Evaluate Nanny Training

How to evaluate nanny training?

Evaluate a nanny training program on 5 things: who teaches it, whether students are graded, how the school handles student records, how deep the curriculum goes, and whether an outside body checked the curriculum (i.e. it’s licensed or accredited). 

What does an accreditation review check?

The US Nanny Institute is internationally accredited by NCFE CACHE. What follows is what that review involves and how we use the same 5 checks on any program.

1.    Faculty credentials

A school can’t satisfy faculty credentials by describing its instructors as experts. The accreditor verifies qualifications individually against the subjects each person teaches. Some accreditations do not require the instructor to have graduate school education and accept only work experience. At the Nanny Institute, every instructor holds at least a master’s degree and at least 5 years of direct experience in the field they teach. Many have worked as nannies.

This is the first place a program with no named instructors or instructors without the right education and experience runs out of road. If the school doesn’t tell you who wrote and who teaches its courses, no outside body has checked them either.

2.    Educational level

This is the hard part. The accreditor should review the curriculum and benchmark it at a level. The level describes depth and rigor: how complex is the subject matter, how much ground the material covers, how it’s structured, and the scientific basis behind it.

Educational levels differ around the world and it’s very different between the UK and the US. In the US, there’s high school equivalency, undergraduate and graduate school.

The US Nanny Institute developed its professional curriculum as a customised qualification, and the UK NCFE CACHE benchmarked its learning outcomes and assessment criteria at level 4.

A school can hold accreditation across programs that sit at different levels. If the school shares that it’s accredited, it’s useful to learn the accreditation organization and which level each program is accredited at.

3.    Graded assignments

An accreditation reviewer should confirm that the courses carry required assignments, quizzes and exams. Students have to pass all of them to complete the program. There should also be a review of the online learning system to ensure that access, time stamps and robust record keeping are up to date.

So how do you assess a nanny training program? You should ask if the student gets a certificate of attendance, a certification, or a transcript. In the US, universities, colleges and professional trade schools that comply with the faculty, curriculum and student record standards can distribute official transcripts. The US Nanny Institute issues both certifications upon completion as well as a transcript that communicates all the courses and programs completed by the student.

4.    Written policies

Licensed and accredited schools must produce copies of their policies and procedures to ensure they comply with the regulations covering teaching standards, student records, student support and fees. The documents should be comprehensive and available to anyone who asks. Qualified schools have and are open to sharing their policies and procedures which are written to support students and staff.

The best way to assess the compliance of a school is to ask for their course catalog with student policies. You should see enrollment requirements, attendance requirements, program completion requirements, detailed fees and tuition, cancellation and refund policy, student services, and documented processes for a leave of absence, complaint and appeals, and the causes for dismissal.

While they ensure compliance, these policies make it harder for family employers to pay for their nanny’s training. When someone else pays and then transfers the purchase to the nanny, the original payer loses access to the student account. Thus, an employer or parent who pays for training cannot see the nanny’s grades or progress. The privacy policy transfers to the student, and the student is the nanny. Thus, the Nanny Institute can’t give out information on the student or their progress. For those who pay for courses and want to see the results, they should ask the nanny for their certification and transcript.

5.    Annual audit

Some accreditation organizations are more robust than others. For those that are reputable, accreditation requires an audit every year. The Nanny Institute shows continuing compliance and submits updated policies and procedures annually for review. This is worth knowing as some accreditation claims can be years stale. It’s worth asking when the school was last audited.

Why is accreditation confusing?

Nobody owns the word. Accredited, certified, registered, member of, recognized by, and approved can all appear on training websites. They don’t mean the same thing and none of the words are restricted or regulated. It’s easy to make the claim on a website. And with some accreditation organizations requiring little documentation, it may be a true statement.

A school can be accredited by a body that reviewed its curriculum for a year. Another collects collects a fee and checks nothing. Both let a school call itself accredited.

Even accurate claims can be confusing and ours is a fair example. The Nanny Institute is internationally accredited by NCFE CACHE, an awarding organisation recognized by the qualification regulators for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a customised certification benchmarked at level 4. NCFE CACHE also requires this disclaimer: This is an unregulated qualification and is not a nationally recognized qualification.

Because it’s a custom curriculum unique to the Nanny Institute, the qualification sits outside the standard UK national framework. The accreditation confirms an external, regulated body reviewed and approved the Nanny Institute. NCFE CACHE benchmarked the curriculum, faculty qualifications, and the assessments at level 4. But because it’s not part of a nationally standardized program, it has the disclaimer.

The Nanny Institute is listed in the NCFE CACHE international directory under North America. We provide the link so you can independently confirm the accreditation. While every word of our accreditation is checkable, it’s worthwhile to be skeptical. It’s why the 5 questions below are useful when evaluating a nanny training program.

Seeing an organization is accredited isn’t enough. Accreditation tells you an outside body reviewed the education behind the certification. Everything after that is up to your judgment about the school, faculty, and their reputation.

What to ask about any nanny training program

5 questions. And all 5 have short, checkable answers. A program that cannot answer them for you has already told you something about the quality of that program.

1. Who accredited the program and is there a way to independently verify it? Here’s the website link to confirm on NCFE CACHE international directory and a copy of the Nanny Institute accreditation
2. What level was the curriculum benchmarked? Levels vary by country and the accreditation organization’s framework. NCFE CACHE benchmarks against a UK system. In the US, the quickest way to assess the level is by looking at the prerequisites. If there’s no prerequisite, it’s entry level. If it requires previous coursework, it’s more advanced.

Professional trade schools are often in a different category that bridges high school and undergraduate level training. If the program has a progressive series, then it starts at the high school level and potentially goes into the undergraduate level.

What does NCFE CACHE disclaimer mean?

An example of this is the Nanny Institute. Two programs don’t require any prerequisites – the Basic and Newborn and Infant Care. However, students must complete the lower-level courses before taking more advanced classes. This transitions a student who starts at a high school level into a more advanced curriculum.

3. Who wrote the courses, who teaches them, and what qualifications do they hold? Nanny Institute faculty
4. Are there graded assessments and exams and what is the standard to pass? Nanny Institute course catalog (check the enrollment page to see if there’s an updated version)
5. How many instructional hours and exams does the program require to be completed? Nanny Institute course catalog (check the enrollment page to see if there’s an updated version)

Training you can verify

If you are interviewing a nanny and want to confirm they are a graduate of the US Nanny Institute, ask them for a copy of their certification and transcript. With the nanny’s permission, granted by her giving you a copy of her documents, you can e-mail them to info@usnannyinstitute.com and we can confirm if they are valid.

If you are hiring a nanny who needs training, you have several options:

• Basic childcare, 10 hours, for foundational childcare education
• Newborn and infant care, 20 hours, for nannies caring for babies
• Professional childcare, 50 hours, for the full progressive curriculum

Explore nanny training paid by employers or family members