First Aid for Children – Free Seminars by BabySafe

Great opportunity to improve first aid skills for both parents and au pairs!

“The FREE BabySafe seminars have been especially designed to help parents cope with babies and young children in emergency first-aid situations.

Each seminar covers a range of different life-saving techniques including basic resuscitation, what to do if a child is choking, dealing with burns and scalds, spotting the signs of meningitis as well as car-seat safety advice.

The two-hour course also includes a practical session with RLSS volunteers, enabling participants to try out their skills on dummy babies and children.

From November until the end of March, eight FREE BabySafe seminars will be held at select towns throughout the UK. Everyone who attends will receive a free ‘goody bag’ packed with useful products and a free life-saving skills DVD.”

For the dates and locations of the eight BabySafe Workshops please follow the link:

http://www.tesco.com/babyclub/join_now/babyclub_news/baby_safe.page

Special thanks to our Host Mum (Ms. Moyes) who referred us to the programme.

Source: Tesco.com/babyclub

Au Pair Induction & Online Training Course

Our au pair induction last Saturday at Eurocenters language school was a great success. The au pairs who attended liked our presentations, the free trial lessons provided and the chance to meet other au pairs. For us, it was a wonderful opportunity to meet so many lovely au pairs in person.

We now have a further unique opportunity to offer for au pairs; a brand new online accredited au pair induction course, delivered by Milton Keynes Language Center and agreed for Smartaupairs at half price!

To benefit from this half price offer –

Enrol your au pair online before 30 September as follows:

Enter promotional code SMART0909 (must use capitals) on

http://www.mklc.co.uk/aupair.html

and pay by PayPal as instructed. The name of the student to enrol must be your au pair as this will be the name for the exam and certificate.

The course is designed to be a 30 hour course divided into 4 sections, covering topics such as Getting To Know Your Family, Health & safety, Food & Recipes and ‘Out & About’. Throughout the course your au pair will have access to support from a tutor plus a student forum. At the end of the course, when all the assessments/tasks have been completed successfully, an official certificate will be issued.

The Au pair course is one unit of a larger course titled ‘British Culture’; other units in the course being: British business etiquette, British heritage, People in history and Famous Britons.

We feel this will be a fantastic benefit for all au pairs keen to embrace the cultural experience!

New Au Pair Course

Smartaupairs is contributing to a brand new ‘au pair’ course which has already received accreditation through the OCN, the Open College Network. The course is designed by Milton Keynes Language Center and will be online. It will be a 30 hour course set out over 4 sections.

The course is designed to be a 30 hour course set out over 4 sections, covering topics such as Getting To Know Your Family, Health & safety, Food & Recipes and ‘Out & about’. Throughout the course you will have access to support from a tutor plus a student forum. At the end of the course, when all the assessments/tasks have been completed successfully, an official certificate will be issued.

The Au pair course is one unit of a larger course titled ‘British Culture’; other units in the course being: British business etiquette, British heritage, People in history and Famous Britons.

In addition to the OCN accreditation, we are hoping to gain endorsement from BAPAA for this course, which provides an excellent starting point for every au pair candidate travelling to Britain or recently arrived with their British host family.

The course will be sold at £60 including exam fee and certificate and will launch from 1^st September 2009.

We also hope to include the course in some of our promotions at a reduced fee so ‘watch this space!’

We feel this will be a fantastic benefit for all au pairs keen to embrace the cultural experience!

Channel 4 looking for Families with 4 or More Children of the Same Gender

Love Productions has been commissioned to make a documentary for Channel 4 about large families with single-gender offspring.  We are looking to feature families based in the UK who have four or more children of the same gender and are pregnant, or trying for a baby of the opposite sex, in order to complete their family.  We want to explore what it’s like living in a same-sex household, and look at the reasons behind the decision to have another child.

There are many reasons as to why a family might continue to try for the other sex ranging from the previous loss of a child, to wanting to bring a female presence to an overwhelmingly male household.  We also understand that particularly wanting a boy or girl is not uncommon and we want to explore the emotional and psychological reasons behind that desire.

We are already filming with two families in the UK, one family with 8 boys hoping to have a girl, the other with 6 boys and their new baby girl.  The film promises to be a sensitive, insightful and celebratory portrayal of large families who would love to have a boy or a girl, and the how much it means to them to achieve their dream.  It will be broadcast as one of Channel 4’s Cutting Edge documentaries later this year.
It would be fantastic if you had a family on your books wishing to share their story in the film.  I would be most grateful if you would consider passing on this information to any of your clients who may have 4 or more children of one gender.  If a couple wants to just call for further information, that’s fine, there’s no obligation for them to feature in the film and all calls are treated as confidential.

Please contact Smartaupairs on 0800 917 81 66 – and we can put you in contact with the Producer.

News from ISA (The Independent Safeguarding Authority)

The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) has been created to help prevent unsuitable people from working with children and vulnerable adults.

You can view www.isa-gov.org.uk

The page relating to the au pair industry is:
http://www.isa-gov.org.uk/default.aspx?page=314

This scheme takes effect as from July 2010 and will be compulsory as from November 2010.

The BAPAA committee is currently seeking clarification as to whether au pairs are to be included in the scheme.

Keeping Your Child Safe & Encouraging Better Behaviour

The two following booklets are provided by NSPCC and are free to view online.

The information is easy to read and very useful especially during the early days of the au pair placement. Therefore, why not refer your au pair to the page or have a read through together with her/him.

Keeping Your Child Safe:

“How do you keep children safe outside the home? How can you keep your toddler safe if they tend to wander off? What should you tell your child to do if they get lost? How do you make sure that your children are safe when taking part in activities in the local community? What should you do if you see a distressed child?

This booklet offers practical advice to parents and carers, encouraging them to think about how they can make the world a safer place for children. Includes information on what questions to ask when choosing after and out of school activities.”

http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/publications/Downloads/outalone_wdf48089.pdf

Encouraging Better Behaviour:

“A practical guide to positive parenting” , why does a child misbehave & how to react,  guide to positive discipline. A paper copy is provided as part of our family welcome pack.

http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/publications/Downloads/encouragingbetterbehaviour_wdf48121.pdf

Source: NSPCC

Au Pair Driving in the UK

If you need your Au Pair to be able to drive you are responsible for arranging car insurance. Check the age you can afford to insure prior to choosing an Au pair and also check the type of licence – for rules on driving in UK, go to http://www.dvla.gov.uk/

Please note that if you need a driver you need to be aware that an Au Pair’s driving ability may be an unknown quantity. Even if the Au Pair says that they have been driving for 5 years, they may have passed their test 5 years ago and not driven a car since; so you need to be sure of their driving ability before accepting them as your Au Pair. To help, in the Au Pair application process we ask for basic information such as: How often do you drive? What types of roads do you drive on – motorway, town, city, countryside? Have you had any accidents?

Ultimately, the decision to accept an Au Pair as a driver is your responsibility and you need to be sure that the Au pair is capable of driving – especially if you expect them to drive your children. We would suggest that once the Aupair arrives you arrange for a 2 hour driving lesson so that a qualified instructor can assess their driving ability. You may need to arrange more lessons!

Source: Rebecca Haworth-Wood

RULES FOR THE ROAD

Austria

Learning: A driving school and accompanied driving programme, with practical and theory lessons and a minimum of 3,000kms accompanied driving. Learners can start at 16 and take the test from 17.

After the test: Two years’ probation and a zero-alcohol rule. Any violations lead to an offender course and extension of probation. One year after the test, there’s a day of track training and group discussion.

Germany

Learning: Drivers can learn to drive only in professional driving schools. Learners can take the test at 17, followed by mandatory accompanied driving until 18.

After the test: Two years’ probation, extended if there are violations. Zero alcohol until 21

France

Learning: Starts at 17½ (if at a driving school) or 16 on the accompanied driving programme — a combination of a minimum of 20 hours’ driving school training, 3,000km accompanied driving, plus two three-hour feedback meetings with instructor. Minimum age for test, 18.

After the test: Three years probabtion and novice drivers must display ‘A’ driver-plates on the back of the car. They must also drive more slowly, ie, 110km on motorways, instead of 130km.

Sweden

Learning: Lessons start at 16 and the accompanying driver must take a three-hour training course. Driving test can be taken at 18.

After the test: Two years’ probation. Violations result in a suspension of the licence and driver has to retake test.

UK

Learning: Test can be taken at 17. Unlike other countries, motorway driving is not taught.

After the test: Two years’ probation, during which the licence can be revoked after obtaining six penalty points, instead of the usual 12. Driver must then retake test.

Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/features/article6505094.ece

Photo: IanWhite/Deviantart

Information for First Time Host Families

We are currently getting a lot of questions from families considering an au pair for the first time. The economic situation has made many families re-think their children’s’ education and childcare options for after school or families with younger children are calculating the cost of the nursery or the nanny versus cheaper options such as an au pair.

To make sure we cater for ‘first timers’ the best possible way, here are some of the questions we are asked most frequently.

What are the main differences between a nanny, a child minder and an au pair?

A nanny is a childcare professional. You can expect them to know everything about handling different age groups and they are fully ‘equipped’ to care for babies also. They are unlikely to take on any household task except those directly relating to your children. They live out and come to your house to care for your children as per an agreed schedule. You pay them a salary, expect upward from £350 net per week. She is caring for your child/children only and you pay the same for 1 child or several children. School age children may be too independent for a nanny. If you want any housework done in addition to childcare, expect to pay for a regular cleaner also. Any babysitting or extra hours are extra.

BBC Section on Childcare Options

A section on BBC discussing different childcare options – including a view on having an au pair as a childcare provider.

BBC – Childcare – What’s Available?

Pros & Cons as seen in the article for an au pair placement are:

“Pros

• An au pair or mother’s help can help with light housework, taking and collecting children from school, or looking after them for short periods after school.
• An au pair or mother’s help is a ‘built-in’ babysitter, although you must agree terms and conditions for this beforehand. Don’t expect them to babysit for more than two or three nights a week.
• An au pair can help your child understand another culture.
• A good au pair or home helper can become a close friend

Cons

• It’s likely that an au pair, home helper or babysitter won’t be qualified. They won’t be registered, either.
• They aren’t suitable for full-time, sole-charge childcare.
• You may find it hard having someone else living in your house.
• They may be great play companions, but not know how to cope when the going gets tough. It’s your responsibility to make sure they know the basics of childcare and first aid, and have suitable back-up in case of emergency.
• With an au pair, there may be language or communication difficulties.
• You’ll almost certainly need to provide some emotional support for a young au pair – think of yourself at 18.”

Source: BBC

Flexible Child Care – Au Pairs for Shift Workers

An au pair can work really well in families where one or both parents work shifts, such as emergency services such as doctors, nurses, police officers and the fire brigade but also those working in the hospitality industry such as restaurants and the entertainment industry are often out in the evenings or overnight. Even those who work in the medical profession on a nine-to-five basis, sometimes have additional ‘on call’ duties.

The advantages of live-in child care are even greater for families who work shifts, as the au pair is already at their home and familiar with the children, some are even happy to provide overnight child care for night workers.

For some employees shift work means an extremely early start. In this case, the au pair can get up with the children at a normal time and get the children ready for school and take them there. Any other child care solutions, if at all they are available at such early times, usually means getting the children up much earlier then usual and dropping them of somewhere prior to school hours, which is stressful to the parent and tiring for the children.

And working late in the evening part of your working patterns, a nursery or childminder either is not available after 6pm or charges significantly extra. An au pair who is already at your home can provide the extra flexibility required.

Many au pairs are very comfortable with parents who work shifts. As long as they can attend language classes and know more or less in advance when to expect to be in charge of the children, they can be an ideal solution for working parents, especially those in shift work.

The benefit of live-in child care is that both au pair and children can go to bed at a usual time and in their own comfortable home, meaning a fresh start the next day. It really helps that the au pair is familiar with the children and with the home.

Sole charge and overnight

It is important to stress to host families that an au pair is not a professional child carer. Before you leave them in charge of children, especially those younger than school age, it is vital that you give them clear and full instruction and a settling in period before you leave them in charge of your children for long periods of time or overnight. Our handbook guide gives detailed information about how to ‘train’ your au pair.

Considering an au pair for the first time?

We provide additional support for host families who are considering an au pair for the first time. We also arrange short term placements, particularly suited as a trial but also ideal for those who are employed on short term contract and may change location after a few months.

Register with Smartaupairs