Katy Hayden 2009

Katy was awarded the Professional Nanny of the Year Award in 2009. Katy is currently doing a nanny share with three separate families in Hertfordshire. All three families have one child under the age of two and I always care for two children at any one time. During her year as the Professional Nanny spokesperson she has been working with Voice the Union and Nannytax to raise the profile of nannies and to make people aware that nannies are professionals. Katy has written an article for Nannytax called 'The best job in the world'.

Debbie Darnborough 2008

In 2008 Debbie was awarded the Professional Nanny of the Year. Debbie is a full-time nanny in charge of three children, aged 7, 4 and 20 months. With a young baby in her care no day is ever the same and Debbie has her hands full, which is something she thrives on. The four-year old in her care has additional needs and Debbie works very closely together with the family to provide support, encouragement, consistency and continuity in their care.

In addition to caring for the children Debbie also makes sure the household runs smoothly, by doing additional extras, including preparing daily evening meals from scratch and doing the recycling for the family. Working for a family in a rural area can be quite isolating and Debbie rarely has the chance to meet other nannies. To this end she is developing a website called Nannytalk to enable nannies to share information and ideas.

Heidi McFadyen 2007

Heidi was the winner of the 2007 Nanny of the Year Award and thoroughly enjoyed her year as a "spokesperson" for the nanny industry. Heidi cares for four children of varying ages and hers is a very busy working week indeed. But in her spare time she had found the time to promote nannying as the rewarding profession it is.

In her own words Heidi says: "I have gained so much confidence in myself as a result of winning this award. I have given talks and have given advice to other nannies and before I was given this opportunity I would never have been able to get the courage to do this, so for me it has been a huge boost for my self-confidence."

Heidi has written article about her year as a nanny, which you can read here.

Gillian Taft 2006

Gillian was declared the winner of the 2006 award. At the time Gillian cared for 3-year old twins Holly and Annie. Gillian met Holly and Annies' parents under unusually dramatic circumstances as she was working as a nursery nurse at the Special Care Baby Unit at Oxford Radcliffe Hospital, where the girls were born 9 weeks premature.

As their nanny Gillian plays an important role in providing a safe and caring environment for the girls. Holly is profoundly deaf and under Gillian's care her confidence in listening and using verbal language has continued to grow. As Annie has suffered from respiratory difficulties from birth Gillian is also required to administer first aid and seek medical advice when necessary.

Laura Chelmick 2005

Laura was awarded the Professional Nanny of the Year in October 2005. Laura trained at Central Sussex College (formerly known as Crawley College). At the time of winning the award, Laura, then 24, cared for three children, aged one, two and a half, and four and a half in London. She has since taken up a new position for a family in Gstaad, where she works on a team of four nannies.

Louise Kirk 2004

Louise was declared winner of the inaugural Professional Nanny of the Year Award in October 2004. Louise trained at Lambeth College. At the time of the award, Louise, then 24, was nanny to 18 month-old Kate. She has since become a mother to Helen and Alex, and runs a nanny agency together with her sister Susanna. Louise regularly writes articles for Nannytax News.

Nannytax would like to encourage families to put their nanny forward for the Professional Nanny of the Year award 2009. Please contact Voice: the Union on 01332 372 337 for more details.