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February 18th, 2020
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How to hire a Governess in London

If you are thinking about hiring a Governess in London, there are a few things to consider.

A Governess is very different from a Nanny so it is important to consider whether you are looking for childcare or for educational assistance for your children. A Governess is educationally focused and will either work alongside your children’s schooling or provide full time private education to your children, depending on your preferences. A Governess will not perform domestic tasks or to meet the physical needs of the family’s children such as preparing meals for the children, organising the children’s laundry or tidying the children’s bedrooms.

A typical Governess candidate will be educated with a university degree, able to teach English as a second language or have an additional language they are able to teach to the children to a fluent level, they will be well presented and encourage a healthy lifestyle to the children, and can assist in the learning of an extracurricular activity such as a musical instrument or sport. A Governess will have full responsibility for overseeing both the formal and informal education of your children. As well as teaching all aspects of the curriculum, the Governess will also help with the social and cultural development of the child, encourage self-awareness and creativity. While there is no minimum experience requirement to become a Governess, typically a Governess will have at least 5 years of professional childcare experience as well as having either a teaching background or higher childcare education qualification.

Tips for hiring a Governess in London

If you are looking to hire a Governess in London for your family there are a few tips and key questions you need to consider during the hiring process. Firstly it is important to act quickly, Governesses are always in high demand. Educated and experienced candidates with the skills of a Governess such as languages, music, sports, teaching experience always get snapped up quickly so if you wait too long, you will be left behind.

Key questions to ask candidates during the interview process include:

  • Have you taught in a home environment before, if so what are the common challenges they find come with this setting and how do they manage to overcome them?
  • What ages of children do they have experience caring for as well as teaching to?
  • What subjects do they have experience teaching?
  • What school curriculum do they have experience following and teaching?
  • Do they have experience teaching children from public schools or private schools? If they have experience with both, what differences do they notice between the two?
  • Do they have experience preparing children for specific exams? If so, what exams were they and what were the results of the children?
  • If the family are hiring straight from school and the candidate has not worked within a home before, what are their expectations of working within this environment?
  • Do they play musical instruments?
  • Do they have experience with playing different sports?
  • Are they a driver? Do they feel confident to drive the children around?

While these are only a sample of questions you can ask potential candidates, they do cover key areas of the Governess’ responsibility and will help you find the perfect candidate for your family.

What are the responsibilities of a Governess?

A Governess is similar to hiring a full time private tutor for your children, however, instead of specialising in a particular subject, a Governess will provide a full range of education. A Governess will either work alongside the educational system in place in your region or privately tutor your children. A Governess functions as an educator and is not employed to perform domestic tasks or to meet the physical needs of the family’s children such as preparing meals for the children, organising the children’s laundry or tidying the children’s bedrooms. This means that a Governess will work alongside a Nanny to ensure all of the children’s needs are met. Due to the educational focus a Governess has, their responsibilities will differ from a Nanny.

A Governess’s responsibilities can include:

  • working in partnership with the family and teachers to provide care and educational development for children
  • supplementing or replacing child’s school education in private households
  • promoting a child’s intellectual, educational and social development through a range of activities
  • coordinating and providing child’s leisure activities, extra curriculum and educational excursions
  • teaching a second language, musical instrument, arts or sports
  • motivating the child in regards to their studies
  • providing a positive learning environment
  • teaching etiquette and promoting good manners and behaviour
  • planning and organizing stimulating age appropriate activities with an educational focus
  • escorting the children to school and extracurricular activities
  • keeping parents informed of the child’s developmental progress
  • travelling with the family and organising a child’s leisure and educational activities during the trips

The reason a family chooses the services of a Governess differs from family to family. If you require flexibility for your family travel throughout the year without affecting the quality of your child’s education or you are in a position where you feel the standard schooling system is not an option for you, then a Governess is the perfect option for your family. However, some families hire Governesses in addition to regular schooling and these Governesses are often seen as specialised tutors, who provide extra instruction in both a child’s regular academic subjects as well as extracurricular learning. This could include activities such as a second language or a musical instrument. It is also common for families who enlist the help of Governesses to require a tailored curriculum for their children, and or a level of personal security and privacy that outside schooling is unable to provide. A Governess privatises and personalises your child’s education. A Governess is able to start working with children as young as 3 years old and can work with a family up until their children have finished their school years.

Why you should choose to use Little Ones to find your Governess in London

Our years of experience within the childcare industry has meant that our vetting procedure has been honed down to a fine art. When you use an agency like Little Ones that specialises in Governesses you can rest assured that the Governess you are being presented with has had a thorough background check, verbal references have been verified by our consultants and their experience compliments your requirements perfectly.

Our consultants believe that you should feel supported the very moment you contact us, and will not stop once you have found your Governess that perfectly compliments your needs. Our consultants are always on hand to assist at any point during your search and even after you have found the Governess for you.

Helping hand from the very beginning

Private Governess agencies such as Little Ones take the hassle of resourcing potential Governess from you and will only present you with the best of the best that we meet. We bring them into the office for a face to face interview where their experience and qualifications are discussed at length and we are able to obtain verbal references which we then personally check ourselves.

All of our private Governesses will have the following:

  • Enhanced DBS check
  • At least 3 years of experience
  • Any language requirements can be accommodated

From the very first call, your expert Governess consultant will guide you through what your options are, what would suit your requirements most closely and put your mind to rest with any concerns you might have regarding your private Governess search. Our consultants are also on hand to help and answer any questions you might have along the way, using an agency that specialises in private Governesses like Little Ones means you have a direct line to the experts. No matter what stage you are at with your private Governess search, our consultants are on hand to assist.

Working with experts from the very start

Our years of experience within the Governess industry means we know what it takes to be an exceptional private Governess, which is why all the private Governesses we work with are the best of the best that are available. We pride ourselves on providing a premium level of service and care for our clients because we expect the same from our Governesses. We maintain the highest standards and expect the best from our Governesses because we know you expect the best for yourself.

Here at Little Ones, we pride ourselves on being able to delicately align a premium, luxury service for an aspect of your life that is so personal.

Using an agency that specialises in private Governesses for your home like Little Ones means you can be sure you will receive support from every side, we will take the stress of finding a private Governess from you and present you with private Governess options that perfectly aligns with your Governess needs and your schedule.

We work with your family to find solutions, whatever your needs. To make perfect and seamless placements is Little Ones ethos.

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