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Homebodies Homebodies is London's most bespoke specialist Nanny Agency Homebodies offers a bespoke service to each & every one of our clients.

We give you as much advice and attention you require, and listen attentively to what you need. We offer our expert advice and often come up with creative options which you may not have thought were possible - saving you both time and money when trying to attract the right type of support for your family. Call us for a no obligation chat to get a feel for who we are and what we can offer you.

Half-term is almost here, and for working parents, that's a familiar flutter of panic.A week (or two) with no school, a ...
20/10/2026

Half-term is almost here, and for working parents, that's a familiar flutter of panic.

A week (or two) with no school, a diary full of meetings that won't move, and the annual puzzle of who looks after the children while you work.

Clubs book up fast. Family, if they're nearby at all, can only do so much. And taking a week off every single half-term simply isn't realistic for most people with demanding jobs. It's no wonder so many parents reach half-term feeling frazzled before it's even started.

This is one of the moments a good nanny makes the biggest difference. For families with a full-time nanny, the school holidays are when the role comes into its own, with full days of care, activities, and outings, so the week runs smoothly and the children have a wonderful time while you work.

There are no frantic WhatsApp groups, no calling in favours, no guilt about yet another screen-filled day.

And for families who don't have permanent help, half-term is often when they first realise how much easier life could be with the right support in place.

School holidays come around again and again. Having someone you trust to hold them together takes a genuine weight off your shoulders, not just this half-term, but every one that follows.

Want to find out more about how a nanny could support your family? You might find this blog post useful: https://www.homebodieslondon.com/post/nanny-balanced-lifestyle

If you're a working parent, how do you handle the half-term juggle? I'd love to hear what works for you.

And if you're thinking it might be time to find a nanny, whether for you or for someone you know, do get in touch. We'd love to help.

We've spent years championing flexible working as the answer for working parents. And in many ways, it’s a good thing.Bu...
15/10/2026

We've spent years championing flexible working as the answer for working parents. And in many ways, it’s a good thing.

But flexibility alone doesn't solve a childcare emergency.

You can work from home and still be completely unable to work, if there's a poorly toddler who needs your arms all day.

When a nursery closes or a nanny calls in sick, the location of your desk often makes no difference at all - the working day is simply gone.

This is the gap that flexible working can't close, and it's one most employers haven't thought about. We talk endlessly about where people work, and far less about what happens when the care underneath it all falls through.

That's where backup childcare comes in. It's the support that actually determines whether a parent can work on a difficult day, and it's still missing from most benefits packages in the UK.

In my latest piece, I look at why that is, what genuinely useful support looks like for working parents, and why I think it's finally starting to change.

If you shape benefits for your organisation, or you're a parent who's quietly wished for this, I'd love for you to take a look at our latest blog post: https://www.homebodieslondon.com/post/family-friendly-employee-benefits

And if you're rethinking which benefits genuinely earn their place, I'd be glad to talk about how backup childcare could support your team. Get in touch or drop me a message anytime.

How many women do you know who waited until they absolutely had to before telling their employer they were pregnant?Or w...
13/10/2026

How many women do you know who waited until they absolutely had to before telling their employer they were pregnant?

Or who quietly booked a "lunch" to cover a nursery pickup, rather than admit it was for their child?

It's something I've been thinking about a lot lately. So many working parents, mothers in particular, feel they have to hide their parenting at work. To downplay it or work around it. Or simply to make sure it's never seen as something that might get in the way.

It's a theme the entrepreneur Reshma Saujani explores in her conversation on Emma Grede's Aspire podcast, and it struck a real chord with me. Because the instinct to conceal motherhood doesn't come from nowhere. It comes from a worry that the moment an employer sees you as a parent, they'll see you as less committed.

I don't think that has to be true. In my experience, parents are often among the most focused, efficient and determined people in any workplace.

What they need isn't to hide their family life, but to feel genuinely supported in it, whether that's through understanding managers, sensible flexibility, or practical help when childcare falls through.

The more supported parents feel, the less they feel they have to hide. And everyone does better for it.

Have you ever felt you had to downplay your parenting at work? What would have made it easier to be open? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments…

Here's a question worth asking of any employee benefit: does it solve a real problem your people actually have?Plenty lo...
09/10/2026

Here's a question worth asking of any employee benefit: does it solve a real problem your people actually have?

Plenty look good on paper but change very little. The gym membership nobody uses because they already have one they prefer. The coffee subscription for people who don't drink coffee. The money is spent, the benefit is technically offered, and the real impact is close to zero.

Backup childcare is the opposite. When a parent's care arrangements break down, the problem is immediate and genuinely disruptive. A benefit that solves it in that moment is one they remember, and one they actually use.

The best benefits aren't the ones that sound impressive. They're the ones that show up when life gets difficult.

In my latest piece, I look at why practical childcare support still isn't a standard workplace benefit in the UK, what we can learn from other countries, and why I think that's finally starting to change.

If supporting working parents is on your agenda, I'd love for you to take a look at our latest blog post here: https://www.homebodieslondon.com/post/family-friendly-employee-benefits

And if you'd like to talk about how backup childcare could work for your organisation, feel free to get in touch or send me a message.

Picture this: a new mum is due back from maternity leave. Before her official return, she's asked to come in for a few K...
24/09/2026

Picture this: a new mum is due back from maternity leave. Before her official return, she's asked to come in for a few Keeping in Touch (KIT) days, to reconnect with her team and prepare for the transition.

It makes complete sense for everyone, and most companies do it.

Except for one thing: her childcare hasn't started yet. Her nursery place doesn't begin until she's officially back, or her permanent nanny isn't in place.

So she's left with an impossible question: who looks after my baby when I have to go into work?

It's such a small gap, and yet it's exactly the kind of thing that makes returning to work harder than it needs to be.

This is what we created Returnity to solve. Through it, an employer can fund a trusted Nannovo nanny to care for the baby on those KIT days, and through the first weeks back, so the employee can return knowing their child is in safe, experienced hands.

Wherever possible, we arrange for the same nanny to cover all of a parent's KIT days, so the baby has consistency and the parent isn't starting over with someone new each time.

We also build in a getting-to-know-you handover day at the very start, before any work commitment, so parents can spend time with the nanny, talk through their routines, and feel genuinely comfortable.

By the time they head into work, they're leaving their baby with someone they've already met and trust, not a stranger at the door!

For employers, this is really about retention. You've invested in someone over many years, and supporting them at such a pivotal moment makes the difference between a smooth return and a reluctant one, and often between keeping that person and losing them.

If you'd like to hear how Returnity could support your returning parents, I'd be glad to have a conversation.

And if you want to find out more about Returnity and the other services we offer at Nannovo, check out our latest blog post: 'Why I Co-Founded Nannovo: Backup Childcare Working Parents Can Trust' - https://www.homebodieslondon.com/post/nannovo-backup-childcare

There's a part of working parenthood that rarely shows up in any calendar, and it's often the most exhausting part of al...
22/09/2026

There's a part of working parenthood that rarely shows up in any calendar, and it's often the most exhausting part of all.

It's the mental load. The running list of who needs collecting and when, which day the childcare gap falls, when the next inset day lands, and what the backup plan is if someone wakes up unwell. Most working parents carry all of this quietly, in the background, while also holding down demanding, senior roles.

What I've noticed over the years is that the right support doesn't just take practical tasks off someone's plate. It lifts that invisible weight too. When you have childcare you genuinely trust, you stop running the constant "what if" calculations in your head, and you're able to be fully present at work and at home.

This is where the right nanny makes such a difference, and it's a big part of what we do at Homebodies. When we match a family with a nanny, we're not just filling a childcare gap. We're finding someone who becomes part of your family's support system, who learns your routines, anticipates what's needed, and shares the load rather than adding to it.

That's the difference a truly trusted nanny brings, not just practical help during working hours, but the reassurance that lets you switch off the mental checklist.

Here’s what to look for in a nanny you can absolutely trust: Finding the Right Fit: The Essential Qualities of a Professional Nanny - https://www.homebodieslondon.com/post/qualities-professional-nanny

If you're a working parent, how do you manage the mental load? I'd love to hear what helps.

The best people rarely leave a job over salary. They leave when they feel the place they work doesn't understand the lif...
17/09/2026

The best people rarely leave a job over salary. They leave when they feel the place they work doesn't understand the life they're actually living.

When we talk about supporting employees, the conversation often goes straight to working parents. And backup childcare matters enormously to them. But families come in many shapes, and not everyone who needs support has young children.

Some employees are caring for an ageing parent. Others have a dog at home that suddenly can't be left when a late meeting or an unexpected trip comes up and arrangements haven’t been made.

These pressures are just as real, and just as capable of pulling someone's focus away from work, yet they're rarely acknowledged by employers at all.

This is why Nannovo goes beyond childcare. Through our Care Credit model, employers can help staff with the cost of their own pet care and elder care. The employee arranges the care themselves and is reimbursed up to an agreed amount, which means the support reaches everyone, not only those with children.

It's a simple way of saying something powerful to your whole workforce: we see the responsibilities you carry outside of work, whatever they look like.

The companies that stand out aren't the ones offering the most. They're the ones offering what their people actually need. If you'd like to talk about how Nannovo could support your team, I'd be glad to hear from you.

If you want to find out more about the services Nannovo offers and rationale behind it, take a look at our latest blog post: https://www.homebodieslondon.com/post/nannovo-backup-childcare

A friend who works in a law firm said something last week that I haven't stopped thinking about…Most employers, they poi...
14/09/2026

A friend who works in a law firm said something last week that I haven't stopped thinking about…

Most employers, they pointed out, offer a long list of benefits, yet many make very little difference to employees' actual lives.

If we're honest, this is often true. A gym membership sits unused because the employee already has one they prefer and coffee vouchers may go to people who don't drink coffee.

The company spends the money and the benefit is technically offered, but the real impact is close to zero.

Backup childcare is the opposite kind of benefit.

When a parent's care arrangements fall through, the problem is immediate and disruptive, and a benefit that solves it in that moment is one they remember. It shows an employee that their organisation understands the realities of their life, not just their output.

That's what we built with Nannovo: backup childcare people will actually use, delivered by professionals we know personally and stand behind, rather than anonymous names from an app.

A parent will only ever call on care they truly trust, and that trust is what turns it into a benefit that earns its place, reducing the absence and lost productivity a childcare breakdown causes.

If you're reviewing your benefits this year, it's worth asking of each one: does this actually solve a problem my people have?

If you'd like to talk about how trusted backup childcare could support your company, I'd be glad to start that conversation.

If you want to find out more about Nannovo and why I set it up, our latest blog post explains it all: https://www.homebodieslondon.com/post/nannovo-backup-childcare

Don't you find that September has a way of arriving 'all at once'?New term, new timetable, new after-school clubs on dif...
08/09/2026

Don't you find that September has a way of arriving 'all at once'?

New term, new timetable, new after-school clubs on different days, a PE kit that needs to be somewhere on Tuesdays, and a pickup schedule that seems to change from one week to the next.

For professional parents, the back-to-school season isn't just an emotional milestone - it's a logistical puzzle that lands right on top of an already demanding job.

And it rarely fits neatly around office hours. School finishes in the middle of the afternoon, clubs run on some days and not others, inset days appear from nowhere… and suddenly the rhythm that worked all summer needs rethinking entirely.

This is where a great nanny really comes into her own. The role naturally shifts with the seasons: full-on, hands-on care through the holidays, then evolving in term time into something closer to a family assistant.

She can keep on top of the school emails, manage the children's busy diaries, book the appointments, plan the after-school logistics, and make sure the whole day runs seamlessly, all while you focus on your work.

It's a big part of what we do at Homebodies. We match families with experienced nannies who can flex and grow with your family's needs across the year, so that however demanding your job, everything at home keeps running smoothly.

To find out more about our process, take a look at this blog post: Finding the Best Nanny in London: A Comprehensive Guide to Hiring a Nanny that Fits Your Family: https://www.homebodieslondon.com/post/nanny-hire-london

If you're a working parent, how are you finding the back-to-school juggle this year? What helps you keep it all together?

A lot of the professionals I work with aren't just raising children - they’re also quietly looking after the people who ...
20/08/2026

A lot of the professionals I work with aren't just raising children - they’re also quietly looking after the people who once raised them.

They're often called the "sandwich generation" - caught between the needs of their children and the needs of their parents, while holding down demanding careers at the same time. Pulled in three directions at once, and quietly carrying an enormous amount.

It's a particular kind of pressure, and one that often goes unspoken. You might have a school run and a hospital appointment to fit into the same week, or find yourself moving straight from a child's bedtime routine to a worried phone call with a parent. Everyone needs a piece of you, and there simply isn't enough of you to go round.

I don't think this gets acknowledged nearly enough, either at home or at work.

What I do know is that removing even one source of pressure can make a real difference. When your childcare is dependable and you trust the person caring for your children completely, that's one less thing to worry about, and a little more room to breathe when so much else is demanding your attention.

If you're caring for children and parents at the same time, know that you're not alone in it - and that asking for support isn't a weakness. It's often the wisest thing you can do.

Are you part of the sandwich generation? What has helped you carry it?

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