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Nanny Agency Tests
ForParentsByParents in partnership with Best Bear have produced the first
fully researched and quality controlled guide to childcare agencies. Finally
parents will be able to select a nanny, au pair or maternity nurse agency
with confidence. They will know that the agency comes recommended after
screening by our team. It is important to note that au pair and nanny
agencies are tested very differently and you will find outlines of each
test below.
Please be advised also that we are unable to test whether agencies demand police checks and we urge parents to follow up on this themselves.
Only agencies we recommend appear on our site -We are aiming to retest
agencies once a year.
Why we've produced this guide
The biggest problem for parents and nannies in their search for suitable
placements is not knowing who to trust in terms of agencies and recommendations.
The latter part of the eighties and nineties saw a swathe of stories in
the press about bad nannies and shoddy agency practices which have left
many of us parents nervous, and rightly so. It seemed ridiculous that
there was no recommendation or guidance system in place to help parents
in such a sensitive area, yet if we want to find a good restaurant or
go on holiday there are any number of guides or reviews. So, we decided
to produce the first thorough 'consumer' guide to nanny agencies.
The founders of BestBear.co.uk, we used to work together as television
producers. We were juggling small children, work and nannies. Over coffee
one day we discovered that we'd both had bad experiences with nannies
who had been sent to us via agencies who had clearly not done their job
in terms of checking references and suitability. At the time we both felt
aggrieved about the situation but ultimately powerless. However, the germ
of an idea began to grow. If we wanted some kind of assurance then there
must be thousands of other parents who would feel the same way. We began
to check if there was any system of recommendation, or any kind body that
could help in suggesting a reputable nanny agency. Our research proved
illuminating.
A Much Needed Service
We spoke to numerous bodies including Trading Standards Officers, Council
Under-Eight Officers, childcare charities, educational groups and parenting
organizations. The response in terms of ways of giving parents some kind
of recommendation regarding nanny agencies in their area was the same,
"We'd love to be able to help out, but we can't." They all agreed
that this was an area that was in dire need of change as far as parents
were concerned.
We felt encouraged by this, but alarmed by what one trading standards
officer told us. We asked what would happen if we moved to a new area
and were searching for a childcare agency - would they be able to tell
us if there had been complaints against any particular agencies. They
said, "Much as we would like to help, we really can't pass on that
kind of information." We pressed them further asking if they really
had dreadful complaints about an agency would they be able to help us
avoid them? They were extremely apologetic and said they could understand
our concern but weren't in a position to act. The officer said they did
have complaints about various agencies but they couldn't pass the information
on.
The local councils that we spoke to took the same line. They didn't want
to be responsible for making any recommendations. They said: "We
wish we could be more helpful but at the moment the system is geared towards
childminders."
There is some good news though. The government announced plans early in
2002 to produce a register that would provide some kind of official standard
for agencies. To our disappointment we found that many of that many reputable
nanny agencies were dubious about how such a register would work and be
policed. They also felt it would tie them up in red-tape.
Vetting nanny agencies using "The Helen
Test" (please note this does not apply to au pair agencies)
We decided to take on the task of 'testing' the agencies by getting
right down to the nitty-gritty. We recruited a top investigative TV journalist,
Yasmin Pasha, who has presented an investigative series for Carlton TV
and various reports which required under-cover or secret filming for London
Tonight. We chose her because she has a particular interest in shoddy
nanny agency practices after producing several harrowing reports for television.
Secondly we recruited Helen Taggart an NNEB qualified nanny with 15 years
experience behind her. Together they devised a screening process which
would eke out information from agencies without them being aware of it.
We called it the 'Helen' Test - simple questions carefully designed to
spot which agencies were ruthless in vetting the girls they sent out.
Helen adopted a different persona as she put the agencies through their
paces. The ones who passed were then invited to join BestBear.co.uk and
advertise their agency on the site. So far over a hundred have decided
to join us - they pay for emails they receive from potential parent or
childcarer business.
Helen Taggart has contacted hundreds of agencies over the past few months
and the experience was in some cases fantastically reassuring and in other
cases deeply disturbing: "Being a trained NNEB nanny I have been
interviewed and placed by many agencies myself over the years. It has
always been pretty clear to me which agencies take the trouble to check
you out and there are some basics principles on which good agencies always
work.
As an experienced, qualified nanny I was fascinated to see how I would
be received as 'Helen Taylor' a girl with no real experience and whose only childcare reference is from her sister. She has other references that she's going to try and chase up.
Shocking Findings
My first real shock was the fact that so many agencies were willing to
send me out on interviews almost immediately taking the information I
gave them at face value and never meeting me in person. They were effectively
happy to send a total stranger to someone's home and make them pay for
the privilege.
I couldn't believe that after a ten minute conversation (or less) they
would send a girl with no readily available references or real experience
to potentially care for young children. Several agencies were suggested
placing me in sole charge of babies and one agency wanted to place me
in sole charge of 18 month old twins! As an experienced nanny I was furious
that they could suggest such a thing. I could have understood it if they
had suggested I act as a Mother's Help, but to suggest that an inexperienced
20 year old should care for twins of that age seemed almost criminal to
me.
Other agencies were not worried about the fact that the only reference
I had was from a family member, in fact several of them seemed more concerned
about 'bumping up' my CV to make it sound as if I had more experience
than I did. One agency pondered "well, have you done any more baby-sitting
in the past? It would sound better if we could say that you regularly
babysit."
Some agencies suggested that it was really the parents' job to check out
references and not "to worry to much because most parents are pretty
trusting." I had to bite my tongue - I wanted to say, "So why
are you charging them then?" My references or lack of them were really
the key factor in determining whether an agency was doing their job. Many
of them were quite happy to take a family member as a reference which
is totally unacceptable.
Some agencies glossed over my details and seemed more interested in finding
out which other agencies in their area I had called. They would proceed
to tell my why the others were no good and that I should go with their
agency - no mention of lack of experience etc. They were far more interested
in grabbing business.
One agency owner I spoke to astounded me. I said, "I don't have any
childcare qualifications like the NNEB or anything." She interrupted
by saying "What is the NNEB - what does that mean? I've never heard
of it." It made me want to weep.
I found there was a wide gap between the agencies that came up to standard
and those that did not. It was not a difficult task separating the two.
At the outset we wanted to be totally objective and fair and were concerned
what we would do if an agency was borderline in the testing process -
would they make the list? It was not an issue; it became clear from the
outset who was interested in finding out about 'Helen' and how suitable
she would be to work with children, and those who were more interested
in quick placement.
The Nanny Test:
During the nanny test Helen who has very little experience and difficulty
getting hold of references tries to find out, over the phone, if the agency
will take her on.
To pass the agency has to: insist on meeting her in person, must demand
two references, must refuse to allow her a sole charge nanny position (some may suggest a mother's help position) and must not allow her to start in any position until her references
have been chased up.
In each case the tester uses her experience to asses the answers and determine
those who pass.
Au Pair Agencies:
Au Pair Agencies operate very differently from nanny agencies. When you
are looking for an au pair the agency acts more as an introductory service
- some agencies offer reference checking by agents abroad but this is
often more common when hiring French and Spanish Au Pairs. Parents should
always assume that the responsibility for hiring and au pair and checking
references lies with them although your agency should offer support and
provide advice.
The Au Pair Test
Many people tend to lump nannies and au pairs into the same category but
au pairs are not nanny-substitutes, and usually have no formal childcare
training. We devised another simple test for agencies dealing in au pairs;
R.E.C (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) stipulates that au pairs
should never have sole charge of children under the age of three. Posing
as mothers we called and asked if they would place an au pair in sole
charge of our two-year-old children. Sadly a large proportion of agencies
were more than happy to do so.
Disappearing Agencies
One of the biggest problems is that it is so easy to set up a nanny agency.
Because there are no strict regulations dozens of new agencies spring
up every year, but without an increase of business to go round many go
bust, shutting up shop just as quickly as they opened, often disappearing
without trace. Roughly 50% percent of the agencies numbers we rang were
repeatedly unavailable, did not answer or the line was dead. Nobody wants
to deal with fly-by-night agencies who take your money and then, when
there are problems, you find that they simply don't exist any more. Many
agencies had answer machines stating the office was closed for several
weeks and offered no emergency contact. Where does that leave parents
who have paid their money or girls in trouble?
Trading on Reputation
One agency I contacted used to have an excellent reputation - I found
out that the agency had changed hands and rather than being run from an
office with several experienced staff, was now being run from a bed-sit
by a girl who had given up nannying a few months before. She had kept
the name and was still charging the same fees. I really felt parents signing
on with her were being ripped off.
What happens when an agency passes our Test?
When an agency passes they are invited to advertise their details on our site.
The Gulf Between Good and Bad.
Personally, as someone who has worked as a nanny, I found the exercise
- exhausting, but incredibly enlightening. The thing that struck me most
was the vast discrepancy in the kind of service that was on offer from
agencies. As 'Helen Taylor' I would be thoroughly grilled by some agencies
who were willing to take time and effort to see me and check out every
facet of my personality and suitability. Others, however, would be happy
to get me 'out there' in minutes of picking up the phone to them - yet
both agencies would be charging the same fee at the end of the day. That
made me very angry.
I feel that it is so unfair for some of these agencies to be charging
top whack and really not doing their job while others agencies go to real
lengths too ensure the best for parents and ultimately the children. The
agencies who came through the test deserved to - but at the end of the
day they were only doing their job.
What Good Agencies Do
As you can imagine many of the calls I made were depressing. No real interest
in references or background or ability to care for children. However the
agencies who were doing their job properly stood out like shining beacons.
Against the background of sloppy practice it was a delight to call an
agency who would then proceed to spend thirty minutes grilling me about
my experiences. They wanted to know why I thought I would be suitable
to care for young children, explained why my sister was not an acceptable
reference, quizzed me on what had I been doing since I left school and
what I did while I was travelling and asked if I was in a stable relationship.
Before sending girls out on an interview good agencies should:
- always interview the nanny in person - not just over the telephone
for at least an hour.
- check birth certificate, passport, driving license - original, not
a copy
- always ask for at least two references
- ask about qualifications and First Aid - check originals of certificates
- ask about any gaps in a childcarer's CV and make them account for
them
- ask for a police check, if possible through the Criminal Records Bureau
- find out where the childcarer is living and their current circumstances
- ask what experience the childcarer has. How do they care for and stimulate
children in their care
Good agencies were concerned about me from a personal point of view and
about my suitability to care for children. They would never suggest sole
charge of children with my lack of experience. Many suggested that I should
go back to college and went as far as to suggest coming for a chat so
they could advise me on the courses and colleges available in the area.
Music to my ears!
The Testing Continues
Now we've revealed how we've done it - does the testing stop here? Certainly
not. Our lists will constantly change and we hope to be able to add more
brilliant agencies for you to use as we find them. We also want childcarers
and parents to add to our research by emailing us with their good and
bad experiences.
Good luck in your search for childcare and remember to always check
for yourself - it's the only way to be totally sure.
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