In this INA Board of Directors Spotlight let’s get to know Helen McCarthy a little better.
We started by asking Helen to tell us about when she first recognized her passion for childcare. She said, “I use to teach Sunday school and then went on to run the creche at my local church in the 80’s. I studied G.C.S.E Childcare which led to an offer to do my NNEB. My Great Aunt was a children’s Nanny, so I guess it’s in the blood.”
From there, Helen shared with us a little bit about her certifications. “I am a British trained qualified NNEB Nanny which took me 2yrs. It was a full-time 2yr course which was Mon-Fri 9-5 with 3 weeks in college followed by 3 weeks on placement. The qualification is recognized all over the world as the Nanny Diploma.”
When asked, what brought her to the INA BOD, Helen answered, “After winning NOTY in 2016 I found myself heavily involved with INA, so a natural step was to apply for Board. The Board also was lacking an International Director that did not live or work in the USA since Louise Durham from Australia had stood down. My colleagues from Switzerland and the UK backed me in my running.”
And when we asked her: what do you hope to accomplish while on the INA BOD, she told us, “To persuade them to go outside of continental America for conference!”
Helen is very active with the UK Nanny community and we asked her to share some about her enthusiasm for organizing for the UK nanny community. Helen responded, “I run an events company called UK Nanny which is the only events company for nannies in the UK. We host INNTD, The Great British Nanny Conference, weekly coffee mornings, Teddy Bears picnics during the summer and new for 2019, our Nanny Awards. We are launching a Nanny helpline later this year and our long-term goal is to have a Safe House for abused Domestic workers.”
Lastly, we asked Helen to tell us about the committee works she does with the INA and she told us,
“I chair the NOTY and Raffle committees and co-chair the membership too. I am working with 2 amazing Nannies, Jill Griffin current NOTY and Maria Culley, on this year’s raffle which will be 34 prizes worth $34 and above, a new twist.”
Helen McCarthy NNEB
Director of UK Nanny Ltd, INA Nanny of the Year 2016
www.uknanny.org