Hire A Governess

Our approach to childcare

When your priority is your children’s education, a governess might be your answer. At Holgate Nannies, we take pride in providing the highest quality governesses to deliver your child's education in the comfort of your home. With a professional teaching background, a governess will create a friendly environment to focus on your child's intellectual and social development and implement structure into their life.
Our unique approach to pairing candidates with governesses ensures that our choices are perfectly selected to nurture your children's intellectual, social, and emotional development. Our approach exceeds traditional expectations, and by understanding that each family is unique, we champion a bespoke matching process that will align with all your family’s needs and values.

The duties of your Governess

There are many duties which the governess fulfils to provide the best possible care for your family. Most governesses will come from an educational background and have additional skills and qualifications to assist, such as teaching swimming. They will also oversee your child's care, including both informal and formal aspects and manners/etiquette.

The main duties of the Governess will include:

Tutoring the child to stay within the curriculum and teach them the appropriate subjects.
Ensure all correct health and safety standards are in place and followed.
Provide basic first aid and medical care as required.
Teaching social skills such as communication and manners.
Organising outside activities, for example, visiting the museum or participating in sporting clubs.
Teaching additional extra-curricular activities revolving around the child's interests, such as playing a musical instrument.
Reporting any updates to parents/careers regarding progress.

Working hours of a Governess

When hiring a Governess, their hours and working days will be centred around your family's needs and what works best for you and the governess. Your needs must be communicated to ensure we can pair you with the most suitable governess. Generally, most governesses work 8-10 hours daily, 5 days per week. This ensures that they can be present for key parts of the child's day, such as teaching during school hours and taking them to clubs afterwards. Alternatively, the governess can be centred around a unique schedule to fit around the family’s needs, which can be more precise with days on and off.

Finding the ideal Governess for your family

To summarise, Holgate Nannies excels at bridging the gap between families and professional governesses by setting a new standard in childcare solutions. By combining our refined pairing process with our deep understanding of family dynamics, we can hire a governess who provides the best possible care and focuses on your child's development.

With Holgate Nannies, you're not just finding a governess; you’re embarking on your journey towards a brighter future for your child, which ensures educational and personal development at the highest level.

Examples of our childcare professionals

Ready to find your childcare professional?

ELLIE

A nanny with over ten years childcare experience in schools and private households. Native English and fluent in French nanny, PGCE qualified and Cache in Supporting teaching and learning. Happy to take on PA and family assistant tasks. Wanting to grow in her career.

LOTTE

Thirty years experience working with families across the UK and in The Netherlands. Familiar guiding a family through sleep training, weaning, teething and assisting the children meet their milestones. Focused on ensuring the house is running smoothly while working for busy professionals. Highly qualified, having completed courses in managing behaviour, potty training, baby massage, sleep training and healthy eating for children.

SAM

Organised Irish nanny with four years childcare experience. Genuinely passionate about childcare, she makes her families’ lives easier through incredible intuition and loyalty. Happy to do all nursery duties, confident on a bakfiets (important in The Netherlands!) and bilingual.

RILEY

Having started her career working in a daycare after studying for her childcare diploma, she is now focused on having a long term travel nanny career. Preferring to use positive discipline, confident with baby led weaning and bilingual in English and Dutch.

AMELIA

Native Spanish and fluent in English speaking, having worked as a nanny for royalty she prides herself on professionalism, discretion and intuition. Fifteen years working internationally including travelling with the families and working in fully staffed households. Her pathway to becoming a nanny started with babysitting and she realised this was the career for her. Cache childcare qualified.

STACY

Originally came to the Netherlands as an aupair after completing a degree in Psychology. After working as a Summer camp counsellor throughout her university years, she was keen to further her passion for children and experiencing other cultures so became aupair in the Netherlands. During her time working as a aupair she was inspired to become a professional. Having a passion for sensory play, a strong network of nanny friends for her children to spend time with and an incredible knowledge of activities in the Netherlands. Always planning adventures for the children. Specialises in Autism.

Our Promise to you

Personal
Caring
Impeccable

We don’t believe in compromise. At least not on the essentials. At Holgate, “good” is not good enough. We take on only the very best nannies. To provide you with the very best. There really is an art to matching the right nanny to the right family. Of course, our nannies have high-level language skills and
3+ of experience, but they also have warmth, profound patience and common sense, as well as a deep appreciation for the importance of what they are doing.

How it works

We always begin with an in-depth discussion. If we are going to match you with the right nanny*, it’s important that we get to know your family and understand your needs.
We will then make a selection of what we think are suitable nannies and provide you with their portfolios. Based on your wishes, we’ll arrange interviews.
Trial days will be planned with you and the candidates, giving you an opportunity to get to know each other.
Once you have decided on a nanny, we will help you put together the job offer and provide a contract template and whatever other support you require to employ your chosen nanny.
Once the nanny’s employment has started, we are also available for post-placement support if that is desired.

* or any of our other household professionals

Testimonials

Since our baby was not happy in daycare (he didn’t want to eat, nor sleep) we contacted Lauren. She listened carefully to our worries and wishes and introduced us to a wonderful, patient nanny. Now our baby is a happy 1 year old and we are ourselves much more relaxed, knowing he is in good hands with our lovely nanny! We can totally recommend the service of Holgate Nannies. Lauren is great in understanding the type of nanny a family needs. She found a nanny that fits our family perfectly. Thanks again Lauren!

I appreciate Lauren’s professional approach. She knows what parents need, but she also is aware that a nanny is not a babysitter. She has the best interests of both parties at heart and was able to find the perfect match for me. In my opinion Holgate Nannies is the only agency in Amsterdam with such a profound knowledge and passion for bringing families and candidates together.

I really liked my experience working with “Holgate Nannies”. Lauren is professional, passionate, organized and you can always count on her at any moment in the process. Most of all, she values the job of being a Nanny and she truly understands your needs and concerns and try to find the right fit for you. I would work again with her anytime. J’ai beaucoup aimé mon expérience avec “Holgate Nannies”. Lauren est professionnelle, passionnée, organisée et on peut toujours compter sur elle tout au long des procédures. Surtout, elle respecte et met en valeur le travail de Nounou. Elle écoute et comprend les besoins et s’est adaptée en fonction de mes préoccupations. Je re-travaillerais avec elle n’importe quand.

Holgate nannies is the greatest agency to be associated with. Lauren’s expertise in the nanny industry has been a guiding beacon for me to find the best suited family for me. Her attention to detail in regards to communication, feedback, prospective jobs is the most professional I’ve come across. Lauren you are a gem to the industry, I cannot thank you enough for making my transition as an expat nanny in Amsterdam any easier.

Ready to find your perfect governess?
If you are a governess, click here →