Nanny knows best

Norland nannies have cared for the children of the great and good for almost 130 years, but behind the white gloves and starched uniforms lies a most progressive institution, finds Flora Watkins

- Flora Watkins

THEY are the elite among nannies, the special forces of childcare providers. They will parachute in and create order and calm in the nursery before you can say ‘spit spot’—all while running up a fancy-dress costume from curtains and making shepherd’s pie for tea. It’s why Norlanders have long been the nanny of choice for royalty (the Cambridges have Maria Borrallo and The Princess Royal also employed one), high-net-worth individuals and celebrities such as Sir Mick Jagger.

Echoing that other quintessentially British institution, Eton, any innovation at Norland commands inches of newsprint. ‘Mary Poppins meets James Bond’ was one excitable headline, on the news that students were receiving lessons in self-defence and counter-terrorism. ‘Mary Poppins learns to escape the paparazzi’ was another, after it emerged that skid-pan training had been added to the curriculum.

‘It’s not for escaping the paparazzi!’ exclaims Norland College principal Dr Janet Rose. ‘The skid-pan training is really about driving in icy conditions at the end of a long day, with two fretful children in the back.’ As with all new additions to the course, it’s about giving families confidence, explains Dr Rose. When former military-intelligence officers come into college, it’s to raise students’ awareness of personal security online. ‘Things such as being tech-savvy about the use of social media; not giving away your geographical location,’ Dr Rose divulges.

Norland through the years

1892 Norland Institute is founded in Norland Place, Holland Park, London W11, by Emily Ward. She was an advocate of the ideas of Friedrich Fröbel, inventor of the kindergarten system

1895 The uniform is introduced, supplied by Debenham & Freebody of Kensington