Tips for finding excellent childcare

How did you pick the right childcare for your family? We went for a nursery for Eliza as there were some excellent ones in the area. It was tough at first – separation anxiety, anyone? – but it was definitely the right decision.

Here’s a guest post around finding childcare in London:

As a mother, it’s completely understandable that you will want to secure the best care possible for your beloved little ones. Yet with a huge number of options out there, it can be difficult to decide whether to use an agency or search privately. To help you find the right nanny or maternity nurse for your individual needs, we’ve put together this handy guide to finding excellent childcare in your local area.

1. Seek out a professional agency
The first step to finding star quality childcare is to seek out a trusted professional nanny agency. When you enlist the help of the experts, you can rest assured that your full-time nanny is going to be vetted, qualified and experienced. When you use an agency you are relieved of all the hard work to find a suitable nanny.

2. Confirm Criminal Record Check
Ensuring that your new nanny has passed a criminal record check is absolutely essential. After all, you are entrusting them with your babies! Organising a check yourself can be a difficult, timely and costly experience. When you find a nanny through Nannies Inc., you can rest assured that every candidate already has a clear criminal record check.

3. Check for references
One of the best ways to gauge an idea of whether or not a candidate will deliver excellence is to check their references. However this can be time consuming so if you lead a busy lifestyle, why not let Nannies Inc. do the hard work for you? They carry in-depth face-to-face interviews with all their nannies and thoroughly check their references, education background and work experience. This inevitably means that you can relax knowing that these checks have been carried out before they visit your home and meet your children for an interview.

4. Check policies
Different nannies have different policies and it’s important to ask questions and settle on a nanny that’s best for your needs e.g. What approach do they take to discipline? These are all things that you should know before taking on a new nanny. When hiring a nanny through a registered agency you can become rest assured that you will only receive applicants with suitable experience, qualifications and personality.

5. Choose a provider and try to stick with them
Using a reliable agency service is in the best interest of your children. It’s important to the right choice the first time. Agencies work to match nannies with your requirements and they have the incentive to ensure the placement is a lasting success, which is important when looking to avoid having too much change. Thanks to the opportunity to interview suitable candidates over the phone and in person, you can make sure that you’re 100% happy with your new carer from the very beginning!

By following these simple tips, you can ensure that you choose the right childcare for both you and your family. The most important thing is to find a service that suits your needs and offers a loving, nurturing and stimulating environment in which your child can learn and grow.

How did you find the right childcare in London to suit your family when you went back to work?

You can also read more about our childcare decisions over on TalkMum.