This help centre article has been written for the Koru Kids Nanny Service for families.
Interviewing nannies is an important step in your childcare journey. It's a chance to get a deeper understanding of a nanny's skills and abilities, and also to get to know them a little as a person to understand whether they will be a good fit for your family.
It's important to manage expectations on both sides from an early stage. We want all of our after school arrangements to succeed! So here are some key points that should be covered at the first meeting.
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Before the interview
Decide whether you'd like your children to meet the nanny, or if you'd rather do this first recce alone before making introductions to the wider family
Make sure you and nanny have swapped contact numbers so you can reach each other by phone if needed
Confirm an agreed meeting place, date and time. This might be a coffee shop or local park, or you may want nanny to come to your home - it's totally up to you and what you and the nanny feel comfortable with
Have a read of the nanny's profile again and familiarise yourself with their experience and also their interests / 'superpowers'
Prep some questions in advance so you have a plan and can get the answers you need
Ideas for interview questions
We've pulled together some suggested interview questions, but of course you should tailor these to your own family requirements, and ask follow-up questions as you go. The goal is really just to get a feel for your nanny's abilities and how well they'd fit in with your family.
Can you tell us more about your previous experience working as a nanny? What age groups of children have you worked with?
How do you ensure the safety and well-being of children under your care? Can you give us an example of how you handled a challenging situation?
What activities or routines would you plan for our child/children? How do you engage children in educational and age-appropriate play?
How do you handle discipline and behaviour management? Can you provide us with an example of how you have successfully handled a behavioural issue?
How do you communicate with parents regarding their child's daily activities and any concerns that may arise?
What actions would you take if your bus was delayed and you knew you were going to be 15 minutes late for pick-up at the children's school?
What are your thoughts on screen time for children? How do you manage it?
How do you handle emergencies or unexpected situations that may arise when you are caring for our child/children?
During the interview
You might want to start by asking some questions about their interests. This helps to get the conversation going and makes the nanny feel more comfortable
It's useful to run though the routine and schedule again, including any activities or clubs the kids regularly attend
Do talk about the commute - check that nanny is confident with their route and their ability to be on time
It's good to talk about homework. Especially if there is a routine you want them to follow or specific areas they should focus on with the kids
Our nannies always have lots of ideas for fun activities. It's good to discuss their ideas and see which ones the kids would enjoy most
Our nannies are all available in term time — if you need help in the holidays it's good to have a chat about this to see if they'd be able to flex up when needed
Discuss any potential for change in the nanny's university timetable
Discuss your expectations of the role — would you sometimes expect them to stay a bit longer if needed? Are they happy to do some washing, tidying…?
Talk about how you do things in your family e.g. foods/treats, screen time, discipline, routine, likes & dislikes, any specific needs your children have
If you will need your nanny to drive as part of their role, make sure to check they have a valid UK driver's license and would be comfortable driving children to and from activities or school, if needed
If you have pets, we advise that you check nanny is comfortable with them, and doesn't have any allergies that might impact their ability to care for them
After the interview
Well send a follow-up via your Koru Kids profile to check whether your interview went ahead. You can easily let us know if things went well, or if you're still thinking about things.
If you decide you're ready to move forward, you can either set up a paid trial shift for nanny, or you can skip straight to hiring them!
All of this can be done within the chat you're having with nanny on your Koru Kids profile - just hit the buttons and we'll do the rest.
It's a good idea to keep looking for other nannies, so you have several options in case the nanny you're talking to gets hired by another family or becomes unavailable.
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