Roles we place
Nannies and governesses
We place nannies for newborns and for teenagers, for one child and for five, living in and living out. Every one of them has been met by Alison Kemble before any family meets them.
| Usually engaged by | Families with children under twelve |
|---|---|
| Live-in | About two in five |
| Our search | Usually four to six weeks |
| Placed in 2025 | Thirty-one |
The role
A nanny looks after a family’s children in their own home: their days, their meals, their rest, their play, their schooling as far as the family wishes, and their safety always. The nannies we place work to the parents’ wishes and in the parents’ absence, and are usually the adults the children see most in a working week. That is a great deal of trust, and we take it as such.
Governesses, or tutor-nannies, add schooling to the role: help with homework at the least, and for families who travel, a curriculum of their own. Newborn care specialists look after a baby, and often the mother, in the first weeks or months, usually at night.
A nanny’s day
Every family’s day is its own. This one, from the brief for a placement in 2025 with the family’s details removed, is typical of a live-out nanny with a child of four.
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 6:45 a.m. | Wake, wash and dress |
| 7:30 | Breakfast with the parents |
| 8:15 | Walk to preschool |
| 8:45 | Nursery laundry, meal planning, the week’s shopping |
| 11:30 | Collect from preschool; lunch |
| 12:30 p.m. | Quiet time; nanny writes up the morning in the day book |
| 1:30 | Park, library or swimming |
| 3:30 | Snack, play, reading |
| 5:00 | Supper |
| 5:45 | Bath |
| 6:30 | Story and bed, with a parent |
| 7:00 | Off duty |
Who we look for
Four years of professional childcare, at least two of them as a nanny in a private family; a current certificate in pediatric first aid and CPR, which we ask to see; a clean driving record; and references from at least two families, both of whom we telephone. Many of the nannies we place have a qualification in early childhood education. All of them have a temperament we try to describe to families as unflappable and kind.
Alison Kemble interviews every nanny we put forward, in person, for at least an hour, and asks each of them what they would do on a particular, difficult afternoon she once had herself.
How we check
Every nanny’s file is checked by our vetting team before it reaches a family: identity and the right to work, every position for the past ten years, two references by telephone, a criminal background check and a check of the sex offender registries in every state in which they have lived, with the candidate’s written consent and as the law allows. Our vetting page describes the checks in full.