This help centre article has been written for the Koru Kids nanny service
The basics
Complete your family guide and first day checklist. You’ll find these in the app
Give them at least one shift to shadow you - check out our guide for a great shadowing day here
Write out your children's after school routines - download our printable template here
Build a habit of giving feedback regularly - watch our video guides on giving your nanny feedback here
Establish working norms with your nanny - check out list of points to agree here
A 5 minute in depth guide
Build a culture of open communication with your nanny
We’ve worked with hundreds of families and nannies, without doubt this is the most important thing to make sure your nanny succeeds and most importantly you’re happy!
Tell your nanny how you’d like them to communicate with you. We recommend setting up a whatsapp group but you should let your nanny know how you’d like to use it. Do you want updates while you’re at work on what they’re up to? Do you want to know that the kids have been collected for the first few weeks? Do you want pictures and videos sent to you?
Leave time for end of day handovers. Ask the nanny about what went well, any questions they have or if any difficult questions or situations came up. They’ll want to know if they dealt with them how you’d like or if you’d like them to do anything differently
Give regular feedback via the Koru Kids app. We know that after nannies have settled in the parents can often want to reset, increasing responsibilities or getting them to focus on certain things more than others. This tool is build to help you do exactly that.
What a nanny might be thinking and feeling:
“There’s so much that happens every day, there’s no time to pass it all on as I’m heading out the door, sometimes I remember things when I get home that I should have passed on like a bruise and I worry that the family will think I’m irresponsible for not explaining it. I’d be happy to stay longer to talk through things but then I feel guilty about taking up the family’s time when they’re home.”
Keeping things consistent
Every family has different boundaries and approaches to parenting. Make sure to fill out and update your Family Guide. It can help to have the children in the room when you’re letting the nanny know about screen time, snacks, homework or any other family rules so that everyone is on the same page.
What a nanny might be thinking and feeling:
“I worry that I’m doing the wrong thing if I put consequences in place, and am not sure what sort of consequences the parents would be OK with me using. I don’t want to be too soft or too harsh!”
Agreeing Responsibilities
The Koru Kids standards we train all nannies on are Be There, Be On Time, Be Safe and Be In Touch. As a minimum they’re expected to:
Do pick-ups
Supervise homework
Make simple meals for the children
Engage the children in fun activities
Tidy up anything used while the children are in their care
However, we chose nannies that will naturally strive to go above and beyond so let them know if there is anything else you’d like them to focus on e.g. reading with the children, or extra chores and mutually agree if they are happy to do this.
What a nanny might be thinking and feeling:
“When I first started I was really focused on getting to know the children so it was really helpful when the parents left prepared meals to take some of pressure off. Now I feel a bit more confident I’d love to make things a bit easier for them by making dinner myself but I’m not sure if they want me to. I’m still not sure exactly what they expect or want me to do.”
Support from us
We are always around to support you. If you need some extra help, or want to discuss anything, you can book in a call with our team here.
Alternatively you’re always welcome to email us at care@korukids.co.uk or click the live chat message button to chat with the team.