By Filipino Nanny | Updated 21 August 2026
Working parents in London usually choose between a nanny, nursery, childminder, au pair, family help or a blended arrangement. The right option depends on where you want care to happen, the hours you need, your child’s age, whether you want to employ someone directly, and which childcare-support schemes your chosen provider can use.
This guide compares the main categories first. Once you know which category fits, you can move into the detailed comparison or hiring page instead of trying to compare every provider at once.
London childcare options at a glance
| Option | Where care happens | Best fit when | Key point to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nanny | Your home | You need in-home care built around agreed days and hours | Employment duties, role scope and whether the arrangement is live-in or live-out |
| Nursery | Registered childcare setting | A group setting and fixed sessions suit the family | Availability, registration, opening pattern and funded-hours eligibility |
| Childminder | Usually the childminder’s home | A smaller registered home-based setting suits the child | Registration, availability, age mix and hours |
| Au pair | Usually lives with the host family | You are considering a live-in cultural-exchange arrangement rather than a professional nanny role | Right to work, pay, hours and what duties are actually appropriate |
| Family or informal help | Varies | Relatives or trusted informal support can reliably cover the needed times | Consistency, backup and whether the arrangement really covers working hours |
Start with the question: where do you want childcare to happen?
If you want care in your own home, a nanny is the clearest professional childcare category. A nanny can work around agreed family routines, school runs, children’s meals, activities and child-related duties. If significant cleaning, laundry or household work is also part of the brief, a nanny-housekeeper may be a better-defined role than quietly expanding a nanny job.
If you prefer a registered setting outside your home, compare nursery and childminder care. Nurseries operate from registered childcare premises; childminders generally provide care from domestic premises and are subject to registration requirements according to the type of provision they offer.
How do nursery and childminder care differ from a nanny?
The structural difference is who controls the setting and schedule. With a nanny, the family usually agrees the employee’s role, hours and duties directly. With a nursery or childminder, the family buys childcare within the provider’s available sessions, opening pattern and registration framework.
For a direct comparison, see nanny vs nursery and nanny vs childminder.
Where does an au pair fit?
An au pair is not simply a cheaper nanny. GOV.UK says an au pair needs the right to work in the UK and is entitled to National Minimum Wage protections; visitor status does not give the right to work. If your need is substantial professional childcare across defined working hours, compare the role with a nanny rather than treating the two labels as interchangeable.
Our nanny vs au pair guide sets out the practical differences in role, living arrangement and employer responsibilities.
What government childcare help can change the decision?
Eligibility can materially affect the cost of registered childcare, so check the current scheme before comparing headline prices. GOV.UK says Tax-Free Childcare can be used with approved childcare providers, including registered nurseries, childminders and some registered nannies. Free Childcare for Working Parents is different and is tied to eligible children, parents and approved provider types.
For working parents returning from maternity, paternity, shared parental or adoption leave, the date of return can affect when funded childcare can start. GOV.UK publishes specific application windows for this situation.
What our 203 client enquiries show about how families scope in-home help
Our current WPForms client-enquiry dataset contains 203 submissions from 13 April 2025 to 20 August 2026. The form asks families to select one or more role types and then separately records full-time or part-time status, weekly hours, days required, postcode and intended start date. Because multiple role choices are allowed, role counts can overlap.
Across those 203 submissions, the role choices were selected 135 times for nanny-housekeeper, 71 times for nanny, 17 times for housekeeper, 17 times for temporary/holiday nanny and 9 times for temporary/holiday nanny-housekeeper. Separately, 118 enquiries selected full-time and 85 selected part-time.
The useful lesson is not that one childcare model is universally “best”. It is that families often need to define role and working pattern separately. A family may know it needs help but still be deciding whether the core problem is childcare, household workload, or both. That is why our nanny, nanny-housekeeper or housekeeper selector sits between broad childcare research and a staffing enquiry.
Choose a nanny when…
- You want childcare delivered in your own home.
- You need agreed days and hours shaped around your working pattern.
- You want one role centred on your children and their routines.
- You are prepared to handle the employer responsibilities that apply when you directly employ a nanny.
Choose nursery when…
- You want a registered group childcare setting.
- The setting’s sessions and opening pattern fit your work.
- You want to explore funded childcare hours with an approved provider.
- You prefer the setting to employ and manage the childcare staff.
Choose a childminder when…
- You want registered childcare in a smaller home-based setting.
- The childminder’s available hours and location work for your family.
- You want to explore approved-childcare support without directly employing a nanny.
What should you decide before contacting an agency?
Write down five things: the children who need care, the days required, approximate weekly hours, preferred start date and whether household duties are genuinely part of the job. Those answers usually reveal whether you need a nanny, a nanny-housekeeper, a housekeeper, or a childcare setting rather than an employee.
If in-home childcare is the right category, review our Filipino nanny services in London and step-by-step hiring process. If you are still deciding between role types, use the role selector first.
Sources and further guidance
- GOV.UK: Approved childcare and help with childcare costs (accessed 21 August 2026)
- GOV.UK: Free Childcare for Working Parents – when to apply (accessed 21 August 2026)
- GOV.UK: Nannies – registration (accessed 21 August 2026)
- GOV.UK: Au pairs and employment law (accessed 21 August 2026)