All my own work

An increasing number of employers want only part-time childcare, and more nannies are finding they need two family jobs to give them a full-time income. In London, where there is a large and shifting population, it is fairly easy to find families who want to share a nanny. But in other parts of the country it can be difficult for a nanny to arrange two jobs with compatible days.

Ann Ryall has solved this problem by starting her own business. It's called Anniferdesigns and makes tiaras. Ann says, 'It all came about by accident.

After eight years of long-term nanny jobs interspersed with a spell in a school, I decided to do temporary work. My very first family asked me back for a short period over the holidays. The children were now all at school, but they really needed a nanny/housekeeper sort of person who could cope with the horses, the dogs, and the times the mother was away on business. I had first worked for them when the youngest child was a baby, so there was a strong bond between us. Besides these children I also looked after the baby of a family friend who came to ride the horses.