At your service

Among the growing number of people who want to promote some service to nannies, Alison Ellershaw must be one of the most ambitious. Last October she finally got her dream up and running. Nannies at Work aims to offer advice, training links, medical information and networking contact, via the internet. Alison has given herself a two-year commitment to make it a success. A tall order, perhaps?

'When I started out I wanted to change things for 150,000 nannies,' Alison says. 'Now I'll be happy if I can change things for 2,000 nannies.'

She could, she admits, have stayed with a safe career path in the National Health Service, where she would have a better salary and greater recognition. But she says, 'I'm a visionary. I feel that change needs to happen, and I want to be involved in that change.'

Her path to the present point wasn't such a typical one for nannies. At the age of 19 she decided to go into nursing. She qualified as a nurse, midwife and health visitor, and then nine years ago, for personal reasons, she took a career break. 'One day I was looking at The Lady magazine and decided that I could work as a maternity nurse. I saw an ad for a job working for a VIP foreign family as a maternity nurse and nanny.' She went to work for them abroad on a diplomatic visa for several months, 'working 24/7 with eight children where there were other nannies as well.'

Alison wanted to return to the health service, and found herself back in west Dorset working as a senior nurse in a hospital trust. There, she says, she developed a child protection service from scratch, and got involved in multi-agency working and training among the NHS, social services, police and National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

After two years in child protection Alison felt she missed the contact with children themselves. So it was back to a series of short-term nanny and maternity nurse positions, mostly abroad. She recalls that she felt concerned with employment agencies, noticing that some checked references, some didn't; some interviewed candidates before sending them for jobs, some didn't; and there was a great disparity among agencies about salaries. One incident she recalls was when she was working abroad for a family who had also hired a young, inexperienced nanny. 'This girl looked good on paper and at the interview - but within 12 hours of arriving she felt homesick.

She didn't engage with the children, and she put her feet up and read a book.' Alison thought this was a sadly typical case of a mismatch between the nanny's expectations and how she had been informed by the agency - 'but there was nothing in place for this girl in terms of support.'

Alison adds, 'It frustrates me that it feels like a numbers game. An agency may just put as many names as possible in front of parents - when it should have the integrity to say, we haven't got anyone on our books at the moment who's suitable. The professionalism of nannies has been diluted by the industry calling unqualified childcarers nannies.'

'Professional' is the keyword that pops up most frequently when Alison talks about the aims of Nannies at Work. 'A professional nanny needs to continue her professional development and set herself apart. You can't just do a CACHE diploma in 1991 and say, that's it, I'm a nanny.'

But what about the downward trend being identified now by agencies and nannies alike - and by Professional Nanny's annual pay survey in January - when even professional, qualified, experienced nannies are having trouble getting the jobs they want? If cash-strapped parents are turning to au pairs, or if there are only part-time or casual jobs available, how do good nannies keep going?

Alison pauses over this but answers, 'Well, nannies have to take the decision, do I work part-time and ride this storm? Or do I do something else?' She will offer a CV writing service to Nannies at Work members and personally do career appraisals for nannies.

As Alison sees it, there are basically two kinds of nannies - the professionals who have formal qualifications and membership in a professional body, who carry insurance, pay their tax and national insurance contributions, and regularly update their skills; and then the unqualified nannies. 'It's important for unqualified nannies to undertake training to develop their skills and knowledge of childcare. Maybe they, more than anyone, need the support and advice provided by Nannies at Work.'

But even with this goal of professionalism, do many people these days see nannying as a career for life? Alison admits that Nannies at Work is targeting an 18-to-30 age group. 'Nannying can be a transition that people move through in their career lifetime - we're talking about trained childcare professionals who are multiskilled and who can move into other options. Those five to ten years they may have spent nannying can be seen as a key time when they developed their skills.'

This is something Alison herself did by keeping her hand in at nannying while setting up Nannies at Work. Until now access to all the website has been free and non-members can still use some parts without charge, but subscribers from this month will pay 48 a year, or 76 for two if they join together. Members will get a 10 per cent discount on training events and answers to their e-mail queries. Alison is also keen to develop a Nannies at Play section as a forum where members can communicate with each other. And she'd like to see them sharing tips on what nannying is like in various cities, since, as she discovered in her jobs, 'there are communities of nannies in places like Paris, Monaco or Singapore'.

Feedback is so important to Alison that she sees Nannies at Work developing in response to what she hears back from its users - she stresses above all that it's a service for nannies, by nannies.

'I want nannies to gain respect for their professionalism, believe in their abilities, and see themselves as a cohesive group of professionals with a shared direction,' Alison concludes. Another tall order, some might say, considering that nannies so far are more likely to see themselves as workers in isolation rather than as a group, and that the current economic climate is making their direction rather difficult. But ambition always aims high.

The Nannies at Work website is at www.nanniesatwork.co.ukand e-mails can be addressed to enquiries@nanniesatwork.co.uk

JUST ASK

Taking a cue from the saying that 'Nanny knows best', nanny Trudi Butler is offering her expertise on the internet at www.ask-nanny.com.Trudi (below) is a Norland nanny who has notched up 14 years in childcare in various forms and has gained the parent's perspective since having her own baby daughter, whom she takes along on part-time work.

Ask Nanny is designed for both parents and nannies, with sections on 'parenting' and 'nannying' and a discussion forum for both, as well as childcare options and activities to do with children of various ages. The 'ask nanny' function itself is the e-mail service by which Trudi will answer queries from parents, nannies or other carers free of charge. 'The most common question from nannies is about what salary they should be getting, or what duties they should be doing,' says Trudi. 'I've also received questions about activities for babies.'

She funded the start-up of the website about seven months ago, and gains no income from it as it has yet to carry advertising. The gratification comes from the replies she gets to her advice from appreciative Ask Nanny visitors, she says. So far it's a labour of love all round. 'I believe that every child has the potential to be great and with love, communication, understanding and discipline they will blossom and grow. I also believe in having fun and developing each child's own abilities and strengths through appropriate activities,' says Trudi, adding, 'I also know a lot about nannying and the advantages and disadvantages of the job.'

The website is at www.ask-nanny.comand Trudi can be contacted by e-mail at enquiries@ask-nanny.com