Nanny firms take on unqualified staff

Some agencies supplying nannies are failing to carry out proper checks.

Undercover research by consumer magazine Which? found companies willing to take staff on their books with no qualifications and little experience.

A member of the Which? team contacted 20 nanny employment agencies across the country posing as someone looking for work. She told the agencies her only experience-was occasional baby-sitting for her sister. Five of the agencies were willing to take her on.

Childcare experts say a nanny in sole charge of children should have at least two years' experience or a suitable qualification.

An unnamed London agency said it would accept a reference from the fake candidate's sister. However-the same company, which charges families ?999 to find staff, claims: "All our nannies have qualifications or experience working with children as nannies."

Which? editor Malcolm Coles said: "Our investigation will make worrying reading for parents. It's nerve-racking enough leaving your children in a stranger's care without the added worry that nanny agencies may not be making the checks they claim."