130 careers spotlight: Norlander Lizzie shares her journey as a full-time nanny
25 September 2023
Lizzie (Set 32) has worked with her current family as their live-out nanny for seven “brilliant” years. When she joined them, her charges were five, three and nine months old. As they grew, her work also evolved. Yet, what has remained a constant is the professional love and respect she has for the children in her care, and a passion for their wellbeing.
Lizzie’s career as a nanny, inspired by Norland’s motto ‘Love Never Faileth’, was “the only option” for her. After growing up in rural Hertfordshire, Lizzie began her Norland journey in 2008. “Norland specifically focusses on training students to become first-class nannies as well as opening doors to further our careers, but I knew the career I wanted was to become a nanny,” she says. “Nannying is a unique type of childcare in the early years”, she adds, because it provides “one-to-one care for a child’s individual needs… in the child’s home”. For Lizzie, the hands-on practical side of the Norland training is “like no other” and provided her with the essential skills she needed to work with busy families.
Training at Norland not only provided Lizzie with practical skills, but it was underpinned by extensively taught theoretical knowledge of child development and care. Norland also gave her a wealth of opportunities when it came to her NQN (Newly Qualified Nanny) year and beyond. This comprehensive approach to training meant that Lizzie “was absolutely adamant that Norland was the right career choice” listing a pivotal career highlight as the opportunity to work as a daily nanny in Hong Kong for five years, thanks to the Norland Agency. When she returned, she settled into life in London, where she has remained ever since.
Nannying in London is extremely busy. Lizzie often works a 50-hour week with four “full” days where she arrives at the family home in time to get her charges ready for school and leaves when they go to sleep in the evenings. She does, however, work a shorter day on a Friday and has time for herself over the weekend. “I ensure all my nanny duties are completed before I leave which include feeding the children supper, bath time and making sure their homework is completed for the next day.”
Now Lizzie’s charges are all of school age, her role has evolved to include other aspects of house management drawing on her organisational and planning skills, whilst giving her downtime and a chance to catch up with other tasks during the day. “When the children are at school, I use the time to complete my nursery duties – washing their clothes, tidying, cooking etc – so when they are home from school, I can spend time with them.” Lizzie also has the freedom to experiment in the kitchen whilst preparing evening meals, which she enjoys.
Lizzie has the autonomy in her role to take a break once her daily duties are complete, which is not often the case when charges are younger children. “I frequently use this time to exercise or occasionally meet up with other nannies” from Norland’s booming London community. Lizzie has also had the time to complete some of Norland’s expertly tailored Continued Professional Development courses. She has “thoroughly enjoyed” honing her skills in supporting charges through the teenage years, which has been helpful as her own charges progress to secondary school.
Working as a live-out nanny has helped Lizzie to cultivate a work-life balance. “The freedom of being able to say goodbye to the family at the end of the day, and head home, works well,” she confirms. Otherwise, she admits, when she works as a live-in nanny within the family home it can be more difficult to switch off.
Lizzie cherishes her memories of working during the challenging Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns. While it was a difficult time, it “brought me and the family even closer together, we have special memories that we will forever treasure.” Lizzie acknowledges the challenge of adapting practice to suit the development of charges from early years to pre-teens, especially during the pandemic when families were forced into closer proximity and independence was difficult to achieve. “I have always tried my best to encourage their independence”, which older children need to grow for themselves, as opposed to during their early years when they require constant attention. “I try to give my charges an opportunity to learn, which encourages them to be more independent”. She believes that being a nanny to older children is “all about balance”.
With Norland’s lifetime career support and guidance, Lizzie was able to find a family that suits her perfectly. They are a “team” in raising happy and healthy children. “My employers always support me, as I do with them,” says Lizzie. To Norland, Lizzie is “forever grateful” for the ongoing support and wealth of opportunities that have come her way as a result of her training. She lists communication skills as one of the most important assets she developed at Norland. “Our lecturers taught us well and embedded the importance of communication”, says Lizzie, adding that it has “helped me to build a strong, happy and nurturing relationship with my charges and my employer family over the last seven years. Norland taught me to be the best nanny I can be”.
