Press
Holiday Nanny has received a great deal of press attention and comment. Here are some of the most recent articles:-
Eve Magazine
Hassle-Free Family Holidays
Juliet Kinsman, editor in chief of Mr and Mrs Smith hotel guides, shares her expert tips for a happier family holiday.
Book a Holiday Nanny (www.holidaynanny.org). This service provides qualified childcarers. A week’s package starts from £425.
Tatler
Tricks of the Rich
A family holiday is not a break without a nanny to amuse the little ones. Holiday Nanny has 45 fully qualified nannies ready to join the sunshine fun. Choose from swimming instructors, music and dance teachers and even a figure skating champion. The cost is £425 a week or £795 for two weeks for 45 hours of daytime childcare and 14 hours of babysitting.
– April 2008
Easy Living
Q. With four children under the age of ten, my husband and I are desperate for a holiday in the sun, but the prospect of negotiating the whole multi-child holiday quagmire fills us with dread. How can we make it easier on ourselves?
A. A surprising affordable option is to enlist the services of your own nanny. Costings from £425 per week, Holiday Nanny will match you with one of their nannies (most of whom are school teachers, maternity nurses or fully qualified nannies) who will join you on your trip, help you travel to and from your destination, entertain your hordes and basically just provide an extra pair of helpful hands. There are nannies to suit all families – with skills from ballet teaching to qualified swimming instructing – so you’re sure to find your own holiday Mary Poppins.
– April 2008
Milk and Manolos
A Spoon Full Of Sugar Helps Parents Enjoy Holidays Just A Little Bit More:
The Summer holiday is booked, the wardrobe being planned. What to do with the Munchkin and her very lovely holiday companion, Lola Rose is next on the check list. My agreement to a villa based holiday was that I’d get to spend at least some of the time by the pool, trashy book in hand sans any form of responsiblity whatsoever. Who was I kidding ? While there’s no doubting the that Husbands is practically heaven sent there are still going to be times when we’re going to have two bored little ladies on our hands. I couldn’t help marvelling at what a genius idea Holiday Nanny is. The clue’s in the name … Specialising in one or two week bookings for vacation time, I can’t help being sorely tempted. Particularly suitable for this type of holiday, when the cost (£ 425 pw) can be shared between two, or possibly three families. Most definitely a number to jot down in my journal. It could come in very useful…
– 3rd March 2008
Coutts Woman
Holidaying with the kids made easy:
They say many of the best ideas are born of personal experience. And so it was with 'Holiday Nanny'. This was a business just waiting to happen. But it took a tortuous experience by former Goldman Sachs investment banker Nicola Grant to kick-start it into life.
Nicola and her husband Edward were planning a holiday abroad shortly after the birth of their second child. They decided to take a nanny with them. As Nicola says, "We started looking for help. We went to agencies, advertised privately and went through masses of CV's." It was a time consuming process that left them needing the holiday even more. The result was, "We got a fantastic nanny," says Nicola. "People on holiday kept saying where did you get her? I thought there must be an easier way of doing this." What Nicola had identified was a huge gap in the market. The more she looked into it the more she realised there 'are a lot of private families looking for a nanny'. And these are not just professional people. They may be full-time mothers who want a break when they go on holiday. Or it could be families who already have a nanny but want to give her a holiday when they go away. Nicola recognised everyone has different needs and requests. So 'Holiday Nanny' came into being in June 2007 and by August was already taking bookings.
From nursery to secondary school children, those with special needs and babies, 'Holiday Nanny' offers different packages and a bespoke service. But at the heart of it all is the personal service. As Nicola says, "We try to match the nanny to the family. Holidays are so important for people you've got to get it right. The personality and the set of skills must match." Take for instance Fiona Winser. She's off on a skiing holiday with a family who have two little girls. She says, "The girls are really into dancing and so am I." And then there's Jessica Root who nannied with a family and they got on so well she says, "They were lovely. It wasn't like I was working for them as a nanny, it was like a friend. We still keep in contact."
Both Fiona and Jessica come from a childcare background. Fiona is 22 years old, and taking her final year at Leeds University studying Childhood, Education and Culture. She's going on to take her qualifications to teach primary school children. And Holiday Nanny fits in well with her university schedule. Likewise 29 year old Jessica, who is qualified in childcare, splits her time between Britain and Germany and 'Holiday Nanny' works well with her lifestyle. Nicola says, "Our nanny base is made up of three sets of nannies. We use primary and secondary school teachers, supply teachers and students in the childcare profession." This means they can cover most holidays at short notice. "We can respond very quickly," says Nicola. "Generally if I get a call in the morning I can turn it around and have a proposal ready by the afternoon."
Holiday Nanny is very fussy. Less than 10% of those who apply get accepted. And of those that do there's a rigorous checking process. Each nanny will have childcare qualifications, a minimum of a year's experience, and a paediatric first aid certificate. And then there are references to review and a check with the Criminal Records Bureau. In the last five months the company has had over 50 jobs on its books and 45 nannies. They have already linked up with several top family holiday companies including Elegant Resorts, Kuoni, Quo Vadis Kids in the Med and Wake up in France. "Our nanny base is made up of three sets of nannies. We use primary and secondary school teachers, supply teachers and students in the childcare profession." says Nicola Grant. And the accolades are flowing in. Consider the family who on meeting their nanny at 5am at Gatwick realised they had 'made a fantastic decision'. They say, "She was so friendly, energetic and helpful and built up an immediate rapport with William. She struck the right balance between giving up a helping hand and stepping back at the right time to allow us space as a family. In fact we checked her availability for 2008 on the flight home."
So what does it cost to have peace of mind and enjoy that well earned break? Standard packages for one week cost £425 and that includes 45 hours of daytime childcare and 14 hours of night time babysitting. Two weeks cost £795. And in each week the nanny has one day and at least three evenings off. But in practice the parents and the nannies work out what suits them best. So for instance, Jessica stayed with the baby for a few days when the family went off with the older child. And Fiona will have her mornings free while the children are at ski school. Holiday Nanny has tapped into people's need for a relaxing break away from the daily grind. Nicola says, "I hope it continues to grow." And if the last few months are anything to go by it seems likely the company will go from strength to strength.
– January 2008
Child of Wimbledon
Employ a nanny for the holiday. If you can afford it bring your nanny with you. If you don’t have one, employ one just for the trip. Holiday Nanny supply only the best nannies to accompany families on holiday making the holiday a real break for parents too!
– Nov 2007
Junior Magazine
Holiday Nanny is a brand new company specialising in Holiday Nannies to accompany families on holiday in the UK and Abroad. This brilliant agency can provide high-calibre nannies to make sure your holiday this year is a real rest!
– Oct 2007
Angel and Urchins
Holiday Nanny: The tortuous experience of searching for the right holiday nanny convinced former investment banker, Nicola Grant, to set up her own specialist agency, Holiday Nanny. The company has 20 nannies on its books, mostly primary and nursery school teachers, maternity nurses and fully-qualified nannies – including ones with particular talents, so Holiday Nanny can offer ‘sport nanny’ or ‘artistic nanny’. “When a family contacts us, we find out about them and their holiday plans, exactly the kind of help they want … we then match them up with the most suitable nanny”, explains Nicola. All nannies have childcare qualifications, minimum one year’s experience, paediatric first aid and are CRB checked.
– Autumn 2007
Country House
Travel News: One item guaranteed to make travelling en famille less challenging comes courtesy of Holidaynanny.org. A basic week’s package costs £425, including 45 hours of daytime care and 16 hours of evening babysitting. Far more effective than ibuprofen and earplugs.
– October 2007
Sunday Times Travel Section
Q. We’ve tried leaving our young son in a holiday crèche, but he’s not liked it (an understatement), so we’ve had to abandon the idea. Do you know where we could hire a travelling nanny?
A. …. It’s a little easier to find following the launch of a new company called Holiday Nanny (01494 772400). It’s a family run business, started when the founder experienced similar frustrations to yours. There are 20 nannies on the books, mostly primary-or-nursery school teachers and maternity nurses, including some with particular talents – in languages, for example, fitness or (wait for it) ice-skating. You can meet your nanny beforehand, and they all live in the UK. The cost is £425 for a week or £795 for a fortnight, which includes 45 hours per week on a six-or-seven day week and 14 hours of evening baby-sitting spread over four nights.
– Richard Green, Sunday October 7th 2007
Families Chiltern
As any parent can tell you, so-called family ‘holidays’ can often be anything but – in fact, looking after the kids in an unfamiliar environment without all the usual supports and distractions of home can be a demanding business. One way of easing the burden (and giving yourself some down time in which to properly enjoy the holiday yourselves) is to hire a specialist holiday nanny to accompany you. If this sounds of interest, check out the recently launched Holiday Nanny, which specialises in providing nannies who can bring ‘an extra dimension’ to the family holiday. The agency has around 20 top-notch nannies on its books, mostly primary and nursery school teachers, maternity nurses and fully qualified nannies. Some have particular talents, including for example, artistic or sporting skills – they can even provide you with a champion ice skater!
– September/October 2007
The Times - Travel Section
Flying Nannies: Parents are booking 'high-calibre nannies' to help look after children on holidays - soon to become a regular add-on offered by some of the country's biggest tour operators. A website that began in June but started taking bookings a fortnight ago says interest has been huge, with almost 50 bookings in the pipeline. Holidaynanny.org which was created by former Goldman Sachs investment banker Nicola Grant, offers nannies for week-long trips from £425 and from £795 for two weeks. Flights, food and accommodation are extra. Each nanny is vetted, with qualifications, references and the CRB checked. Grant, who has two children aged 3 and six months, said “We were going on holiday in Spain earlier this year and wanted a nanny, but we didn’t know where to look and couldn’t find an agency. Luckily, we found a fantastic nanny. But I thought that there should be an easier way.” She is in discussion with two big tour operators about having her service advertised in their brochures.
– Sat 8th September 2007
City Diary, The Times
When Nicola Grant, a former Goldman Sachs banker, decided to go on holiday to Spain shortly after the birth of her second child, she and her husband resolved to hire a nanny to accompany them. Although eventually she found one, she found the process so stressful and time-consuming that she realised there was a gap in the market. So was born Holiday Nanny.
– Fri 7th September 2007
