Au pairs from Super Nanny unburden hundreds of families
DATE
28 September 2022
TEXT
Annerieke Simeone
IMAGE
Fleur Beemster
Families who choose an au pair mainly want to be relieved. Super Nanny Au Pair Services helps them find the super nanny that suits them and checks the accommodation, because 'someone has to be able to live comfortably'.
The au pairs from Super Nanny Au Pair Services (SNAPS) who have just arrived in the Netherlands await a warm welcome at Schiphol Airport from their host parents. The owner of SNAPS, Inkie Deenen once ran a beach pavilion in The Hague, now she pairs au pairs from abroad with some hundreds of families in the Netherlands. By appointment, host families are visited by SNAPS, which has been in existence for 16 years, to conduct a preliminary interview.
'Do people like a quiet person or a more expressive type?'
The families who opt for an au pair (nanny) mainly want to be relieved of their worries, even though it is still a bit strange, having such a strange person in the house. Inkie: "That's why, during a preliminary interview, we ask what people like: a quiet person who prefers to retreat to her room or a more expressive type who will sit next to you on the sofa."
Inkie Zandhuis-Deenen and her partner in their Wassenaar garden.
During the introductory visit, SNAPS also takes a look at what the au pair's room looks like. "Someone must be able to live comfortably. In the room, we expect at least a bed, a wardrobe, a desk and a TV or tablet. Not to mention windows." Should the host family not meet the requirements for a presentable room, the host family may be refused. "Fortunately, that hardly ever happens," he says.
'There are also modal families among them and single moms and dads'
Its target audience is mainly expats, doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs and IT professionals. Inkie: "We serve the upper class of society, although there are also modal families among them and single moms and dads."
Reference checks
Inkie, a mother of four herself, often caught friends of her own au pairs when there was a problem. "Then I thought: why don't I actually start an agency myself? I was always working with those girls anyway." Thanks to her large network, she built up a clientele in no time. "But there is a lot involved," she assures. "Before a nanny enters the Netherlands, there are a lot of administrative procedures, such as proof of good behaviour, diplomas, reference checks. Before an au pair arrives in the Netherlands, she has to test negative for Covid and HIV and take a pregnancy test."
'Type of GP'
In principle, you can start working as an au pair at 18, but Inkie thinks that is too young. "We opt for girls over 21," she says. So after an au pair is picked up from the plane by the family, the introductory meeting follows here in Wassenaar. "We press them on the heart that we are there for them," she says. And that promise goes pretty far: SNAPS is available 24 hours a day, both for the family and the au pair. "Kind of like a family doctor," Inkie chuckles.
The au pair is allowed to work 30 hours a week. She is usually free on weekends and should she work on weekends, these days are compensated during the week. In any case, an au pair has at least one whole weekend off per month.
Super Nanny Au Pair Services
Four times a year, SNAPS organises an event for all their au pairs, one time it is a Dutch games day, another time everyone is on a pair of ice skates. "At the end of the day, we have a big barbecue and there is a DJ. Or in winter different kinds of stew with hot chocolate with lots of whipped cream."
Europe-wide database
The applications keep pouring in, says Inkie, who has her home office. But it doesn't stop there: next year, SNAPS plans to set up a database for the whole of Europe. Another plan: Guide Dutch au pairs abroad. Inkie glances at her office, which she shares with two others. "Maybe I should look for something bigger after all," she says.
text Annerieke Simeone / image Fleur Beemster
Families who choose an au pair mainly want to be relieved. Super Nanny Au Pair Services helps them find the super nanny that suits them and checks the accommodation, because 'someone has to be able to live comfortably'.
The au pairs from Super Nanny Au Pair Services (SNAPS) who have just arrived in the Netherlands await a warm welcome at Schiphol Airport from their host parents. The owner of SNAPS, Inkie Deenen once ran a beach pavilion in The Hague, now she pairs au pairs from abroad with some hundreds of families in the Netherlands. By appointment, host families are visited by SNAPS, which has been in existence for 16 years, to conduct a preliminary interview.
'Do people like a quiet person or a more expressive type?'
The families who opt for an au pair (nanny) mainly want to be relieved of their worries, even though it is still a bit strange, having such a strange person in the house. Inkie: "That's why, during a preliminary interview, we ask what people like: a quiet person who prefers to retreat to her room or a more expressive type who will sit next to you on the sofa."
Inkie Zandhuis-Deenen and her partner in their Wassenaar garden.
During the introductory visit, SNAPS also takes a look at what the au pair's room looks like. "Someone must be able to live comfortably. In the room, we expect at least a bed, a wardrobe, a desk and a TV or tablet. Not to mention windows." Should the host family not meet the requirements for a presentable room, the host family may be refused. "Fortunately, that hardly ever happens," he says.
'There are also modal families among them and single moms and dads'
Its target audience is mainly expats, doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs and IT professionals. Inkie: "We serve the upper class of society, although there are also modal families among them and single moms and dads."
Reference checks
Inkie, a mother of four herself, often caught friends of her own au pairs when there was a problem. "Then I thought: why don't I actually start an agency myself? I was always working with those girls anyway." Thanks to her large network, she built up a clientele in no time. "But there is a lot involved," she assures. "Before a nanny enters the Netherlands, there are a lot of administrative procedures, such as proof of good behaviour, diplomas, reference checks. Before an au pair arrives in the Netherlands, she has to test negative for Covid and HIV and take a pregnancy test."
'Type of GP'
In principle, you can start working as an au pair at 18, but Inkie thinks that is too young. "We opt for girls over 21," she says. So after an au pair is picked up from the plane by the family, the introductory meeting follows here in Wassenaar. "We press them on the heart that we are there for them," she says. And that promise goes pretty far: SNAPS is available 24 hours a day, both for the family and the au pair. "Kind of like a family doctor," Inkie chuckles.
The au pair is allowed to work 30 hours a week. She is usually free on weekends and should she work on weekends, these days are compensated during the week. In any case, an au pair has at least one whole weekend off per month.
Super Nanny Au Pair Services
Four times a year, SNAPS organises an event for all their au pairs, one time it is a Dutch games day, another time everyone is on a pair of ice skates. "At the end of the day, we have a big barbecue and there is a DJ. Or in winter different kinds of stew with hot chocolate with lots of whipped cream."
Europe-wide database
The applications keep pouring in, says Inkie, who has her home office. But it doesn't stop there: next year, SNAPS plans to set up a database for the whole of Europe. Another plan: Guide Dutch au pairs abroad. Inkie glances at her office, which she shares with two others. "Maybe I should look for something bigger after all," she says.
