When a really capable nanny comes to my agency and takes a job and employers think she is wonderful, it is great to find out that she has a sister who wants to work in childcare. But only once have I encountered a family of five such girls.
Lynne Bagstaff, who is 25, came to the agency in 1997. She had just completed her BTec National Diploma in Nursery Nursing. Lynne says, 'When I went to college to do my BTec I fully intended to go straight on to university to do a teaching degree. I chose the BTec rather than A levels, since it offered practical placements in schools and the results depended on the two years' work, not simply the exams. I enjoyed the course, but by the end of it I felt I had had enough of studying. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do but I was ready to work with children.'
Lynne took a live-in job where she cared for a baby boy and his two-year-old sister. Once the parents got to know her she had a lot of sole charge, including overnights.
'I loved looking after the children, but after two years I realised that, as a long-term career, I really wanted to be a primary school teacher and felt ready to start the training. I had grown up in a very caring, supportive family, and going out to work as a nanny was the first time I had lived away from home. However old you may be, you are still a child in your parents' house. Of course, when you work as a live-in nanny in charge of someone else's children you are expected to be an adult. When the parents were not around, and sometimes they were away overnight, I had to take charge and make the decisions. I was responsible for doing the children's cooking and laundry and organising their routine. I also went on holiday with them to Spain and to Florida.
'My nanny job prepared me for living away from home and taught me how to be much more organised. It also gave me a chance to think about the future, so I was really sure teaching was what I wanted to do. When I went for the interview to get my teaching place at Swansea the tutor said they preferred to take people who had had practical experience with children, who were more likely to complete the course. When I started university I had some savings and was able to get nanny work during the holidays to supplement my income instead of having to work in a factory or shop. From a professional point of view I was able to able to observe first-hand the way the children developed in their pre-school years, which has been very useful as I have chosen to teach the reception age group.'
Lynne got a place at Swansea, gained her BEd and now teaches at a school in Redditch near Worcester.
The following year Ann Bagstaff joined the agency. She had also done a BTec Diploma in childcare, but she did not want to teach and got a live-in nanny job straight away looking after a three-year-old and 18-month-old, and soon another baby.
Ann, 24, says, 'I never had any inclination to be a teacher but enjoyed looking after my younger sisters and knew I wanted to work with young children. I loved my job with John and Jane. I had never made any plans to travel, so it was a great bonus when when the family organised a house swap and I spent five weeks in New Zealand with them. I liked the freedom of being a nanny, especially when I learned to drive and my sister Donna got a nanny job close by so we could take all the children out for days together.
I only left left the family after I got married and we moved to Spalding, which is too far away to commute. I couldn't immediately find another nanny job, so I went to work in a local day nursery, where I've just been promoted to senior nursery nurse. I enjoy the nursery but I know I always have the option of going back to nannying.'
Two years later Donna Bagstaff, now 22, finished her BTec and joined the agency. Where Lynne and Ann had both gone into happy, long-term nanny jobs, Donna's first one was temporary and had the ingredients for the job from hell. The mother had hurt her back and had never employed anyone to care for the children. She was staying with relatives, so the children had hardly any toys, but their mother was around the whole time. The parents seemed to have no idea what a nanny's job was supposed to be, or that she was not on call 18 hours a day. They were critical of everything Donna tried to do.
Donna says, 'At the end of the first week I came home in tears. Both the agency and my parents agreed that there was no way I should have to carry on working there. I phoned the parents to tell them I would not come back.
They were angry, but since they really needed me I plucked up the courage to tell them exactly what was wrong with the job and to lay down some conditions.
'I went back and things improved, to the extent that by the time the job finished they appreciated what I was doing with the children. This really boosted my confidence. I had learned the skills of being assertive with employers very quickly - though luckily I did not need to use them again, as my next three live-in jobs were great. But in order to work in a rural area I needed to pass my driving test - something I just could not seem to do! I have moved back home to work in a local day nursery, feeling that if there is no pressure on me to drive I'll have a better chance of passing my test. But I think childcare is a great career.'
Fiona, 20, is the Bagstaff who has so far escaped the agency net. After a few months at college she decided she wanted to work in a school and did her NVQ in a local primary. She interrupted her course to have her daughter, but went on to complete her level 3 qualification before the birth of her second child. Fiona would like to work as an learning assistant with special needs children once her own girls are older.
In theory Fiona is now taking a maternity break - but really she and her daughters spend most days round her mother's in Holbeach, Lincolnshire, helping with the children whom she cares for as a registered childminder.
Rebecca, the baby of the family at 15, is still at school, where she is doing Health and Social Care. She hopes to go on to do a childcare qualification and work in a nursery - and so far she has not spoken to my agency about the joys of nannying.
I wanted to know what the secret of producing a dynasty of childcarers is, so I spoke to their mother.
Frances Bagstaff passed a residential childcare course and went to work in a children's home, where she met her husband Paul, who was also working there. Paul subsequently qualified as a social worker and is now in the mental health field. Frances became a mature student and gained a further Certificate in Residential Care for Children and Young People.
Frances says, 'I honestly don't know what has influenced all my children to want a career in childcare, because we never pushed them in a specific direction. We are a close, happy family and just wanted them to do something they enjoyed. As parents we would have encouraged them in any career they chose. I looked after Fiona's daughter while she finished her NVQ, but certainly never forced any of them to take a qualification.
'After I got married and had the girls I stayed at home with them. I registered as a childminder, so there were always young children in the house and the girls often chose to play with them. But I did insist that the childminding area was downstairs. The girls had their own space and kept their toys upstairs, so my childminding never took over their lives.
They saw it as my job, which provided them with holidays and treats. They loved helping me and playing with the children, but they were never made to. Perhaps they saw me as a role model or maybe, like Paul and myself, they just love being around children.
'I think childcare these days is a brilliant career choice. It has given my girls the opportunity to travel and to work in different fields. Although they all seem content with what they are doing, their qualifications mean that they could go on to higher education in the caring field - nursing, teaching, speech therapy or social work. Or they could decide to open their own day nurseries.
'As a childminder in a rural area I find I am always in demand, so with childcare qualifications I can see that my daughters should certainly never be unemployed.'
Helen Kewley is the owner of Nice Nannies Now in Huntingdon
