When we say we provide a premium-level service, we mean it

Occasionally we’ll get to the point of talking fees with a prospective client and find ourselves confronting a comment along the lines of, "You’re a bit more expensive than some of the others." When this happens, we have no choice but to agree. The truth is, Placement Solutions is, unapologetically, a higher priced alternative compared to some of our competitors. We offer a premium-quality, luxury service that doesn’t take shortcuts. And like most things in life, you get what you pay for.

Placement Solutions has been in business for 34 years, so we know what it takes to get in-home childcare right. We know that, above all, the best service comes from working with the best nanny-educators, so we invest heavily in every aspect of nanny selection, training, and ongoing support.

We have such confidence in our service and in what we stand for that we will only work with families who appreciate the value of this investment.

It starts with selection and training of our nanny-educators in the first place.

There are plenty of agencies that are happy to recruit new nannies based on little more than a bit of babysitting experience and a quick phone interview. In contrast, all our nannies have a minimum of three years of verifiable childcare experience, along with formal training in first aid, training in child protection, a current first aid certificate, Working with Children check and national police check.

All our potential nannies are interviewed in person, with a thorough screening process including detailed reference checks. Aside from meeting our minimum requirements, we ensure that all our nanny-educators share our values and complete dedication to the care of the children under their watch.

We really take the time to understand each of our potential nanny-educators, their childcare philosophy and how they would fit with the families we service. We need to be absolutely assured that each of our nanny-educators has the focused, safety-first attitude our families expect.

Only a small proportion of the candidates interviewed by us get the opportunity to work with us.

Once a candidate has passed through the selection process, we provide detailed preparation and induction to both the nanny-educator and the family she will work for.

Very importantly, all of our nanny-educators are employees of Placement Solutions. We never employ any nannies on a contract basis. This means our nanny-educators are paid legally, are provided with full entitlements including superannuation and annual leave and are covered by WorkCover and public liability insurance. All this adds to the cost of our service, but we make no apologies for that. Our primary objectives are keeping the children of our families safe and supporting our nanny-educators so that they can operate at their very best.

Once a nanny-educator is allocated to a family, our service is anything other than ‘set and forget’. Our dedicated liaison officer provides ongoing support to both nanny-educators and families. We pride ourselves on providing regular, high-quality professional development opportunities for our nanny-educators. We also look for opportunities to support them should they choose to specialise in an area like newborn care or nannying at night.

All of this is designed to ensure that the most important people in our business – your children – receive the very best care and educational opportunities available.

I must admit to the occasional chuckle when I see a mothers’ group sitting in a circle with their babies, within an outer ring of the latest, most expensive, high-end prams. When it comes to buying stuff for their babies, parents will buy the best they can afford. However, that same standard sometimes seems to slip when it comes to paying for care for their child. I know which one I’d prefer to spend my money on.