A CHILDCARE student at Buxton & Leek College has set up a burgeoning business – thanks partly to the power of social media.
Twenty-year-old Hannah Naden, from Buxton, is nearing the end of her Level 3 Early Years course in college and started advertising her services as a babysitter. She already had a DBS (formerly Criminal Records Bureau) certificate in preparation for her work placement at Buxton’s Green Lane Nursery. And Hannah found that, thanks to her Facebook friends sharing her posts on the site, she was soon in big demand from working parents wanting more than just a babysitter.
She explained: “A lot of families now have both parents working very long hours and I have found that I am in demand to care for children both before and after school. I take children to a local nursery at 7am and care for other pre-school children later in the day. The experience had made up my mind that I would like to work as a nanny once my college course is finished.
“I love working with young children as they develop so rapidly when they are learning to walk and talk and I find it very rewarding being a part of that development.”
Hannah has sorted out Public Liability insurance, made sure her car insurance is covering her for business use and undertaken a First Aid course as well as Food Hygiene course in preparation for her business. Now she blogs regularly about her childcare activities and finds her `messy play` activities – particularly making play dough, go down a real treat with the tots she looks after.
She said: “I have loved doing my course at Buxton & Leek College because there was so much practical experience involved. The course leaders are all lovely and they all come from different backgrounds so it has been great to learn from their experience.”
Rachel McVeigh, Curriculum Leader for Childcare and Education at Buxton & Leek College, said: “Hannah has set herself up in business very professionally and, with her hard work and enthusiasm, she deserves to succeed. We are very proud of her achievements.”