Who am I looking for?
Many people get confused over the concepts au-pair, nanny, mothers help, maternity nurse and baby-sitter. On the following page we are explaining the differences and hopefully by reading this you will get a better idea of what type of childcare that suites your family’s specific needs.
NEWS!!!! Peek-a-boo is offering accredited MBA courses with our Maternity and Baby Academy so now you can train your aupair, mothers help or nanny to be qualified to care for babies or just brush up on their childcare qualifications. If you want baby help free of charge or for a low rate, we have people looking to gain experience More info
1. AU-PAIRS
An au-pair is a good option for the busy mum/dad who needs an extra hand on a daily basis. A typical au-pair is usually aged 18 - 27 and has a love for children. The au pair comes overseas to experience a new culture and learn a foreign language. An au pair should be treated as part of the family. The idea is for the au pair to stay and work for you in exchange for a pocket salary, room and board. All Peek-a-boo au pairs speak good English and some drive. We have special au-pair induction/training/first aid courses for our fantastic au pairs which will allow them to become "qualified" by the time to start with you, and/or during the placement Read more about au-pairs An au pair plus is someone who does more hours for more money
2. MOTHER'S HELPS/JUNIOR NANNIES
An option for a family that needs someone with more experience and/or hours than an aupair but not a full blown nanny. A mother's help works under supervision on the daily running of the household. Our mother's helps will have at least 1 year relevant experience and/or a nanny qualification and will have a very good level of English.
Read more about Mothers helps/Junior nanny
3. NANNIES
This is a person who looks after you children in your home. She has a genuine interest in children and some form of childcare qualification (our in-house MBA nanny qualification, NVQ, NNEB etc) and/or relevant experience (at least 2 years is our minimum requirement ) which equips them to provide a stimulating, safe and positive learning environment in which your children can develop.
Read more about the various types of nannies we offer here.
4. MATERNITY NURSES/NIGHT NANNIES
A maternity nurse is a great help after you have had your baby and left the hospital. The maternity nurse will give you the confidence to cope quickly and can give you a routine to suit your family needs. We also in house train them at our maternity nurse academy.
Read more about Maternity nurses
5. BABY-SITTERS
We have qualified and/or experienced nannies available for baby-sitting in homes and Hotels of London for £20 per hour (min 5 hour booking). We only use nannies that are registered with our agency that are CRB checked, first aid trained and with enough experience (at least 2 years) to ensure you get the best help available on short notice.
Read more about our London Babysitting service here
6. HOUSEKEEPERS AND OTHER DOMESTIC STAFF
Our sister company, Bespoke Bureau Ltd have fantastic housekeepers, domestic couples and all other domestic staff available. Please enquire with them for info on hiring household staff www.bespokebureau.com
The London Nanny Agency you can count on
There are a large number of nanny agencies in the UK and London. Peek-a-boo nanny agency is however the leading agency throughout the UK and especially in London. We have an unrivalled reputation in placing qualified and experienced live in and live out nannies in London and the UK. All our nannies must have at least 2 years experience as a nanny in a private home or she will have to work as a mothers help, junior nanny or aupair. You can trust in our nanny agency and rest assured that all of our nannies, whether they are a live in nanny or a live out nanny, will have the relevant qualifications and experience to take care of your children.
We always check our nannies' references thoroughly to ensure we are satisfied with their nanny qualifications and expertise. Nannies without formal qualifications can come and train with us at our accredited nanny school in London.
We also take pride in interviewing all nannies at the nanny agency who apply to our agency. On the rare occasion when it is not possible for the agency to interview a nanny face to face because she is either abroad or is unable to attend the agency due to her work commitments, the client would be advised that a telephone or skype nanny interview had been conducted and her file processed as normal.
Out of all the nannies that apply to the nanny agency, we only accept about 20%. Still, we have about 4000 available nannies on our books so you can see that the nanny agency works hard to come up trumps for you and your childcare needs. It's the job of all nanny agencies to provide you with a nanny that matches your lifestyle so both you and our nannies are comfortable and happy. All nanny agencies may not take such great care but Peek-a-boo nannies certainly do.
Once we have successfully found you the ideal nanny, we can put your nanny in touch with nannies we have already placed in your areas. This will then help them settle in to your way of life and ensure happiness whilst in your employment.
So, depending on the type of nanny you require, our nanny agency will do our very best to find you the ideal nanny for all your childcare needs.