Nannies Archives - The Nanny Service

Bach to Baby, family entertainment

Bach to Baby is an innovative and award-winning concert series for babies, tots and their parents/nannies to enjoy together.

LONDON — The critically acclaimed classical series Bach to Baby, is set up by mum and pianist Miaomiao Yu after becoming frustrated at not being able to take her children to the sort of quality classical music concerts that she regularly enjoyed as a professional musician.

Miaomiao, an award-winning pianist, wanted to perform for her son in a concert setting, but found it unrealistic for many reasons, including the late nights.

“And then I thought, this is silly: why not play for him and his friends and other babies and toddlers, at a kid-friendly time? The idea grew from there,” said Miaomiao, who is also a professor of piano at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Miaomiao set about to design a rigorous musical programme for babies that wouldn’t have been out of place at the Proms. Programming range from Bach to Barber, from Chopin to Shostakovich. “I didn’t want to dumb it down for children. Studies show the positive effects of classical music and children are like little sponges at this stage. Why shouldn’t they be allowed to experience the same high calibre performances as that enjoyed by adults in the best concert halls of the world?” asks Miaomiao.

“I’ve been bringing my son Aubrey to concerts since he was 2 weeks old. He listened and slept and bounced to music,” says the mother of two rambunctious boys. “He is enthralled, and proves my theory that children will thrive in a concert setting as long as they are given the opportunity in the first place.”

Miaomiao was encouraged by the overwhelming response to her first concert — one fan posted this video on Twitter . Bach to Baby now performs in 46 venues across London, Surrey, Kent, Thames Valley, and Essex, with special events at the Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace and the Royal Albert Hall.

Instead of playing at modest community halls, venues with a specific sense of atmosphere were chosen. “I want babies to enjoy sophisticated music and that’s aided by fantastic atmosphere and acoustics, as well as fabulous guest artists, ” said Miaomiao, adding that exhausted parents deserve an inspiring setting as much as anyone.

Being a mum first and foremost, Miaomiao welcomes all the frenzy that comes along with being a parent of a young child. “It’s about Mozart and Bach, feeding and crying, and dancing to music – all of it,” said Miaomiao. “We haven’t made it through a concert without at least one nappy change. That’s the way it should be,” she said.

Concerts run from weekday mornings and afternoons, as well as Saturdays in locations across the South East.

For more information on venues, dates and tickets visit Bach to Baby

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

By Ronel Engelbrecht|2017-03-20T09:38:54+00:00March 20th, 2017|Parental Blog|0 Comments

Temp live-in nannies needed from July

Nanny job ref: TLI/London – Position Filled
We have several temporary live-in nanny positions in London and the Countryside with children ranging from 4-12 years all starting mid July. Jobs range from 2 weeks to 3 months. If you are qualified in childcare, have experience working as a nanny, an up to date 1st aid certificate, DBS and free from July then we would like to hear from you. Some jobs may need a driver but this is not essential for all.

All jobs will require you to take care of all nursery duties, keeping the children entertained, running their day to day schedules, school runs, helping with homework, preparing healthy home cooked meals, children’s laundry and light household duties. In most cases you will have your own room and bathroom or share a bathroom with the children. Working hours will be Mon-Fri, approx. 55-60 hours a week and will require up to 2 nights babysitting during the week.

Salaries vary depending on individual jobs ranging from £350-450npw.

By Ronel Engelbrecht|2016-07-14T19:07:06+00:00May 16th, 2016|Live-in, Temporary, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Childcare Vouchers & Ofsted

Childcare Vouchers (Ofsted) – Cut childcare costs by £1,000/year

The Financial Benefits

Many of you may have read about the tax breaks that the Government introduced to assist with “approved” childcare, which includes nannies. If your nanny is registered with OFSTED you may be eligible for childcare vouchers or tax credits

Firstly, for further information on whether you qualify you can visit Tax Credits.

Click here for more information.

If your employer gives you childcare vouchers, the first £55 per week per employee is now exempt from tax and national insurance (and employer’s national insurance) provided registered or approved childcare is used. If both parents receive childcare vouchers they are each entitled to receive £55 per week free of tax and national insurance. Basic (20%) Taxpayer can make a saving of circa £900 per annum.

A childcare voucher scheme can be set up quite easily by your employer but there are various criteria including the scheme being available to all employees. The Human Resources Department should have further details.

If you are a director of your own limited company and would be interested in setting up a childcare voucher scheme, you should consult with your accountant.

To use childcare vouchers. You must:-

Employ an Ofsted registered nanny
Be employed
And your employer must set up/run a childcare voucher scheme.

It is expected that employer-supported childcare vouchers will become an important way for parents to make a substantial saving, as this form of tax relief is available to all parents, regardless of income.

The self-employed are not able to benefit from childcare vouchers at present, but if you are a Director of a company you can, providing you make them available to all your staff as well.

The Childcare vouchers are just a different way of paying your nanny. Her salary will not change when you start using vouchers, nor will the amount of tax and NI you pay on her behalf. However, you will be able to save money on your own tax and NI payments, in some cases as much as £2,000 per family per year if both parents use vouchers.

Childcare vouchers can only be used to pay for childcare.

For more information:

www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/guide-registration-childcare-register

www.childcarevouchers.co.uk

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/childcare-vouchers

What if the nanny I want is not OFSTED registered?

Nannies who would like to become registered with Ofsted can join the voluntary part of the Ofsted Childcare Register (OCR), however Nannies are not required to be registered on the Ofsted Childcare Register. Registration is entirely voluntary.

The cost of registration is £105
DBS check £60 (even if nanny has already had a DBS check done, another one must be carried out (unless the previous check was obtained via Ofsted within the last three years).
Nanny Insurance (public liability insurance) £70 to £90 Morton Michel
A valid paediatric first-aid certificate (valid for 3 years) £80 -£120
Nanny needs to confirm that she has the Common Core skills and knowledge in childcare and is therefore considered suitable to work with children (Level 3 OCN common covre skills )
In order to continue being registered, a nanny will need to renew their registration annually.
On successful registration, the nanny is given a unique reference number by Ofsted.

Parents who employ an Ofsted registered nanny can receive some financial contributions towards their childcare costs. There are two types of financial support available: employer-supported childcare vouchers and working tax credits.

If the parent requests that the nanny is Ofsted registered, and especially if it brings a positive financial benefit to the parents, it is increasingly common that the parents pay either partially or in full for Ofsted registration. If the parent does pay for the registration it is considered a benefit in kind and needs to be declared as such.

Who should pay for OFSTED registration?

OFSTED registration is a financial saving to families, therefore to register your nanny to OFSTED, it is typically funded by the employer. Any dedicated nanny should absorb the cost of a first aid certificate and nanny insurance if they do not already hold these.

By Ronel Engelbrecht|2017-01-05T19:59:48+00:00March 9th, 2016|Parental Blog|0 Comments