Our guidelines to hosting an Au Pair and FAQ
What is an An Au Pair?
An Au Pair is a single person, without dependants aged 18-27 who wants
to learn a foreign language and learn about the culture by living as
part of the family. An Au Pair can be male or female. An Au Pair is a young foreigner with limited childcare experience who helps with the children before and after school and the housework.
They are not professional, qualified childcarers and expect to become a member of the family.
More information on an Au Pairs profile, work conditions, role etc
What is An Au Pair Plus?
An Au Pair Plus has exactly the same role as an Au Pair but carries out more hours.
More information on an Au Pair Plus' profile, work conditions, role etc
What is an Elite Au Pair?
An Elite Au Pair has a similar role to an Au Pair but is more experienced and qualified (BAFA childcare certificate - see below) whose role solely involves looking after children and no housework. More information on an Elite Au Pair's profile, work conditions, role etc
What is a Nanny?
A nanny is a qualified childcarer and therefore able to assume the responsibility of sole charge of young children. They are professionals and therefore expect a permanent contract with normal working conditions i.e. annual salary + bonuses, overtime, paid holiday and their salary is subject to national insurance etc . They also nearly always live out and will only do child-related housework.
Pebbles does not provide nannies.
What is a Mother's Help / Parent's Help?
A mother's help is really just an apprentice nanny. This means they should not have sole charge of young children over long periods of time. They tend to carry out all the normal nanny duties but under the mother's supervision.
They expect a permanent contract with normal working conditions i.e. annual salary + bonuses, overtime, paid holiday and their salary is subject to national insurance etc
Pebbles does not yet provide Mother's/Parent's Helps.
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About the Pebbles Au Pairs
How does Pebbles recruit their Au Pairs?
Many of our applicants are recommended to us by previous Au Pairs. We recruit our Au Pairs through universities, schools, colleges and youth centres. We also have a lot of candidates contact us through google and student information websites. All Au Pairs are thoroughly screened (please see details below).What is the BAFA childcare certificate?
The BAFA is a childcare qualification involving 3 training periods. The first is theory where they study the behaviour of children and different methods of looking after all ages.
This is then put into practice in the second period where they work in a children's holiday camp as an assistant monitor, and in the third period they become a monitor where they have their own group of children that they look after. It's a very respected diploma in France and demonstrates good experience with children.
When are the Au Pairs available from and for how long?
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About the Pebbles Host Families
Is your family eligible to host an Au Pair?
Our Host Families must be able to provide adequate board and lodging for their French Au Pair (An Au Pair must have her own room). Our host families must agree to our recommendations regarding hours of work / pay and duties required.
Does Pebbles place with single parent families?
Of course! However, it does tend to take longer to place with single-father families as it's not the most popular choice.
Where do we place?
We place French Au Pairs all over England & Wales, most of our placements are in areas such as London, the Home Counties, Sussex, Hampshire etc. However, we regularly place with families in the Midlands and the North if they are able to help their Au Pair integrate into local life and make friends.
Please note : We do not place in any other countries other than the UK.
Do you live in a rural area?
Please note that placements in rural areas prove to be the most difficult. This is as very few young girls who are on their adventure to England would choose to live in the countryside! They can feel very isolated from the other girls and it can also be awkward to get to language lessons.
The onus is on the Host Family to ensure that they can easily integrate into the village life and make friends. We are happy to place in rural areas but it takes a little longer to find the right person - we suggest you call us for a chat so we can advise you on ways to improve the chances of success!
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What are the Family's Obligations?- Accommodation
An Au Pair should have their own room of a reasonable size, with adequate storage and access to a study
area (either in the room or elsewhere). Their room should be for their sole use and free from children! It
should also be free of the family's possessions. The Au Pair will not expect the family to enter their room
during their time in your home. The family is not obliged to provide an ensuite/private bathroom.
- Language lessons
An Au Pair must be allowed to attend weekly language lessons. The family will need to build this time into
their schedule and respect this time. The Au Pair pays for the classes and the family pays for the travel
expenses to and from the school. Some families choose to contribute to the cost of the lessons.
- Please find out about Au Pair classes (time, duration cost) before your Au Pair arrives. We cannot stress
the importance of attending these classes as your Au Pair will make friends and learn the language. This
makes them feel that the Au Pair experience has been worthwhile and thus you have a happier Au Pair!
You can find a directory of English Language Schools at www.AuPairZone.net
Travel Arrangements
- The Au Pair will pay for her return travel to and from the UK.
- We ask the host families to collect the Au Pair from their initial arrival point - i.e. port or airport, as it's
very daunting for a young person to travel across a foreign country - not to mention carry their luggage!
- The Au Pair should liaise with you prior to booking their travel to ensure you are able to meet them and
that they arrive at a convenient location.
Insurance
- It is the family's responsibility to ensure that they have sufficient insurance (home, car and travel where
necessary) to cover the new family member so please make sure that your insurance companies are kept
informed.
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The Selection & Screening Process
How does Pebbles recruit their Au Pairs?
We advertise on Student and Travel websites as well as with the universities and youth centres.
What is the Pebbles selection process?
- We ask our candidates to complete a detailed questionnaire. This includes basic questions about their
experience, family etc but also includes more probing questions such as what makes a good Au Pair;
describe their childhood; Describe their personality; what activities they'd use to amuse a group of 5
year olds. This helps give a good insight into the candidate.
- We then interview them on the telephone - you will see our notes. We then select the best applicants
based on this application.
What Security Checks are carried out?
We obtain the following information
- Original police check - this is compared to the details on the ID.
- Medical report
- Copy of their ID
- Copy of their Driving Licence - this will show that they passed their test but not any driving convictions.
- At least 2 references (usually 3).
- Copies of diplomas, degrees etc where applicable.
We keep you fully up to date on the situation - if for any reason any of these items are proving difficult to obtain, we will inform you prior to your Au Pair's arrival.
Who has the final decision in the choice of Au Pair?
Whilst Pebbles will endeavour to propose the most appropriate candidate to the family, we feel that the family is much better placed to judge the suitability of the candidate than we are. We therefore provide the family with all the necessary information but ask them to ensure they are 100% confident they are hiring the right Au Pair and encourage them to carry out further checks should they fee it's necessary.
The Placement Process
Do we have to pay to register?
Registration is free: The Agency will start the search for an Au Pair on receipt of the family's application form - there is nothing to pay if the Agency doesn’t manage to arrange a placement.
What are the placement fees?
You can choose between a <<Pay As You Go Plan>> and a one-off payment service : See "Fees & Conditions"
How do I register?
Find out how to register for free here.
Do we need to provide a reference for my family?
We ask all our families to provide a reference - this is preferably from a previous Au Pair, cleaner, babysitter, nanny etc. If this is not possible, then a work colleague, neighbour etc.
What are the steps from registration to placement
You can find out all the stages from registration to placement on our register for free page
How soon after we apply for an Au Pair can we expect to review candidates?
Depending on the time of year, you can expect an acknowledgement of your application within 1 working day and your first proposal within 5 working days - this can be up to 30 days in off peak times.