Q. How long will it take before a babysitter accepts my request?
A. Once you pay the credit card booking fee, it then releases the job to all our sitters in the region. In most cases jobs can be accepted within minutes to a few hours. If a booking is still sitting unaccepted within a few days, we normally re-release this for you. If your babysitting booking is for several weeks away, we will still follow the same process of re-releasing if your booking. From time to time some bookings cannot be filled by sitters. Please call if you have any concerns.
Q. Can I meet the babysitter beforehand?
A. If you request this as part of your booking, please state this. Some sitters may request payment to cover travel and time of this meeting. Alternatively you can request that the sitter arrive half an hour earlier than required to allow for introductions.
Q. Can I request the same babysitter I had last time?
A. Yes, you are able to request a certain babysitter - we will let the sitter know that you have requested them. If the sitter is unavailable we will inform you and release it to other sitters. Please email us if you have the details of the sitter that you'd like to request again.
Q. Do you offer overnight babysitting?
A. Yes, some of our nannies and sitters can do overnight sitting, weekends or week days. There are limited amount of sitters available for this service so it will be subject to availability. We recommend plenty of notice for this service - please contact us directly. There is a daily booking fee for this service.
Q. I don’t know these sitters, how will I know my child will be safe?
A. We get to know our sitters well and use them ourselves. We appreciate feedback from our families to ensure our quality of sitters remain of a high standard – our good name depends on it. We have strict recruitment processes to ensure we only have the very best sitters in our service.
Q. Are all the nannies/babysitters screened?
A. Absolutely. Within NZ we have strict screening policies that demand we take responsibility in quality recruitments. Interviews, reference checking, police checking and ongoing screening keeps us in the know of our people that represent us out in the field.
Q. How many children can you have with one babysitter?
A. For safety reasons we recommend a 1:4 ratio. This will depend on the needs and ages of the children and if a parent is on site. You can talk with a consultant to discuss your needs and we can help with ensuring you have all the babysitting cover you need.
Q. How do I pay the sitter?
A. You pay in cash to the sitter at the end of the shift. Sitters are responsible for paying their own tax in their declaration of earnings.
Q. What qualifications do your babysitters have?
A. Our sitters have a variety of qualifications ranging from mixed qualifications on paper to life experience as mothers, grandmothers and caring for siblings/family. If you require a sitter to accept the role with a certain qualification as nursing or nannying, please state this in your booking. All our sitters work towards gaining their First Aid certificates and must show previous experience of working with children and providing a safe environment.
Q. Can my sitter transport my child to and from activities? Or do I need to pay for travel to and from our location?
A. If you require your child to be transported, you will need to consider the organisation of car seats. You'll need to state in your booking that the sitter must have a full Driver's Licence and a road-worthy vehicle. You will also need to reimburse the sitter .73km as per IRD recommendations for petrol. Please discuss in depth with your sitter how any travel arrangements will work. If you have a babysitting role in a remote location (ie: holiday home at a beach) you will attract a sitter if you offer a travel allowance of .83c per km. Often it is better to state a fixed amount to cover travel. This approach allows you to budget.
Q. What is a homebased childcare provider or homebased childcare?
A. A homebased childcare provider is licenced and funded to operate by the Ministry of Education for children aged 0-5 years. Families are able to access to government subsidies to reduce the cost of childcare and the operational funding to us covers staff support to Educators and families with an educational programme and teacher visits. It also covers the costs associated with activities and professional development.
Q. How do I access a homebased nanny or educator?
A. If you live in Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Manawatu, Waikato, Hawke's Bay or Wellington and you have a pre-school child in your home (you can have older children also!) then you will be able to access our Homebased programme. Contact us about your specific requirements and we will place an advertisement on the Rockmybaby website. Our team will work with you to find suitable options, either for a nanny or homebased educator and help you through the recruitment and selection process. We will also support to with information to see if you are eligible to access any government subsidies. Support is available with interview questions and techniques as well as other factors to consider.
Q. What is the difference between a homebased Nanny and Homebased Educator?
A. A Homebased nanny works in your family home and is an employee. They work for an hourly wage and are subject to employee deductions such as tax, ACC levies and KiwiSaver. A homebased educator works in their own home and is a contractor and charges an hourly fee. They are self employed. Both models work to child ratios 4:1 (4 pre-schoolers, one educator) with 2:1 (max 2 under the age of 2) in this mix. Where there is triplets under two years, this rule can be managed.
Q. Why would I choose a homebased nanny over a private nanny. What is the difference?
A. If you choose a private nanny it is likely that you are unable to meet a health and safety check in your home, or simply choose not to have the added visiting teacher monthly support visits. A placement fee will occur.Q. What are benefits of the Rockmybaby homebased service?
- Monthly Visiting Teacher visits to support your child’s learning and development programme
- Free outings and organised events
- Access to government childcare subsidies.
Q. What childcare subsidies are available?
A. Rockmybaby’s homebased service is fully funded by the Ministry of Education enabling us to provide the following subsidies:
- Access to 20 Hours ECE for 3, 4 and 5 year olds not enrolled in school
- Access to Work and Income childcare subsidies
- Multibirth, ELP, ACC Home Help.
Talk with a consultant today to see what you may be eligible for.
Q.What am I required to do in order to pass a health and safety check on my home?
A. The Senior Visiting Teacher will contact you to arrange a time to do a health and safety check around the home which may take an hour. Communal areas and children’s rooms will be checked to make sure they meet the Homebased Childcare Regulations 2008, such as fixing cabinets to the wall (earthquake proofing). Electrical sockets covered (shocks). The majority of homes will meet the criteria although we may sometimes suggest some changes to layout or management of potential hazards. This is done in a way that makes the home a safer environment for your child and educator and is of benefit to you all!
Q. What are the expectations of my chosen nanny or homebased educator?
A. The nanny/educator will need to participate in the educational programme. This includes educational planning for each child (a planning page is filled in alongside the Senior Visiting Teacher), monthly learning stories or written documentation of child/ren’s learning, daily journal to be filled in each working day, timesheets filled in and collected on a monthly basis. The nanny or educator must have current first aid or undertake training within three months of starting the role.
Q. Do you facilitate my Educator's pay?
A. We can take care of your Homebased educators contractor payments in house including your family payments and any government subsidies you may be eligible for. As a nanny family we can recommend you to our preferred external payroll provider that can take care of all your employee deduction needs and we will pass any subsidies that you may be eligible for direct to you
Q. If I find my own nanny, can I bring her on to the programme?
A. Absolutely. We can still support you all our recruitment processes checks for your peace of mind.
Q. How do you identify who is a good Educator match for me?
A. We won’t just ask what hours or location you need. We know there are many more things we need to ask in order to uncover your ‘deeper’ childcare needs. Once we do, we will put forward educator options so you can hand pick your own educator.
Q. What qualifications do your homebased educators have?
A. Educator must hold a minimum Child First Aid Certificate. Many of our educators are formally qualified as nannies. We also have ECE teachers working as homebased Educators, some are nurses other are mothers, grandmothers… We continually offer professional development to our educators to ensure they are providing quality education and care to children. All our Homebased educators follow the NZ ECE curriculum Te Whaariki and Homebased Care Regulations 2008, to ensure we are operating quality service. We are monitored by the Ministry of Education.
Q. What is the cost of a homebased Educator?
A. Costs are dependant of regions, qualifications, experience and what activities or programme they offer. Rates can be between $6.00 - $15.00, however childcare subsidies can reduce this cost.
Q. How long will it take before a babysitter accepts my request?
A. Once you pay the credit card booking fee, it then releases the job to all our sitters in the region. In most cases jobs can be accepted within minutes to a few hours. If a booking is still sitting unaccepted within a few days, we normally re-release this for you. If your babysitting booking is for several weeks away, we will still follow the same process of re-releasing if your booking. From time to time some bookings cannot be filled by sitters. Please call if you have any concerns.
Q. Can I meet the babysitter beforehand?
A. If you request this as part of your booking, please state this. Some sitters may request payment to cover travel and time of this meeting. Alternatively you can request that the sitter arrive half an hour earlier than required to allow for introductions.
Q. Can I request the same babysitter I had last time?
A. Yes, you are able to request a certain babysitter - we will let the sitter know that you have requested them. If the sitter is unavailable we will inform you and release it to other sitters. Please email us if you have the details of the sitter that you'd like to request again.
Q. Do you offer overnight babysitting?
A. Yes, some of our nannies and sitters can do overnight sitting, weekends or week days. There are limited amount of sitters available for this service so it will be subject to availability. We recommend plenty of notice for this service - please contact us directly. There is a daily booking fee for this service.
Q. I don’t know these sitters, how will I know my child will be safe?
A. We get to know our sitters well and use them ourselves. We appreciate feedback from our families to ensure our quality of sitters remain of a high standard – our good name depends on it. We have strict recruitment processes to ensure we only have the very best sitters in our service.
Q. Are all the nannies/babysitters screened?
A. Absolutely. Within NZ we have strict screening policies that demand we take responsibility in quality recruitments. Interviews, reference checking, police checking and ongoing screening keeps us in the know of our people that represent us out in the field.
Q. How many children can you have with one babysitter?
A. For safety reasons we recommend a 1:4 ratio. This will depend on the needs and ages of the children and if a parent is on site. You can talk with a consultant to discuss your needs and we can help with ensuring you have all the babysitting cover you need.
Q. How do I pay the sitter?
A. You pay in cash to the sitter at the end of the shift. Sitters are responsible for paying their own tax in their declaration of earnings.
Q. What qualifications do your babysitters have?
A. Our sitters have a variety of qualifications ranging from mixed qualifications on paper to life experience as mothers, grandmothers and caring for siblings/family. If you require a sitter to accept the role with a certain qualification as nursing or nannying, please state this in your booking. All our sitters work towards gaining their First Aid certificates and must show previous experience of working with children and providing a safe environment.
Q. Can my sitter transport my child to and from activities? Or do I need to pay for travel to and from our location?
A. If you require your child to be transported, you will need to consider the organisation of car seats. You'll need to state in your booking that the sitter must have a full Driver's Licence and a road-worthy vehicle. You will also need to reimburse the sitter .73km as per IRD recommendations for petrol. Please discuss in depth with your sitter how any travel arrangements will work. If you have a babysitting role in a remote location (ie: holiday home at a beach) you will attract a sitter if you offer a travel allowance of .83c per km. Often it is better to state a fixed amount to cover travel. This approach allows you to budget.
Q. What is a homebased childcare provider or homebased childcare?
A. A homebased childcare provider is licenced and funded to operate by the Ministry of Education for children aged 0-5 years. Families are able to access to government subsidies to reduce the cost of childcare and the operational funding to us covers staff support to Educators and families with an educational programme and teacher visits. It also covers the costs associated with activities and professional development.
Q. How do I access a homebased nanny or educator?
A. If you live in Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Manawatu, Waikato, Hawke's Bay or Wellington and you have a pre-school child in your home (you can have older children also!) then you will be able to access our Homebased programme. Contact us about your specific requirements and we will place an advertisement on the Rockmybaby website. Our team will work with you to find suitable options, either for a nanny or homebased educator and help you through the recruitment and selection process. We will also support to with information to see if you are eligible to access any government subsidies. Support is available with interview questions and techniques as well as other factors to consider.
Q. What is the difference between a homebased Nanny and Homebased Educator?
A. A Homebased nanny works in your family home and is an employee. They work for an hourly wage and are subject to employee deductions such as tax, ACC levies and KiwiSaver. A homebased educator works in their own home and is a contractor and charges an hourly fee. They are self employed. Both models work to child ratios 4:1 (4 pre-schoolers, one educator) with 2:1 (max 2 under the age of 2) in this mix. Where there is triplets under two years, this rule can be managed.
Q. Why would I choose a homebased nanny over a private nanny. What is the difference?
A. If you choose a private nanny it is likely that you are unable to meet a health and safety check in your home, or simply choose not to have the added visiting teacher monthly support visits. A placement fee will occur.Q. What are benefits of the Rockmybaby homebased service?
- Monthly Visiting Teacher visits to support your child’s learning and development programme
- Free outings and organised events
- Access to government childcare subsidies.
Q. What childcare subsidies are available?
A. Rockmybaby’s homebased service is fully funded by the Ministry of Education enabling us to provide the following subsidies:
- Access to 20 Hours ECE for 3, 4 and 5 year olds not enrolled in school
- Access to Work and Income childcare subsidies
- Multibirth, ELP, ACC Home Help.
Talk with a consultant today to see what you may be eligible for.
Q.What am I required to do in order to pass a health and safety check on my home?
A. The Senior Visiting Teacher will contact you to arrange a time to do a health and safety check around the home which may take an hour. Communal areas and children’s rooms will be checked to make sure they meet the Homebased Childcare Regulations 2008, such as fixing cabinets to the wall (earthquake proofing). Electrical sockets covered (shocks). The majority of homes will meet the criteria although we may sometimes suggest some changes to layout or management of potential hazards. This is done in a way that makes the home a safer environment for your child and educator and is of benefit to you all!
Q. What are the expectations of my chosen nanny or homebased educator?
A. The nanny/educator will need to participate in the educational programme. This includes educational planning for each child (a planning page is filled in alongside the Senior Visiting Teacher), monthly learning stories or written documentation of child/ren’s learning, daily journal to be filled in each working day, timesheets filled in and collected on a monthly basis. The nanny or educator must have current first aid or undertake training within three months of starting the role.
Q. Do you facilitate my Educator's pay?
A. We can take care of your Homebased educators contractor payments in house including your family payments and any government subsidies you may be eligible for. As a nanny family we can recommend you to our preferred external payroll provider that can take care of all your employee deduction needs and we will pass any subsidies that you may be eligible for direct to you
Q. If I find my own nanny, can I bring her on to the programme?
A. Absolutely. We can still support you all our recruitment processes checks for your peace of mind.
Q. How do you identify who is a good Educator match for me?
A. We won’t just ask what hours or location you need. We know there are many more things we need to ask in order to uncover your ‘deeper’ childcare needs. Once we do, we will put forward educator options so you can hand pick your own educator.
Q. What qualifications do your homebased educators have?
A. Educator must hold a minimum Child First Aid Certificate. Many of our educators are formally qualified as nannies. We also have ECE teachers working as homebased Educators, some are nurses other are mothers, grandmothers… We continually offer professional development to our educators to ensure they are providing quality education and care to children. All our Homebased educators follow the NZ ECE curriculum Te Whaariki and Homebased Care Regulations 2008, to ensure we are operating quality service. We are monitored by the Ministry of Education.
Q. What is the cost of a homebased Educator?
A. Costs are dependant of regions, qualifications, experience and what activities or programme they offer. Rates can be between $6.00 - $15.00, however childcare subsidies can reduce this cost.