Nannies
We think we do something pretty special here at Tiny Nation and we want to take the right people along for the journey. We know that our nannies are our fire-lighters and magic-makers. They enable us to partner with families to support our tiniest citizens to fulfill their greatest potential.
Our commitment to nannies
“There's the whole world at your feet”
Mary Poppins
When you are placed with a family as a nanny, you become an extension of that family and a special part of the lives of not just the children you care for, but the entire family. If you are selected as a Tiny Nation nanny, we make a commitment to walk alongside you on your nanny journey by providing you with a village of support – from play resource kits and learning inspiration through to community programme events and regular professional learning and development. You’re never alone.
Tiny Nation has three different nanny models:
Nanny Temp
We work with anyone who is looking for temporary work as a nanny. We define ‘temporary’ as three months or less and work with you to ensure you’re fully vetted and Tiny Nation-assured so that we can quickly place you into the home of a family in need.
Nanny School
Love the idea of working with children and looking for a new career option? Tiny Nation runs a Nanny School that supports you to earn while you learn. You can come to us with no prior qualifications in early childhood education or nanny experience and we will support you to train AND benefit from paid nanny placement opportunities where available.
Nanny Nation
Our Nanny Nation programme is set up for experienced, qualified nannies. If this is you, you will already have a minimum Level 3 qualification in early childhood education and at least one year of nanny experience under your belt. To recognise this, we’ll provide you with all the Tiny Nation programme benefits, including professional learning and development opportunities and fortnightly resource payments.
Here’s how we look after our nannies at Tiny Nation
When you’re placed with a family, we will provide the family with the resources, tools and guidance that they need to set out an appropriate employment arrangement with you. We’ll then provide ongoing programme support, including home visits, resources, outings and events.
We walk alongside you to provide support, resources, tools and mentoring. We get that taking on responsibility for shaping little minds is a big deal! So that you never have to do it alone, we have created a Tiny Nation village to tap into. Our village of support is here to help you with:
- Initial nanny registration and marketing.
- Getting clear on your early learning philosophy and how it will inform your day-to-day programme.
- Planning programmes for the children in your care and using Te Whāriki (the Early Childhood Curriculum) in a way that is meaningful and authentic.
- Resources to support bi-cultural practice.
- Regular communication with your families (newsletters, social media, online journaling).
- Growing your professional networks as an nanny – with each other, with other community support agencies and with prospect families.
We recognise the important role and responsibility that all Tiny Nation nannies, alongside families and staff, play in keeping our children safe. We provide personal support to ensure you feel comfortable with meeting all health and safety requirements, including those that your family may be required to meet (given you will be working in their home). We also provide free refresher child first aid courses every two years and annual child protection training – all delivered by experienced and accredited facilitators.
We have invested in making the complicated simple by using innovative technology. We know you want to get on and do what you do best – educate and care for children! We don’t want you to be weighed down by unnecessary paperwork and administration. To help us get past this, we’ve created simple online processes and templates.
Early learning teaching philosophies are very personal and you will have a unique view on what attracted you to the industry and why you do what you do. At Tiny Nation, we don’t ‘prescribe’ an over-arching learning philosophy for nannies. Rather, we share a toolkit of resources that allows you to craft your own philosophy in consultation with the families and children in your care.
One of our key values is connection and we want to connect regularly with you! Tiny Nation represents a collective of people who are all dedicated to lifting the bar when it comes to early learning experiences for children. We encourage open communication at all times, as this plays an essential role in understanding where we can do more to foster our Tiny Nation movement. One aspect of this communication includes termly educator and nanny evenings where you will have the opportunity to discuss anything and everything with the wider Tiny Nation team, including the leadership team. We don’t just talk about transparency and trust; we act on it.
Ongoing learning contributes to being successful at what we do, and we want to model this thirst for learning for our Tiny Nation children. To recognize that all nannies are on different learning pathways, all Tiny Nation nannies will benefit from a $250 annual professional learning and development payment that they can invest in education and training opportunities of their choice, including first aid and child protection training. They will also have an annual release day to attend selected education and training.
When you are selected as a Tiny Nation nanny, you become a part of a community of like-minded nannies and educators. As a part of this, we deliver regular community programmes (learning through play, nature school, music and movement) for you to attend with the children in your care that are reserved solely for the Tiny Nation community. We also offer regular workshops, webinars and learning modules on early learning topics that are current and relevant to your role as a nanny. We regularly get your feedback to make sure that our programmes and planning meet your needs and support your goals as an educator. We also provide you with regular peer networking opportunities so that you can benefit from the support and friendship of one another and have some fun along the way. After all, we’re all building this Tiny Nation together!
We have a dedicated early learning team to drive your ongoing learning and growth. This starts with our adult education trained visiting teachers, some of whom are also accredited Incredible Years® and Circle of Security® facilitators and trainers. Your visiting teacher will work with you to create your own career pathway based on your aspirations, philosophy and goals for the future.
Because we pride ourselves on nurturing strong industry partnerships, Tiny Nation will also lead you through an exclusive framework for education and training designed by a range of industry experts. This is where our relationships with early learning sector experts kick in and we get to benefit from the teachings of key influencers in early childhood education and child mental health and wellbeing.
We place huge value on education and training and want to see our nannies grow and develop their skills so that our Tiny Nation children and families can benefit.
It’s only right that when you belong to a collective you get to benefit from being a part of it! Tiny Nation has a number of pretty exciting resource partners offering our nannies and educators discounts and benefits on behalf of our educator collective. We want you to feel rewarded for being a part of Tiny Nation!
We only recruit trained educators and teachers because we know that qualifications are linked to higher quality outcomes for children. We also want to be able to tailor our support services to include business mentoring and networking for educators that extends past just getting started in the industry. Because you are already trained, you’re looking for your next step. We have a dedicated early learning team to drive your ongoing learning and growth. This starts with our adult education trained visiting teachers, some of whom are also accredited Incredible Years® and Circle of Security® facilitators and trainers. Your visiting teacher will work with you to create your own career pathway based on your aspirations, philosophy and goals for the future.
Because we pride ourselves on nurturing strong industry partnerships, Tiny Nation will also lead you through an exclusive framework for education and training designed by a range of industry experts. This is where our relationships with early learning sector experts kick in and we get to benefit from the teachings of key influencers in early childhood education and child mental health and wellbeing.
When it comes to more formal education and training opportunities, we focus our efforts on supporting higher level learning and training by offering a tailored career pathway to Tiny Nation educators. We place huge value on education and training and want to see our educators grow and develop their skills so that our Tiny Nation children and families can benefit.
We like to think that at Tiny Nation we grow our family each time we bring in a new educator. We want you to feel a strong sense of belonging, connection and inclusiveness as you journey with us. You are, after all, at the heart of all we do. We want you to be proud to be a part of Tiny Nation and will provide you with branded clothing that is practical, stylish and high quality for you to wear with pride!