who will look after your children well.

Plus points

• nannies can provide childcare tailor-made for your children's needs
• your children will be cared for in their own home.
  

Types of nanny

• Live-in nannies live in your home and will need a private bedroom and food in addition to their salary

• Daily nannies come to your home to look after your children

• Nanny-share arrangements can be set up to share a nanny with another family

• Home Childcarers: A home childcarer is a person who is a registered childminder (although once approved as a home childcarer, may cease to maintain their childminding registration) who looks after children in the home of the children's parents.

• They are professional childcarers, offering safe, good quality childcare and providing children with play and learning opportunities that contribute to their development.

• Home childcarers are approved in accordance with the criteria set out in the Home Childcaring for Children Under Eight Code of Practice. The approval process and monitoring of the Code is conducted by Ofsted. The Home Childcaring Scheme was introduced in April 2003 and the number of approvals is steadily growing.

• Further work is in hand to extend the scheme, to allow people other than registered childminders to become home childcarers. Consultation on how best to take this forward is to be undertaken later this year.
  

Making a careful choice

Employing a nanny is an important responsibility because it will be up to you to make sure the person is able to look after your children well. Being a nanny is a skilled and demanding job. Look for training, experience and a positive attitude to the job. You can use a nanny agency or advertise for a nanny but always interview thoroughly and always CHECK ALL REFERENCES

Free, comprehensive advice on making a careful choice is given on the DfES website under www.dfes.gov.uk/nanny

How many children can a nanny look after?

Nannies usually look after the children of just one family in that family's home.

However in the case of nanny-shares the children of two or more families can be looked after. A nanny looking after children of more than two families must register with the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) as a childminder.

• Au pairs are single young people from other countries who stay with a family
  to help with children while they learn English. They can help you for up to five hours per day. For more information in England talk to the Home Office on 08706 067766. Au pairs are not usually trained to work with children and therefore are not
  generally considered suitable to look after young children while parents are out.
  They can be a good option for providing after-school childcare.