Your journey began over 20 years ago at Norland College. What initially inspired each of you to pursue a career in nannying?
We both knew from a very young age that we were born to work with children. It was never really a question of what career we would choose; we simply could not imagine doing anything else. We both trained at Norland and went straight into nannying, and more than 20 years later, children and families are still at the heart of everything we do.
Over the years, our careers have naturally evolved. We have both created parenting platforms, Jess with @thelittledreameruk and Louenna with @nannylouenna, sharing the knowledge and experience we’ve gained with parents and caregivers around the world. We also run our own nanny agencies, Sproggle and Louenna’s Nannies, which has given us an entirely different perspective on the industry. We understand what families are looking for, what makes a nanny truly stand out and, importantly, what helps create a successful and lasting relationship between a nanny and a family.
The Nanny Academy feels like the natural next chapter for us. It brings together everything we have learnt as nannies, parenting experts and agency owners to train, mentor and support the next generation of exceptional nannies.
The Nanny Academy offers a unique, immersive training experience. How does your personal experience in the field shape the way you mentor the next generation of childcare professionals?
Everything we teach comes back to real life. Between us, we have spent decades working in family homes and caring for hundreds of children, so we understand that being an exceptional nanny goes far beyond knowing childcare theory. You need to know how to read a room, anticipate what a family needs, communicate with parents, adapt when plans change and make brilliant decisions when nobody is there to tell you what to do. That is why The Nanny Academy is so immersive. Our students live and learn together for 12 weeks, gaining hands-on experience with children alongside expert-led training. We want to prepare them for what the job is actually like and give them the confidence and instinct that families are looking for.
You’ve both worked with high-profile and royal families. Does that bring its own set of unique challenges?
Absolutely, although the fundamentals of the role never change. Children are children, regardless of the family they are born into, and their happiness, safety and development always come first.
There can, however, be additional layers when working within high-profile households. Discretion is incredibly important, as is understanding boundaries, working alongside other household staff and being comfortable in environments where plans can change very quickly. You have to be adaptable and completely trustworthy. Often, the best nanny is the person quietly making everything happen in the background without needing recognition for it.
Have your jobs taken you to any exciting locations or events?
We have been incredibly fortunate. Nannying has taken us all over the world and given us experiences we could never have imagined when we first started our careers. We have flown on private jets, spent time on incredible yachts, stayed in beautiful homes and travelled to some extraordinary places with the families we have worked for. But that is only one side of nannying. We have worked with UHNW and high-profile families, but we have also worked with families who simply want a wonderful, loving nanny to become part of their everyday lives.
A nannying career could mean travelling the world with a family, or living a quieter life in the countryside, doing the school run, walking the dog, and spending afternoons baking, exploring outside, and creating a really lovely childhood for the children in your care. That is something we really want people to understand about this career. There is no single type of nanny and no single type of nannying job. Some people thrive in fast-paced households with lots of travel, while others dream of becoming part of a family and putting down roots somewhere beautiful.
There is a role out there to suit every type of nanny. And wherever you are, it is often the simplest memories that stay with you. The funny things children say, the little family traditions and watching a child experience something new for the very first time. That is ultimately what makes the job so special.
How has your approach to childcare changed over the years, and how much do you let new approaches to parenting influence your own methods?
We are always learning. Childcare has changed enormously over the past 20 years, and we think it is really important not to become stuck in the mindset of “this is how we have always done it”
There is so much more research now around child development, emotional wellbeing, sleep, nutrition and behaviour, and we should absolutely be learning from it. At the same time, experience teaches you that not every parenting trend is right for every child. We believe in taking the best of new research and combining it with experience, common sense and instinct. Most importantly, you have to look at the individual child in front of you.
Trust and discretion are paramount in luxury households. How do you prepare your nannies to become not just caregivers but true confidantes and pillars of support for families?
This is such an important part of what we teach because you cannot separate caring for a child from understanding the family around them.
When you work as a nanny, you are invited into somebody’s home and often into very private parts of their life. You see families on their best days and their hardest ones. With time, you can become someone parents turn to, trust and confide in. We teach our nannies that this is a privilege and a responsibility. Discretion, emotional intelligence, professionalism, and knowing when to speak and when to simply listen are incredibly important. The very best nannies become a steady presence within a household. They do not replace a parent; they stand alongside them and become another trusted person who wants the very best for their child.
What do you believe sets a nanny from The Nanny Academy apart?
For us, it starts with character. We do not believe that the best nannies are defined by their academic history. You can teach somebody about child development, first aid, nutrition, sleep and all the practical skills they need, but you cannot manufacture a genuine love of children. We look for warmth, kindness, initiative, emotional intelligence, energy and that natural instinct to nurture. We then surround our students with exceptional training, experts and real hands-on experience with babies and children, so they leave with both the knowledge and the confidence to walk into a family home and make a difference from day one. And importantly, graduating is not the end of their relationship with us. Our nannies leave with lifelong agency support and access to job opportunities throughout their careers. We want The Nanny Academy to be behind them for the long term.
Do you have any hard-and-fast rules that you go by when nurturing children? And what’s the most important advice you could give to a parent?
Our biggest rule is that children need to feel loved, safe and secure, but they also need boundaries. Children thrive when they know what is expected of them and when the adults around them are calm and consistent. You can be incredibly warm and nurturing while still saying no. We are also huge believers in letting children be children. Get outside, get muddy, be silly, read stories, cook together, let them help and give them opportunities to become independent. Childhood does not need to be perfect or overly complicated.
For parents, we would say trust yourself. There is so much information and advice available now that it can become overwhelming. You know your child better than anyone. Listen to advice, take what is helpful, but do not feel that you have to follow every new parenting trend that comes along. And never underestimate the importance of simply being present. Children will remember how you made them feel far more than whether you got every little thing right.
Looking ahead, what’s your vision for The Nanny Academy? Do you have any other news you’d like to share with us?
Our ambition is for The Nanny Academy to set a new standard for professional nanny training and to help elevate nannying as the incredible lifelong career that we know it can be. Our 12-week immersive residential course at Willingham House in Cambridge is at the heart of that. We have created the course we wish had existed when we were starting our careers, bringing together expert teaching, hands-on experience with children and a real understanding of what it takes to work successfully within a family home.
The Nanny Academy isn’t only for people at the beginning of their careers. We also offer upskilling packages for nannies who are already working and want to continue learning, refresh their knowledge, build their confidence or take the next step in their career. We are huge believers that even the most experienced nanny should never stop learning, particularly as our understanding of child development, sleep, nutrition, behaviour and emotional wellbeing continues to evolve.
Our bigger vision is to create a community and a genuine career path for nannies at every stage. Our Academy graduates leave with lifelong agency support, access to job opportunities and continued access to Louenna’s parenting app, so the relationship does not end when the 12 weeks are over. Between our nanny agencies, parenting platforms, residential academy, and upskilling packages, we are creating something that supports nannies throughout their careers and, in turn, helps families find exceptional childcare.
Ultimately, we want people to see nannying for what it is: an incredibly skilled, fulfilling and exciting profession with so many different paths available. Whether your dream is travelling the world with a family or building a wonderful, quieter life with a family in the countryside, there is a nannying career out there for you.
