Ethical Agency

Extra Arms supports families,

Families who approach Extra Arms will not only often be new at being parents, they will also be new to their role of Nanny employer, or Nanny client, and deserve to be supported on their journey. Working with a Nanny should improve a family’s quality of life, lowering stress levels, and providing respite. In order to ensure that this is the case, Extra Arms will be there to help you navigate this new kind of interaction and get to the point where your work together flows smoothly.

And Nannies.

Nanny work is important, complex work requiring specialized skills and involving a great responsibility: ensuring the well being and safety of young children. Nannies need to earn enough within a safe and reliable set-up, so that they can be fully present, engaged and aware during their time with their charges. Nanny quality of life has a direct impact on the quality of care they will be able to provide, and we feel it is the job of a Nanny Agency to help “our” Nannies to find a good balance between life and work.

Informed choice

  • We do not require our Nannies to conform to a unified rate, and we do not pressure them to register freelance. Instead, we take the time to share information on the pros and cons of all available options, and support them in setting up in the way they feel is most suited to their circumstances.

  • Similarly, we do not present families with ready made Nanny “packages” or set minimum/maximum search parameters. Instead, we sit together, ask what they need, explain what is possible, and help make an informed choice with regards to what is best for their family.

Sustainability

  • Nanny/family relationships need to be sustainable on both sides. The Nanny needs to earn a fair compensation, so that he or she can afford not only to live, but to read, research, reflect, support. The family must not be pressured to take on undue financial strain.

  • Extra Arms ensures that both sides see arrangements from the other’s prospective, so that decisions can be made, during non aggressive negotiations that ensure working relationships last for as long as all participants wish and need them to.

Family Support

  • We are available to all our families throughout their time working with one of our Nannies, should any problems arise.

  • We will start holding open doors family evenings for families who work with one of our Nannies from September 2018 and have a couple of family support projects in the pipeline that will come into being at the start of 2019. Watch this space for news on our progress and if you have ideas as to what kind of family support is missing in your environment, drop us a line so we can take all inputs into account.

Nanny Support

  • Extra Arms holds open doors evenings for all placed Nannies once a month. This is a chance for Nannies to meet each other, share resources, ask for advice, plan play-dates, and allow someone to take care of them for a couple of hours.

  • This practice is in the interest of both families and Nannies: all service and care work requires carers to have access to support, so they can stay healthy and strong in life and work. Of course, the Agency’s doors are open to all Nannies and Sitters at all times for emergencies.

Training

  • From the start Extra Arms has helped Nannies to find and make contact with a network of third parties who provide childcare related training.

  • Extra Arms will shadow Nannies for their first few shifts if they and the family feel that some one on one mentoring might help them settle into their work together.

  • We have also started offering specific Nanny training through our Nanny Academy. We run a basic three day core module covering the very basics of in home care, and further modules covering anything from the role of storytelling and reading aloud in child development to current methods of weaning.

  • We try to keep the cost of these courses reasonable, rather than let market dictate our price point. This is because we wish dedicated carers to be able to take part, and we know that dedication cannot be measured in purchasing power. We encourage families to sponsor or part sponsor their Nanny’s training whenever possible, because further training is beneficial to both families and carers.